Contentious Master Tropes: Making the Contribution of Art to Social Change Intelligible.

Existing research on art and politics in protests portrays an instrumental relationship between the two, implying the existence of only one approach to social change--defined by the leaders of social movement organizations and supported by artists and art organizations. In contrast, this paper argues that there are at least three distinct approaches to social change in protests, each distinguished by its own specific set of media and meanings. The analysis rests on a framing-content analysis and interpretative discourse analysis informed by rhetoric of all documents circulated at four protests in France, Italy, and the UK. Political texts evidence a metonymical approach to contention--they reduce social change to political struggle, embrace collective identities, and identify political aims to achieve through the political system. Art texts, on the other hand, can be either metaphorical or ironic. Theatre, music, and creative writing typically adopt a metaphorical stance. They encourage people to make up their own meanings and objectives and to reinforce personal identities. An ironic approach toward social change is common among cartoons. Their innovation consists in expressing compassion for enemies, and in inviting people to take responsibility for themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]