A Multimodal Analysis of Leni Robredo Murals
A Multimodal Analysis of Leni Robredo Murals
A MULTIMODAL ANALYSIS OF LENI ROBREDO
MURALS
PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL
2022
Volume: 5
Pages: 589-593
Document ID: 2022PEMJ352
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7336387
Manuscript Accepted: 2022-19-11
Psych Educ, 2022, 5(1): 589-593, Document ID: PEMJ352, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.7336387, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article
A Multimodal Analysis of Leni Robredo Murals
Maico Demi B. Aperocho*, Jhenrose Nove L. Ebro
For affiliations and correspondence, see the last page.
Abstract
Wall murals have become considered a rhetorical symbols for many political activities. In the 2022
Philippine Presidential Elections, people show their support in various forms such as mural painting.
In this study, the researchers did a multimodal analysis of three murals dedicated to former Vice
President and Presidential candidate Leni Robredo. The researchers used multimodal discourse
analysis to unravel visual and textual meanings. After careful analyses, the researchers found out two
processes involved in creating representational meanings: narrative and conceptual. There are also
unique multimodal features in terms of gaze, social distance, angle, and modality. Through visual
grammar analysis, the researchers found out that the different multimodal features present in these
murals ae suggestive of strong political support, participant-audience connection, and political
symbolism.
Keywords: multimodal analysis, murals, visual meanings, Leni Robredo, visual grammar
Introduction attracting the attention of the public or simply
changing the space from grayscale to appealing colors.
Wall murals have become widespread in the different Paintings, including murals, are an example of a static
regions of the Philippines. One reason is the 2022 multimodal text as they are motionless (Febrianti,
Philippine presidential election. The campaign rallies 2020). Furthermore, every person perceives an artwork
got more intense between two candidates, namely Leni differently; and the visual representation contains
Robredo and Bongbong Marcos, both running for certain objects that can add complexity in
presidency to serve the Philippines and the Filipinos in understanding. Despite of this, analyzing beyond the
the next six years. Since the three-month campaign text is essential because it leads to a deep
period for the presidential election began, supporters
understanding of the implied meanings with or without
from different political colors had been seeking ways
the involvement of texts.
to genuinely support their presidential bet or the
tandem itself. One of which that has received greater A traditional analysis focuses on written texts or
attention was the street mural painting. These murals, language, and thus excludes other modes such as
undoubtedly, were created by supporters with a visual. Multimodal analysis stems from the discourse
significant amount of effort and dedication. Aside
analytic approach and is a kind of discourse that
from displaying public support for a specific
communicates through more than one modality (Kress,
candidate, mural-making is also a means for people to
2009). Hence, multimodal discourse communicates a
share their perspectives, views, and the characteristics
message by employing multiple modalities, such as
that these individuals believed that their presidential
text, graphics, video, and audio. In the field of
bet possesses.
discourse analysis, visual text has received more
The majority of the murals that we see depict the attention than verbal text (Siregar & Sinar, 2021). In
image of Leni Robredo, which the youth volunteers, utilizing multimodal discourse, Kress and van
Leni supporters, or the Kakampinks created. Hence, Leeuwen (2006) proposed visual grammar, a
murals are used for her campaigning which is a rare framework for evaluating visual images. Using this
and unique strategy to attract the people passing by. theory, the data is analyzed on the basis of semiotic
Murals are paintings or a form of art (Augustyn et al. p r in c ip l e s , wh ich cl as s i f y m e a n i n g s as
2021). The major difference is the medium which is representational, interactive, and compositional. Thus,
painted on a large space such as walls and ceilings—a the visual grammar analysis enables researchers to
way bigger medium compared to a typical large canvas evaluate a single image in a variety of ways. As for the
size. Mural art is regarded to be a powerful previous studies, there are some studies focusing on
communication tool since the beginning of its the verbal and visual texts in one image. Although
existence, meant to transmit social or political numerous of researchers and scholars have employed
messages (Kordic, 2015). Up to this date, mural Kress and Leeuwen's visual grammar on various data
paintings are now created with other purposes such as sources, it is rare to find murals being analyzed by
researchers. Therefore, this research attempts to utilize
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Research Article
Representational Meaning
Narrative Process. In narrative visuals, participants
multimodal discourse analysis on murals.
are connected by a vector and are “represented as
doing something to or for each other” when that
The researchers answered two questions: (a) What
happens (Kress & Leeuwen, 2006). As shown in
underlying meanings do the selected politically driven
Figure 1, it is a transactional process as the human
murals possess? and (b) How are visual elements
participants show as if they are walking and as Leni
represented in the murals dedicated to presidential
Robredo (wearing blue shirt) is lifting her right hand.
candidate Leni Robredo?
