Fantasy theme divergence during covid-19 a fantasy theme analysis

Abstract

In an era of selective attention, media fragmentation, political polarization, and social media trolls, the communication landscape has never been more fraught with the potential for carefully crafted messages to take on different meanings as they chain out through a rhetorical community. This study uses Symbolic Convergence Theory and Fantasy Theme Analysis to identify the fantasy themes that appear in the official messaging, media coverage and public comment related to returning to school during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis follows messages as they chain from official sources, through media to social media and identifies particular fantasy themes that contribute to simultaneous opposing rhetorical visions.