Foregrounding multivariate meanings in Nel Oliver’s video clip <i>Upheaval</i> : a multimodal discourse analysis advocating for the rights of unprivileged majorities

This paper analyzes the meaning-encoding power of the compound channels used by the Beninese artist singer Noël Ahounou, best known as ‘Nel Oliver’ in his video clip titled Upheaval posted on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26WnI3l8QU8. This English and Yoruba anti-apartheid afro-funk and afro-pop clip launched in 1988, is one of the songs in his album ‘Wadjo’, which overtly brought the plague of the segregationist South African regime in front of the spotlights. The multivariate channels used to convey meaning have motivated the choice of a qualitative multimodal discourse analysis. The results show that meanings are encoded in a distinctive way through each of the identified modes. While the written mode has been used to portray the disastrous aspect of the apartheid system together with a blaming and denouncing discourse (Wodak and Meyer, 2009), the color-based and iconographic data analyzed unveil the skin color and race underpinnings of the apartheid system. As a scientific achievement, this study presents a two-fold interest. First, it reveals the video clip through its multivariate encoding channels. Second, the multimodal discourse analysis applied has been well attuned to the uncovering and investigation of the various semiotic and linguistic devices whereby meaning has been painstakingly encoded.