Creative Discourses in Building Political Space
Introduction
Creativity is used on our everyday lives in the production of human activities and some cases in different communication instances, for example, when sharing a secret message in a public setting. In a political context, creativity can be used to counter ongoing political issues. Such issues are steered by activists who use their creativity to control and fight against discursive spaces. Creativity discourse aims to combat the problems that appear oppressive, be it in the government or organizational setup. In the government set up this kind of conversation has contributed to the rise of political counter spaces, where people are arguing against the moves made by the government (Hann & Lillis, 2016). For example, in the eighteenth century to the nineteenth century, there have been different waves of feminism in the USA, fighting for equal treatment and opportunities for women in all spheres like education, political rights and employment opportunities (Sinclair, 2018). Such movements fight for equal rights and fair treatment for all. Political discourse is best discussed in the political discourse theory analyses the possibilities and limitations of such movements and their influence on political development. In most cases, political discourses create a resistance that creates a divide in society with some people in agreement with the political setting and practices and others against it.
How creative discourses contribute to building political counter-spaces
Counter-space is a kind of social space that is created when there is resistance to a particular issue passed politically. The resistance creates an alternative to the existing order (Hann & Lillis, 2016). For example, when democratic rights like voting were introduced in the sates, the women were not allowed to contest. Neither did they have voting rights. However, through the movements fighting for gender equality, some women strongly contested against their make counterparts for political seats and other queued up to vote despite the political status at that time as a way of a boycott. She was supported by Gloria Steinem, amongst many other women, who was a journalist reporting on the progress and needs of the women during the mid-nineteenth century (Sinclair, 2018). Eventually, the women were allowed to vote and contest for political positions.
Another similar case was in Egypt during the movements against the government in the early years of the twenty-first century. In Tahrir Square, there were meeting held by people who formed movements to counter the Egyptian government. The location had been used in the past years for the same course by protestors from various parts of Cairo (Aboelezz, 2014). The people camped at the square because they wanted a change in the government. The government put up a fight against them, but the people fought back stayed in the square until Mubarak resigned. During this movement, the people of Egypt were dissatisfied by the political regime. They camped at the Tahrir Square carrying banners that expressed their need for change not only politically, but also socially. During the same movement, messages for the need for change were conveyed through songs and dances performed by the people camping at the square: other performed comedy and used paintings (Aboelezz, 2014). The persistence of the people influenced the resignation of Mubarak. It also opened a chance for the start of a new regime in Egypt.
Tahrir Square is now marked as a place for transgressive discourses for any cases that violate the laws of emplacement. The movement in this square use graffiti to communicate, which is viewed by the Egyptian government as an utter sign of rebellion (Fairclough & Fairclough, 2013). Other popular means are the props and posters displaying messages. The place was marked by the monument of Omar Makram, known for leading the resistance movements in Egypt during his time (1750-1822). This is a clear indication that the square has been marked as an area for campaigns against oppressive political issues.
Messages conveyed by these creative discourses.
The movement during the Tahrir Square protest sent messages through the use of journalism, the photos taken and shared on social media and other online platforms. The messages were also written on pluck cards and spray-painted on trucks and walls (Gribbon & Hawas, 2012). There were also sounds and gestures used. However, the signs needed to be interpreted by the general public. The general message sent by the movement at Tahrir Square is the need for solidarity. The people in Cairo gathered at the square in protest against Mubarak’s regime and continued to fight against him despite having been expelled from the square. They still fought for space and camped until when Mubarak resigned. The campaigners in Cairo declared that they were all in the same struggle. The thought of having a similar goal is what brought them together and made their protest successful. The movement was against systems that were repressive and unchecked ravages of global capitalism (Martin-Rojo, 2014). The Egyptians felt that the cities were more violent, there were no concrete development plans economically and for the urban renewal schemes, and the next generation had no future in the order of things. In the message for solidarity, the Egyptians argue that whatever affected them affected other parts of the world as well and it was upon them the people to fight for the kind of leadership they needed.
