The Politics and Rhetoric of Commemoration: How the Portuguese Parliament Celebrates the 1974 Revolution

Review This book is a brilliant, cultivated and timely case study about national commemorations, political celebration and collective memory. The authors have produced an in-depth study of the annual celebration of Portugal's liberation from dictatorship, and gone beyond the polysemy, ambiguity and controversial nature of this highly particular event. Indeed, they offer an invaluable contribution to the understanding of contemporary political celebrations, political culture and nationalism at a time when democracy is under pressure.Michael Billig's and Cristina Marinho's meticulously researched and highly engaging study of the parliamentary commemorations of the Portuguese Revolution demonstrates why it is important to pay close attention to what politicians say, and, more importantly, what they do not say when they remember the national past. Behind what might, at first sight, seem like the formalities of commemorative language and practices - the modes of address, patterns of applause, symbolic gestures like the wearing of carnations, and so on - Billig and Marinho uncover the murky world of partisan politics, and use it to provide a fascinating and original insight into the art of political manipulation.This excellent book allows insight in to the intricate symbolic struggles for hegemonic identity narratives in the Portuguese society, into what is said, but more importantly, what remains unsaid and why. A must-read for scholars and students trying to understand the impact of the politics of the past on present and future social developments. Product Description In recent years there has been much interest in collective memory and commemoration. It is often assumed that when nations celebrate a historic day, they put aside the divisions of the present to recall the past in a spirit of unity. As Billig and Marinho show, this does not apply to the Portuguese parliament's annual celebration of 25 April 1974, the day when the dictatorship, established by Salazar and continued by Caetano, was finally overthrown. Most speakers at the ceremony say little about the actual events of the day itself; and in their speeches they continue with the partisan politics of the present as combatively as ever.To understand this, the authors examine in detail how the members of parliament do politics within the ceremony of remembrance; how they engage in remembering and forgetting the great day; how they use the low rhetoric of manipulation and point-scoring, as well as high-minded political rhetoric. The book stresses that the members of the audience contribute to the meaning of the ceremony by their partisan displays of approval and disapproval. Throughout, the authors demonstrate that, to uncover the deeper meanings of political rhetoric, it is necessary to take note of significant absences. The Politics and Rhetoric of Commemoration illustrates how an in-depth case-study can be invaluable for understanding wider processes. The authors are not content just to uncover unnoticed features of the Portuguese celebration. They use the particular example to provide original insights about the rhetoric of celebrating and the politics of remembering, as well as throwing new light onto the nature of party political discourse. About the Author David Machin is Professor of Media and Communication at Örebro University, Sweden.JOHN E. RICHARDSON is Lecturer in Communications and Media Studies at Loughborough University, UK.Michal Krzyzanowski is Chair in Media and Communication Studies at Örebro University, Sweden and Chair in Communication and Media at the University of Liverpool, UK.