[Link]
com/news/uk-england-london-48064132
[Link]
Context and Background
● Appeared at Marble Arch, London - central protest site of Extinction Rebellion (XR) in
April 2019.
● XR had occupied the area for nearly two weeks, demanding climate action and systemic
change.
● The mural appeared overnight before XR’s “closing ceremony.”
● Banksy has not confirmed authorship, but speculation linked the piece to him due to
style and timing.
● The moment symbolized a shift from protest occupation to long-term strategy, aligning
with the mural’s message.
PARTICIPANTS:
● Speaker: Anonymous activist or artist (possibly Banksy) - a voice from outside
institutional power.
● Addressees:
○ General public and activists (encouraging continued resistance).
○ Government and corporations (implicitly criticized for inaction).
● Power direction: Bottom-up. The marginalized voice (citizens, artists, youth) speaks to
dominant institutions, reclaiming agency.
1. Description:
Visual: The girl holds a sign with the Extinction Rebellion Logo (a well known environmental
movement)
-> hope and call for actions
Language: “FROM THIS MOMENT DESPAIR ENDS AND TACTICS BEGIN.”
2. Interpretation:
the girl: is an innocent child —> purity, future genernation
plant: environment
Text: Despair ends and tactics begin
Despair ends” = rejection of passivity;
“Tactics begin” = collective strategy;
—> shift from emotional despair to action
3. Explanation:
Reflect the wider social struggle of the Extinction Rebellion (XR) movement, which challenged
government inaction on climate change.
Give voice to marginalized citizens, especially youth, against dominant political and corporate
powers.
Highlight political inaction to environmental problem -> give agency to ordinary people even a
child
promote intergenerational responsibility
Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)
Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is an interdisciplinary approach to studying language that
examines how power, ideology, and inequality are produced, reproduced, or challenged through
discourse. It treats language not simply as a neutral tool for communication, but as a social
practice that both shapes and is shaped by the society it exists in.
1. Core Principles of CDA
1.1. Language as Social Practice
CDA views discourse as inseparable from the social structures, cultural norms, and historical
contexts in which it appears. Language reflects society—but it can also actively construct social
realities.
1.2. Power and Ideology
CDA focuses on how texts (spoken, written, or multimodal) encode ideologies and how these
ideologies maintain or challenge power relations.
Examples include:
● Gender bias in textbooks
● Political speeches shaping public opinion
● News headlines framing social groups as “threats” or “victims”
1.3. Critical Perspective
“Critical” means CDA does not simply describe linguistic features; it evaluates them. Analysts
uncover hidden meanings, ideological assumptions, and unequal power relations embedded in
discourse.
2. Theoretical Foundations
CDA integrates insights from various fields:
2.1. Fairclough’s Three-Dimensional Model
Fairclough (1992) proposes that every text can be analyzed through three layers:
1. Textual analysis – vocabulary, grammar, cohesion.
2. Discursive practice – production, distribution, and consumption of the text.
3. Social practice – the broader socio-cultural structures and ideologies.
2.2. van Dijk’s Socio-Cognitive Approach
van Dijk emphasizes the role of mental models and social cognition, focusing on how
stereotypes, prejudice, and ideological beliefs shape and are shaped by discourse.
2.3. Wodak’s Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA)
This approach connects discourse to historical contexts and intertextuality. Common in studies
of nationalism, racism, and political discourse.
3. Common Methods in CDA
CDA does not require a single method; instead, it combines linguistic and interpretive tools such
as:
3.1. Lexical Analysis
Examining word choice, connotation, labeling (e.g., “migrant” vs. “immigrant” vs. “illegal alien”).
3.2. Transitivity and Agency Analysis
Borrowed from Systemic Functional Grammar (Halliday). Analysts ask:
● Who is portrayed as the doer of an action?
● Who is omitted?
● How are events represented?
3.3. Modality and Evaluation
Looking at the degree of certainty, obligation, attitude (e.g., “must,” “may,” “should,” “probably”).
3.4. Intertextuality
How texts reference or borrow from other texts, shaping meaning.
3.5. Visual Grammar (Kress & van Leeuwen)
In multimodal CDA, images, layout, colors, gaze, and composition are also analyzed.
4. Applications of CDA
CDA is commonly used in:
● Media analysis: representation of minorities, gender, or political conflicts
● Education: detecting gender bias or cultural stereotypes in textbooks
● Politics: analysing speeches, propaganda, campaign narratives
● Advertising: how brands construct identity, desire, and values
● Translation studies: how translations manipulate power relations or cultural ideologies
Example for your research area:
In English-language textbooks, CDA can reveal gender-exclusive language,
stereotyped role assignments, or unequal representations of male and female
characters in dialogues, imagery, or activities.
5. Strengths and Limitations
Strengths
● Exposes hidden ideologies
● Integrates linguistic and social analysis
● Can bring social awareness and encourage change
Limitations
● Interpretation can be subjective
● Does not have a standardized methodology
● Requires strong sociocultural knowledge
6. Basic Structure of a CDA Analysis Paragraph
If you're writing a CDA paragraph, follow this pattern:
1. Observation (linguistic pattern)
e.g., The textbook frequently uses male subjects in active roles while females appear in
supportive or passive positions.
2. Interpretation (how this frames reality)
e.g., This suggests an implicit ideology that prioritizes male agency.
3. Explanation (link to social context)
e.g., Such representation reflects and reinforces traditional gender expectations still present in
society.