Similarly, the movement also involved social media reports by tweeting the events at the square and the demands of the people. The tweets exposed the attempt by the government to stop the protest and control the people, and a Facebook page was maintained by the activists (Gribbon & Hawas, 2012). The gestures of the people sent a message to the public and the government. The chanting and the dances by the people played a role in re-energizing the revolution. One of the activists, Anne Ubersfeld, stressed on the dialectal relation through her perforated text (Martin-Rojo, 2014). The gestures and intonations of the Egyptians during the protest showed the urgency and need for change more than the words written on the pluck cards and the messages shared on social media.
Similarly, in the case of feminism movements, the letters written by activists such as Margaret Sanger, publications by Gloria Steinem, the meetings and conferences held to discuss the affair of women all contributed to the inclusion of women in political, education and healthcare choices (Sinclair, 2018). The conferences were, however, more impactful since the numbers and the gestures sent by the women showed the need for change in the way they were treated and better placement in society.
Participant’s aspiration and goals
During Mubarak’s regime, he wanted the leadership to be hierarchical. Mubarak wanted his son to succeed him. The people needed a multi-candidate election and pushed for reforms that were denied. President Mubarak and his son amended the constitution to allow for the succession of power. The government had threatened the public that free elections could have led to leadership by terrorist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood. It pushed for the implementation of the emergency law, which suspended constitutional rights and was against demonstrations against the government. The interior ministry became more corrupt to protect the president’s intentions and sustain his presidency. The movement at Tahrir Square in 2011, was against this kind of leadership (Jenkins, Ford & Green, 2013). The political system during Mubarak’s regime was also corrupt. The people fought for a transparent and credible electoral body. The people fought for a democratic platform where they could elect their president freely (Jenkins, Ford & Green, 2013).
There had been cases of rigged elections during Mubarak’s leadership, and other electoral monitoring agencies had been banned from monitoring the polls. In the previous election, the UN survey reported a turnout of about twenty-five per cent because the people did not have trust in the political system. The people also fought against police brutality, especially during the demonstrations against the government policies. The cases of police brutality had caused the death of Khaled Mohamed, who had been tortured by the police. During the protest, Jack Shenker had been arrested by the police and taken to an undisclosed place because he had witnessed other Egyptians being tortured by the police officers. The people were also facing economic challenges. The youth in Egypt were not employed despite being educated. This increased the level of poverty in the country with a report of about forty percent of the population living below two dollars in a day. The protest at Tahrir Square was therefor also directed towards the need for economic and urban development which would lead to the creation of job opportunities for a vast number of the unemployed youths in the country (Jenkins, Ford & Green, 2013).
Conclusion
Creative discourse is the well thought of or well planned out events to achieve a specific goal. In this case, creativity is used in an attempt to improve the government and the leadership scheme. Creativity applied in changing a political policy, or regime creates a counter space. Counter space was created in Egypt when the people converged in Cairo to protest against the corrupt government and the misuse of power by Mubarak. The camping place Tahrir square used social media platforms, art and journalists to convey their message and eventually had Mubarak resigning. Similarly, the feminist’s movements applied the other communicative strategies to fight for gender equality had succeeded. Such movements and creativity can be employed in other areas to foster change and general improvement of human life in society.
References
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Fairclough, I., & Fairclough, N. (2013). Argument, Deliberation, Dialectic and the Nature of the Political: A CDA Perspective. Political Studies Review, 11(3), 336-344. https://doi.org/10.1111/1478-9302.12025
Gribbon, L. & Hawas, S. (2012) ‘Signs and signifiers: visual translations of the revolt’, in Mehrez, S. (ed.) (2012) Translating Egypt’s Revolution: The Language of Tahrir, Cairo, The American University in Cairo Press, pp. 103–142.
Hann, D., & Lillis, T. (2016). The Politics of Language and Creativity in a Globalized World.
Jenkins, H., Ford, S. & Green, J. (2013) Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture: Spreadable Media, New York, New York University Press.
Martín-Rojo, L. (2014) ‘Taking over the square: the role of linguistic practices in contesting urban spaces’, Journal of Language and Politics, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 623–52.
Sinclair, A. (2018). Five movements in an embodied feminism: A memoir. Human Relations, 72(1), 144-158. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726718765625