Iconic Maps in American Political Discourse

Abstract

Maps are often used in the promotion of specific forms of political and social doctrine. Some such maps, which I call “maps in the wild,” do not serve the traditional purposes of maps but, rather, exist as symbols themselves, much like corporate logos, communicating meaning and evoking emotional responses. Typical maps in the wild include global representations and outline maps of political units. The use of map images as iconic symbols in political discourse serves to prompt a number of abstract ideas, such as trust, dominion, and spatiality of political philosophies, and a formal examination of the images can reveal interesting differences among the camps using them. In this article, I report on an examination of recent American campaign materials, political advertising, and popular political graphics. The content analysis reflects a polarized society: materials promoting Republican and so-called conservative candidates or values tend to feature images of the United States, while those promoting Democratic or “liberal” ideals tend to feature images of the globe. I examine advertising and images from politically ideological periodicals (e.g., Mother Jones, New Republic, Insight on the News, National Review); political materials from campaigns from the 2004, 2006, and 2008 elections; images and graphics (available on the Internet or through catalogues) on t-shirts and bumper stickers; and logos and other graphics from companies and organizations with political points of view. I speculate about the broader motives and implications of the use of these map images and offer this as a case study for a more general framework of graphical criticism and analysis as it applies to maps and map-like imagery in popular culture.

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