The represented participants contribute a motion
within the image. In the narrative process, vectors are
Methodology included as they represent directions for the viewers to
move from one element to another. Therefore, the
vector in this image is generated by the hand gesture of
The researchers employed multimodal discourse the represented participant Leni Robredo, which
analysis. The corpora of the study include the selected moves upward to the text at the same level of its face,
Leni-Kiko art murals made during the election specifically the “Leni Kiko.” Here, the text is
campaign period. These murals are obtained from a considered the goal. Goal is "the participant at whom
website created by Sambale or which the vector is directed" (Kress & Leeuwen,
(https://aaliyahsambale.github.io/rosasmur als/). Most 2006, p.64). Also, secondary participants are generated
of the Leni-Kiko murals made by muralists, youth by the locative circumstance, meaning to say, the
volunteers, and Kakampinks were showcased on this setting is darker than the foreground.
website. In gathering the data, the researchers scrolled
over the website and saved the selected mural as Conceptual Process. The conceptual process is
JPEG. The researchers then identified the visual relatively stable and more general. The participants are
elements and embedded meanings in the murals. The represented in terms of their classifications, the
selected murals were analyzed using the visual analytical and the symbolic process (Zhou, 2020). In
grammar proposed by Kress and Van Leeuwen (2006), this image, the visual process is symbolic attributive
specifically on the two strands of meaning: the process in which Leni Robredo, who is riding a
representational and the interactive meanings. carabao, is the carrier while the open palm gesture
serves as the symbolic attributive. The use of a palm-
up gesture that blends in with the white hue behind the
Results and Discussion text signifies Leni Robredo as having light-related
powers and that she has the ability to provide light to
those dark paths, also serving as a guide for people.
This section shows the analyses of the three selected
political murals dedicated to Leni Robredo and her Interactive Meaning
campaign for the presidency.
Gaze. The represented participants establish no direct
gaze at the viewers, implying that this image is
Mural 1 "offering" an information to the viewer impersonally,
rather than demanding something from the viewer. As
the viewer has given an opportunity to interact with
the image, that allows the viewer to observe or
contemplate. Because of this, an imaginary barrier is
formed in the middle between the represented
participants and the observer which is now an outsider
(Kress & Leeuwen, 2006).
Social Distance. The image belongs to the mid -social
Figure 1. “Leni Kiko” Mural distance, which allows the viewer to see the torsos of
more than four persons. Also, the represented
participants, especially Leni Robredo is overposition,
and thus it provides a sense of closeness between her
and the viewers.
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Research Article
Angle. The image is considered to have an oblique transactional process.
horizontal point of view as well as the use of an eye
level angle. This could also mean that the image shows Conceptual Process. Symbolic attribute process as the
equality in terms of view between the image and carrier is the represented participant, specifically, the
observer. An oblique angle denotes non-attachment, in person who is saluting in the image, whereas the
which the participant does not acknowledge the people and the buildings behind the actor are perceived
observer from the outside, real world (Kress & to be the symbolic attributes that depict the concept of
Leeuwen, 2006). the image, i.e., Leni Robredo is a woman who is
greatly admired and respected by people. Given that it
Modality. The image employs mid-sensory modality
is a campaign mural, the addition of a sketch of a
due to the not too saturated colors that look washed
crowd of people in the mural depicts that there are
out, which makes the image appears to be unreal (Li &
people who want Leni to be the next President of the
Guo, 2020). In addition, modality markers including
color differentiation, modulation, representation,
Philippines. In addition, the participant's act of saluting
contextualization, depth, and illumination are symbolizes respect. Typically, human participants
perceived to have a high modality value, while the pose for the viewer in the symbolic attributive
degree of brightness has a medium modality value processes (Kress & Leeuwen, 2006).
since the lighter colors are covered with their dark
shades to create shadows in the clothes. Interactive Meaning
Mural 2 Gaze . Since the participant gazes away from the
viewer, that gives a viewer the time to observe what is
happening in the image. Kress and Leeuwen refer to
this as a "offering image." In addition, an indirect gaze
allows the observer to interact with the image;
however, there are no gestures of invitation for the
viewer to enter the frame. Nonetheless, it is
informative since the symbolic meanings are
accentuated by the absence of gaze (Miers, 2012).
Social Distance. The type of angle of the image is a
close shot that shows familiar relationship with the
participant. Intimate or personal relations occurs when
it is a close social distance (Kress & Leeuwen, 2006).
Angle. The image employed an oblique view since the
represented participant is facing 45 degrees to the left.
