Emojis: Baroque aesthetics, neoliberal ideology: a critical discourse analysis of the performance of emojis in online interactions

<p dir="ltr">This thesis looks at emojis as performative objects within the frame of ‘societies of performance.’ On the one hand, the images of emojis define standard roles in society for users. On the other hand, when used, emojis add quick expressive and emotional dimensions to digital conversations and aid individuals in their online role-playing. The performance of emojis, therefore, can be discussed in two respects which are addressed here as ‘image site’ and ‘usage site.’ I argue that the performance of emojis, on both sites, has two interrelated themes: it is aesthetically Baroque, and ideologically neoliberal. Aesthetically, emojis manifest a Baroque spirit with their intricacies, dramatic gestures, and visual excessiveness. Ideologically, emojis represent neoliberal subject positions in their images and align with capitalist temporality in their usage. Utilizing critical discourse analysis, I investigate the performance of emojis on both sites. Firstly, it will be shown that emojis construct a Baroque microcosm of diverse identities in their ‘image site.’ Nevertheless, the representation of those identities remains constrained by the prevailing neoliberal social order. Secondly, in their ‘usage site,’ emojis function as a Baroque ornamentation for otherwise plain texts. Exploring the textual performances of the ten most-followed accounts on Instagram, the thesis shows that emojis bring forth a speedy visual element that corresponds to the capitalist model of generating content in digital communication. To situate emojis’ function within a broader context, I offer a neoliberal rationale of interactions, termed here ‘talk less, say more.’ In this view, online interactions, akin to performances, should be brief and concise, aiming to improve one’s economic status. Emojis, with their symbolic power and capacity to replace words, fit seamlessly into this approach. Their alignment with this communication style makes emojis a prime example of a neoliberal interaction method that prioritizes the outcome over the process in everyday communication.</p>