Henkel, Imke (2019) The witty Briton stands up to the European bully. How a populist myth helped the British Eurosceptics to win the 2016 EU referendum. Politique européenne, 2019/4 (66). pp. 72-94. ISSN 1623-6297
Full content URL: https://doi.org/10.3917/poeu.066.0072
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Imke Henkel (2020) The Witty Briton Stands Up to the European Bully.pdf - Whole Document 435kB |
Item Type: | Article |
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Item Status: | Live Archive |
Abstract
The British press has been reporting a uniquely distorted image of European affairs and institutions for decades. This article argues that the twisted narrative some British media offered about the relationship between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe was as influential as were the discursive strategies which they employed. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to investigate three sample texts, and drawing on Jack Lule’s and Roland Barthes’ theories of myth, I find that two of these texts construct a populist myth of a witty British people eternally alien to the EU. This narrative ultimately contributed to the vote for Brexit.
Keywords: | Brexit, Euromyths, Critical Discourse Analysis, Roland Barthes, myths |
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Subjects: | L Social studies > L241 European Union Politics P Mass Communications and Documentation > P500 Journalism |
Divisions: | College of Arts > School of English & Journalism > School of English & Journalism (Journalism) |
ID Code: | 40144 |
Deposited On: | 30 Mar 2020 13:29 |
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