Article - The power of words - Words, a powerful political and social weapon ?

« Words, a powerful political and social weapon? December 6 th, 2021 The language, is stronger than a sword assented with violence. Everyone should know this.

“One word and everything is saved, one word and everything is lost” (André Breton).

Words therefore have this healing power as well as this destructive power.

They can also be a formidable means of manipulation and control over people. Language, a social weapon Speech is the basic element of human relations, it is the most essential means of communication. First of all, in our world, our use of language acts as a social marker.

It determines our culture, our education, our social and professional class. The inability to master words deprives us of access to a certain knowledge and prevents us from integrating well into society.

For example, during job interviews someone who doesn’t speak well will lose any credibility and another will be chosen for this job. On the other hand, it’s the language that allows us mainly to communicate, even if art for example is another good means of communication.

In our society, people don’t listen to one another and don’t always understand each other despite the fact that they speak the same language.

Indeed, some people who are able to master this language don’t hesitate to monopolize speech and deprive some people of their freedom of expression. Can words make you act? So that brings us to our second point.

The importance of words for action and reaction. Take for example the famous poet and writer Maya Angelou.

This African American woman experienced racial segregation as a child.

In her books and poems, she tells the injustices she has experienced and her fight against discrimination. Activist and militant, she is a very important figure for the fight for civil rights.

Some of her writings, such as her poem “Amazing Peace” (2005), have particularly marked the world.

So, they transformed the world and pushed people to act for civil rights.

She used words as a powerful weapon. Another artist, Barbara Kruger, also used this power of language to convey strong messages.

Through photos on which she adds a slogan that can be interpreted in multiple ways, she denounces our society and conveys different political and social messages such as her fight for feminism.

Her works are very conceptual and have many layers of. »