Babylon, the bar: a multimodal critical discourse analysis of a Johannesburg queer digital space
Date
2021
Authors
Kouridis, Sofia
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Abstract
This paper applies a Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis to a corpus of posters that were published by Babylon, a self-identified gay bar. These posters advertise various events taking place at their establishment in Illovo, Johannesburg, and appeared on various digital media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and their official online website. The study focuses on the role of language and visual imagery in the indexing and circulation of discourses surrounding gender and sexuality, particularly in the context of LGBTQ+ people. The analysis of the corpus is divided into three sections, unpacking discourses around gay iconography, activism, and the gay body with a focus on intertextuality. Much of Babylon’s advertising approach involves placing focus and value in somewhat stereotypical representations of what it means to be queer, saturating their digital spaces with rainbows and allusions to a fun and promiscuous lifestyle. This oversimplified narrative is reinforced by the unidimensional nature of their models, the majority of whom are white and reproduce various elements of the hegemonic masculinity found in mainstream, cisheteropatriarchal society (Baker 2008b). The discourses surrounding these creative choices are unpacked, drawing comparisons between Babylon’s glamorous portrayal of gay existence and the actual realities of the queer lived experience in South Africa, where progressive legislation exists in opposition to social attitudes and cultural values. The topics of desirability and commodification are also explored, as is the relationship between the inherently-political nature of queerness and Babylon’s lacklustre involvement in issues of sociopolitical significance. This research therefore also exposes the ways in which the role of the gay bar may have shifted in the modern time, contributing more to the establishment of group identitity and less to the active defiance of cisheteropatriarchal conventions
Description
A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Linguistics to the Faculty of Humanities, School of Literature, Language and Media, University of the Witwatersrand, 2021