Tuesday, May 18, 2004
George Lakoff on the "framing" of political speech
Usually, I try to stay away from too much political commentary, but I stumbled on this two-page interview, and found it to be pretty fascinating. Lakoff is a linguistics professor with a liberal "progressive" bent, whose main commentary is how he believes conservatives have a much better grasp and infrastructure for the "framing" of topics, giving them a distinct advantage when talking about the issues.
I like the fact that he seems fairly far from demonizing either side, and is more concerned about concrete ways to make his own side competitive, though I'm sure he does his own share of framing in the interview (the word progressive itself being at least one). It seems pretty fair overall, but I am of a fairly liberal bent myself, so perhaps some of the more conservative readers will take issue with his descriptions of both parties...
In any case, I have to say that I find the entire thing a bit frightening. When you think about the simple phrases that everyone including the media use and how they may be loaded with a particular meaning and that there are all these thinktanks and organizations and manuals and such out there devoted to it, it gives me goosebumps. I mean, it isn't like this is totally revelatory in the sense that we all know that marketers and politicians and others attempt to manipulate our perceptions for their own agendas. It is more that if you stop to examine just how deeply this stuff runs and how much of a science and business all to itself it is.....
And it isn't like Lakoff is saying there should be a revolution to try to lessen this and wake people up. His assertion is simply that these other guys with their own particular viewpoints are doing this a lot better than his group is. That they just need to step up to the plate and be more competitive, and that the telling of simple facts isn't enough. I'm sure he's right in that respect, but it certainly doesn't make me feel any better. I'd much rather neither side was going around with super-elaborate organizations and schemes to manipulate my perceptions of the issues.
I suppose at this point we're way way past the point of no return, but at least this gives me a reminder to try to be even more critical of what I see and hear and not be too too lulled into the sleepy existance of everyday life...
I like the fact that he seems fairly far from demonizing either side, and is more concerned about concrete ways to make his own side competitive, though I'm sure he does his own share of framing in the interview (the word progressive itself being at least one). It seems pretty fair overall, but I am of a fairly liberal bent myself, so perhaps some of the more conservative readers will take issue with his descriptions of both parties...
In any case, I have to say that I find the entire thing a bit frightening. When you think about the simple phrases that everyone including the media use and how they may be loaded with a particular meaning and that there are all these thinktanks and organizations and manuals and such out there devoted to it, it gives me goosebumps. I mean, it isn't like this is totally revelatory in the sense that we all know that marketers and politicians and others attempt to manipulate our perceptions for their own agendas. It is more that if you stop to examine just how deeply this stuff runs and how much of a science and business all to itself it is.....
And it isn't like Lakoff is saying there should be a revolution to try to lessen this and wake people up. His assertion is simply that these other guys with their own particular viewpoints are doing this a lot better than his group is. That they just need to step up to the plate and be more competitive, and that the telling of simple facts isn't enough. I'm sure he's right in that respect, but it certainly doesn't make me feel any better. I'd much rather neither side was going around with super-elaborate organizations and schemes to manipulate my perceptions of the issues.
I suppose at this point we're way way past the point of no return, but at least this gives me a reminder to try to be even more critical of what I see and hear and not be too too lulled into the sleepy existance of everyday life...
