Den politiske biografi - Kommunikationsforum

Abstract
This thesis investigates the genre and the relationship between the text, the
personas, and ethos in a relatively new hybrid: political biographies on
politicians who are still active in the Danish Parliament.
15 years ago the biography was primarily a literary and historical
genre which dealt with elderly or deceased subjects. This political hybrid
genre seems to be a response to its rhetorical situation: It is argued that ethos
has become an increasingly dominant factor in political rhetoric since political
parties with similar ideological substances appeal to the same non-committed
voters. In addition to the huge focus on politicians’ personalities from the
media, but very little opportunity to investigate the whole person in
postmodern fragmentarity, biographies seem to fill up an empty space.
The genre is a success, but not only to the publishers and the authors in
a commercial manner; politicians might benefit from the narrative structures
which differ from discursive rhetoric and its’ analytic means of persuasion.
Five subgenres are identified in the rhetorical hybrid: The traditional
biography, the news story, the classic eulogy, the political address of
recommendation, and the fictional literature.
Inspired by the stylistics of new journalism, it is showed how the
authors invite the reader to take part in the narrative discourse using literary
point of view, scenes, details, and gaps. Masterplots in the narratives are
identified, and it is discussed how the common values in these masterplots
enable the reader to identify with the personas in the text. However, the genre
is not fictional, its’ referential function is concerned with real events and
people which makes the reader reevaluate the ethos of the politician
portrayed in the biography. The announced neutral role of the author gives
the narrated story a glance of truth, and dealing with good and bad luck
through the life of the subject, the reader, due to identification, might assess a
higher terminal ethos to the politician eligible for the Parliament.
It is discussed how politicians might profit from even critical narratives
because these gives the author a credibility in the positive narratives that are
the most common. Merely positive narratives can undermine the credibility of
the author and make a smaller basis for change in the perception of ethos.
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