Villainification, Heroification, and Political Polarization: Implications for Thinking Politically About U.S. Politics (Poster 1)

• In Event: Teaching Villainification in Social Studies: Pedagogies to Deepen Understanding of Social Evils

Abstract

The idea that someone as evil as Trump or Biden (depending on which side of the political divide one sits) could do something good is unfathomable to many, an attitude that impedes the democratic process. When politicians see figures like Jones and McConnell lambasted for supporting villainized opponents, it makes them more hesitant to engage in bipartisan efforts. Similarly, when politicians are heroized, it becomes challenging for those with the same affiliation to speak out when aspects of democracy are attacked, as we have seen with the large percentage of Republican politicians who have reportedly admonished Trump in private but refuse to do so in public (Leibovich, 2022b).

Exposing students to the tenets of villainification and heroification, then, can help students differentiate democratic reality from the sanitized version that is espoused in their textbooks and curriculum standards. Teachers can also use villainification and heroification to encourage students to be retrospective about how they think about political figures. Students are political beings who consume and disseminate political information; having them analyze their own practices in light of newfound understandings can help them become more critical consumers of the content they are exposed to on social media and other outlets (Journell & Clark, 2019).

Ultimately, lionizing and vilifying those elected to represent our interests is harmful; it leads to the type of authoritarian or belligerent patriotism that detracts from the ideals on which our democracy was founded (Ben Porath, 2006; Westheimer, 2007). Yet, as the line between politics and celebrity continues to blur, political villainification and heroification only become more prevalent. Educators have a responsibility, then, to make students aware of how these processes manifest themselves, as well as the dangers associated with blindly accepting simplistic political narratives because they align with one’s political beliefs.

Author

• Wayne Journell, University of North Carolina - Greensboro