Therefore, it denotes detachment. Despite this, the
Figure 2. “Kay Leni Tayo” Mural
represented participant is at the eye level. That is to
Representational Meaning say, there is no power imbalance; rather, equal power
is practiced in the image (Hafifah & Sinar, 2021).
Narrative Process. The image is transactional since
there is a movement coming from the actor, and that Modality. Since it uses high saturation colors
eventually forms a vector. Vector can be created naturally, the image above has a high sensory
through non-verbal communication such as eye gaze modality. The use of saturated colors can make an
(Kress & Leeuwen, 2006). Hence, the actor is doing an image bright and lively, and this captures the viewer's
act of saluting to notice the goal in the image, which is eye (Li & Guo, 2020). Color saturation, color
the campaign tagline "Kay Leni Tayo." According to distinction, modulation, contextualization,
Miers (2012), when the image contains a vector that representation, depth, lighting, and brightness are all
connects the actor to the goal, the image shows a modality markers with high modality value. When the
modality is high, the image feels real and natural.
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Research Article
Mural 3 a frontal point of view, it gives a feeling of
involvement to the observer (Yao & Zhou, 2018). In
this context, it shows that Robredo allows her audience
to be involved in her agenda and in her intent for the
presidential campaign.
Modality. The image has a high modality value due to
the use of completely saturated colors, namely pink,
green, and black. Thus, the image feels real and
natural.
Figure 3. “The Last Man Standing is a Woman” Mural The analyses made in this portion of the paper show
how murals project varied meanings towards the
Representational Meaning audience. Participant involvement is a very important
element in any multimodal text as it shows how
Narrative Process. The image above shows a connected a participant is to the audience or the
transactional process since the represented participant viewers. In this study, the researchers found how Leni
is doing something, specifically a hair flip, which Robredo is portrayed in the murals as someone who
clearly involves hand movement. The vector in the connects with her supporters (viewers) and how she is
image is the hair flip gesture that looks like as if a of the same level as with the rest of the community.
thumb is pointing behind. It also appears to be a The angles and perspectives in which the murals are
"come here" gesture. Because of the hand gesture, it positioned are all reflective of how she is being
helps direct the viewers' attention to the goal, which is levelled to the community, and this strongly shows
the upper text that is behind the represented how she was intended to be interpreted by people.
participant. Murals are a container of political ideologies as they
can also suggest strong rhetorical meanings towards
Conceptual Process. This mural shows a symbolic people, most especially in the midst of political
attributive process because the participant acts as the campaigns. As deduced, Filipinos use varied strategies
carrier, and the text and silhouette of a crowd are seen to show their support to Leni Robredo, or even to other
to be the symbolic attributes, wherein the crowd political candidates. The richness of the visual
symbolizes unity and support, as if the crowd is elements and meanings in the analyzed murals only
cheering for Leni Robredo, who may be singing a song shows how important murals are as political
or delivering a speech. multimodal discourses that are worth studying and
understanding.
Interactive Meaning
Conclusion
Gaze. From the viewer's point of view, it is clearly a
direct gaze. The represented participant's gaze as well
as the gesture suggesting a demanding attitude provide Kress and Van Leeuwen (2006) developed a visual
the impression that the viewers are being asked for grammar analysis that presents the theoretical
something (Zhou, 2020). framework and terms required to understand and read
images. Based on the analysis, it is evident that
Social Distance. The type of angle shown in the image meanings can be decoded using the aspect of
is close social distance. For Zhoue (2020), a "close conceptual meaning while representational meanings
shot" suggests close and personal relation. This shows direct viewers to go from one element to another to
how Leni Robredo is represented to have a close reach what the murals, as multimodal texts, try to
relationship with her supporters. This also pojects how convey. All of the murals chosen are transactional
she can be readily approached by her supporters. images that are engaged in symbolic attributive
processes. In the context of interactive meanings, the
Angle. The angle shown in the image shows an eye- first and second murals are similar in terms of gaze
level angle and a frontal horizontal point of view as the and angle; however, the third one is different in that it
participant is facing toward the observer. This is also depicts direct contact and a frontal point of view. This
called a frontal view or angle. When a participant uses is suggestive of the differences of meanings being
channeled to express support for Leni Robredo
through the use of many visual elements.
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Research Article
Conclusively, the use of visual grammar theory shows discourses with words and images of Covid-19 pandemic in China.
how murals can express potential meanings and form a International Journal of Social Science and Education Research,
3(9), 10-18.
connection between the participant and the viewer.
Miers, P. (2012). Narrative representations.
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Affiliations and Corresponding Information
pandemic era. Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on
Dr. Maico Demi Aperocho
Language and Arts (ICLA 2020).
1: University of Mindanao - Philippines
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