Interpreting mistruth in an image: Angus Taylor’s Picton bypass election promise
Digital Artefact, BCM110
Representation and interpretation are vital frameworks for any imagery media we come across. And while it might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you consider this, - I understand there are far more exciting images in the world - this applies to the political posters we see during election campaigns. It can be increasingly difficult with each federal election cycle that passes to determine what is true and what is false, and then there is the issue of things falling somewhere in between… Can a phrase, statement or promise from a politician be untrue but also not false? In this blog post and the two that follow, I’ll be interpreting the semiotics of a piece of media which has been pretty relevant to me over the previous two months or so:
One of Angus Taylor's posters in Picton, NSW. (Photo taken by me)
The member of the Liberal party who currently holds the seat of Hume, Angus Taylor, used these posters around his electorate, which I reside in, during the recent federal election campaign. You might be thinking: ‘okay… and what of it?’, Well I found it particularly interesting that he announced he was “Delivering the Picton Bypass”, for a number of reasons which I’ll soon get to. Whilst studying Communications and Media, I learnt about the representation and interpretation of images we encounter in the media, this included the sense we as an audience make of a particular image and the processes involved in coming to conclusions about the media we see.
So, after enjoying this topic throughout my first semester of University, I decided I could link it to an image I was seeing a lot: Angus Taylor posters. From this persuasive campaigning, I became curious on whether or not Angus Taylor actually could and would “deliver” the Picton Bypass. Angus Taylor has held the seat of Hume since he first won it in the 2013 federal election, I also found that he had been mentioning the Picton Bypass idea in both the campaigns of 2016 and 2019. In my town there has been, for quite some time, a growing sense of frustration with Angus Taylor and the Liberal party in general. I knew this from conversations with friends and family, posts on local Facebook groups and the fact that I’d been seeing signs like this one too:
A poster which opposes Angus Taylor in Thirlmere, NSW. (Photo taken by me)
I found that a real sense of mistrust in elected government officials was occurring nationally and it was evident in my everyday life in my town as well. There were, however, a large number of people who did not feel this way - and if they did, they didn’t show it when it was time to vote, as Angus Taylor did end up winning the 2022 election and will now serve a fourth term in parliament. So did the interpretation of this poster have anything to do with his victory? Did the people of Picton give in to the temptation and promise of a Picton bypass? Let’s review.
(Photo Credit: Artem via Adobe Stock)
REFERENCES:
Thompson, J. (2021) Why are some people more curious than others?. BigThink.com.
Comerford, C. (2022) Representation and Interpretation, UOW Moodle Page.
(Restricted Access)
Angus Taylor, Member for Hume. (2022) nswliberal.org.au
Available: https://nswliberal.org.au/AngusTaylor
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