'Your Pain is Better than Mine': Politicization of Music in Poland. A Textual Analysis of Music Use during the 2020 Presidential Elections

Abstract

Describing the ever-changing political climate in Poland as eventful, could be easily perceived as an understatement – especially in the past 40 years. From the introduction of the Martial Law in 1981 to nowadays’ democratic backsliding, it is hard to point out and isolate a single year that has not brought a major political turn. In this thesis, I conceptualize the state of politics in Poland, and at the same time study what role music plays in this. By focusing on phenomena such as the process of music politicization and the deepening “Us versus Them” polarization; I investigate how music becomes ideological in the political discourse, and how it contributes to the building of new social identities. To unfold these events, I have performed a close, textual analysis of campaign speeches presented during the 2020 presidential elections. Furthermore, I have analyzed music-centered TV shows such as the New Year’s Eve concerts and the Opole and Sopot Festivals. In the end and seeing as there is a research gap within media and political studies on polarization and music’s influence on said process. The main findings in this study are used to explain how music not only authenticates and emotionalizes political speeches, but also how it contributes to the process of political polarization.