The politics of anti-discourse: Copypasta, the Alt-Right, and the rhetoric of form
Topinka, Robert (2022) The politics of anti-discourse: Copypasta, the Alt-Right, and the rhetoric of form. Theory and Event 25 (2), pp. 392-418. ISSN 1092-311X.
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Abstract
This essay examines the reactionary turn in digital culture through the copypasta, a meaningless block of text shared on message boards and recognizable only to the already-initiated. Although rarely studied, the copypasta is an archetype of contemporary digital culture. As a form, it refuses representational content and coordinates affect, holding a position against the stream of digital content. I argue that digital form—rather than representational content—carries potent ideological and affective charge. Building on an analysis of the copypastas on 4chan’s infamous /pol/ board, I suggest scholars resuscitate the rhetorical canon of dispositio, or arrangement, for the computational age.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication |
| Depositing User: | Robert Topinka |
| Date Deposited: | 15 Mar 2022 07:49 |
| Last Modified: | 09 Aug 2023 12:50 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/44169 |
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