ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we offer a new search model for analysis of multimodal rhetoric. The model and its application are necessarily complicated. Given the variety of message platforms, message structures, available media, media affordances, authors, and audiences engendered by digital media used rhetorically, a complex model is essential for systematic and insightful analyses.
The terms “curation” and “multimodal” are treated at length given their complexity and centrality to any critical project. The search model is drawn from the original work of Fairclough. The model is systematically deconstructed, explained, and illustrated prior to application to the sample model critical analyses.
Given the use of social media by corporations, governments, and social influencers, we provide two example analyses. The first examines Rihanna’s complicated social media presence to show you how critical curation is done. Then you’ll see how a large organization, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), uses Instagram rhetorically.
