Shaping Minds: A Critical Discourse Analysis of George W. Bush’s Use of Imagery in His Speeches Leading to the Iraq War

Abstract

This study investigates how the use of imagery in President George W. Bush’s speeches from the aftermath of 9/11 to the onset of the Iraq War had an impact on the public’s emotions and opinion, eventually leading them to support the military intervention. It argues that employing imagery in political discourse can create mental images in the mind of the audience which can stir their emotions and impair their critical thinking, and thus make them susceptible to manipulation. Through van Dijk’s framework of CDA and Le Bon’s theory of the crowd, the study identifies instances of imagery in six speeches by Bush and analyzes the mental images they evoke to assess the emotive effect on the audience. The research also uses secondary source polls to measure the public perception of the Iraq War. The findings reveal that Bush strategically employed imagery to revive past fears and traumas, reinforce preexisting ideologies, and warn of impending threats, thereby manipulating public perception to justify the war. Finally, the study discusses the ethical implications of using imagery in political discourse to manipulate people.