Drifting images. Pictorial migrations between Right and Left

Journal title MEMORIA E RICERCA
Author/s Luciano Cheles
Publishing Year 2013 Issue 2012/41
Language Italian Pages 26 P. 121-146 File size 6407 KB
DOI 10.3280/MER2012-041008
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

Parties frequently appropriate propaganda images from other movements, which all too often belong to the opposite end of the political spectrum. This article considers the main forms of visual appropriation and illustrates them with examples drawn from Italian and French post-war propaganda. It argues that the phenomenon is widespread especially among right-wing parties, which tend to adopt the imagery created by well-established political organisations to legitimate themselves, to present themselves to the voters in a more modern and appealing way or to attempt a dialogue with them. The technique of imitation may also be used to create a sense of confusion with the ultimate aim of neutralising the messages of other parties, or to steal votes from their natural constituencies. Left-wing parties too at times mimic the images (and slogans) of the right, but usually with parodying intentions which can escape the public at large.

Keywords: Propaganda. Posters. Mimicry. Movimento Sociale Italiano. Alleanza Nazionale. Forza Italia. Partito Democratico della Sinistra

Luciano Cheles, Le immagini vaganti. Migrazioni iconografiche tra destra e sinistra in "MEMORIA E RICERCA " 41/2012, pp 121-146, DOI: 10.3280/MER2012-041008