Part B

The language in the set texts establish ideologies that shape opinions about Donald Trump.

The Sun evidently ridicules Trump by featuring a cartoon version, derived from the Simpsons, on their front cover. The Sun can therefore be described to be left-leaning as it doesn’t see Trumps election as a success but rather foolish.  The animated picture of Trump also provides a denotation of mockery due to the bewildered and angry facial expressions that he often displays. This is a form of entertainment to the audience as they can relate to the encoded messages prevailed. They are likely to perceive Trump in a similar way. If audiences haven’t formed an opinion of Trump, this cover is likely to guide them to construct new viewpoints that are representative of the covers political leaning.

Furthermore, the Simpsons creates this scene for comical purposes in order to entertain the audience. The noun “joke” reinforces this idea. Trump still being seen as a “joke” still hasn’t changed even ’16 years’ after the episode of the Simpsons was made. Viewers are likely to also be entertained by this and adopt an opinion that also derides Trump. Bart Simpsons reaction of ‘D’oh’ suggests he is shocked at the unexpected outcome of Trump winning the election which reflects the many experiences of dismay societies felt when hearing the same news.

Additionally, the slogan, once again used for comical purposes, of ‘American you can be my ex-wife’ implies Trump doesn’t actually care for America but sees his position as a way to exert his power and immoral attitudes into the American society. This is connoted from the signifier ‘ex-wife’. The colloquial language reinforces the comical aspect of the front cover.

Contrarily, the Daily Mail offers a politically neutral view on Trumps election.

The low angle shot connotes his power and supremacy as the new president of the United States. It shows his determination and the focus on his goals. He is, to an extent, glorified in this picture. Unlike other front covers, the Daily Mail doesn’t mock Trump.  

The lexis on this front cover has associations to earthquakes and, referring to Barthes, signifies the immense eruptions that occurred in society when he was announced president. It wasn’t just the American’s who experienced this ‘electrifying human drama’ but those ‘on both sides of the Atlantic’ once again reinforcing the immensity of this new change. The ‘Trumpquake’ has nonetheless caused chaos in society which juxtaposes his look of victory and glory that dominates the front cover.

However, the small sample of the content in the newspaper that is shown on the front cover may be slightly left-leaning. This is due to the word ‘upsets’ that describes the election. The sample also claims how his election will have ‘repercussions around the world’ which the audience would guess to be negative repercussions.

As both front covers deploy re-invented truths of Trumps election, formed by personal perceptions of producers, the front covers adhere to Barthes theory of myths which state that our readings of a text are untruthful and not representative of the true nature or qualities of the actual event. This correlates well to the idea of post-modernism that states that truth isn’t a real thing and individuals only accept versions of the truth.

To conclude, the Daily Mail fails to show any political affiliation towards Trump’s election while the Sun ridicules Trump and possibly his voters. Both incorporate viewpoints and ideologies that are reflective of their political standing.