Yvonne Nelson and the heroic myth of Yaa Asantewaa: a discourse-mythological case study of a Ghanaian celebrity

Nartey, Mark

Abstract

This article details a study of mythological storytelling in the Ghanaian media. It analyzes a number of news articles about a Ghanaian celebrity, Yvonne Nelson, in the wake of leading a protest to pressure the government to find a lasting solution to a two-year energy crisis in Ghana. Drawing on discourse-mythological analysis, the paper explores the discursive construction of hero mythology in the representation of Yvonne Nelson. The analysis reveals that Yvonne Nelson’s association with Yaa Asantewaa, a legendary Ashanti queen mother who led the Ashanti War of the Golden Stool against British colonialism in 1900, casts her in a “rebellious” role that reflects archetypal traits of mythological heroism. Consequently, she is depicted as a valiant warrior queen, a straight-talking woman of the people and the voice of the voiceless. This study contributes to the linguistic analysis of myths, moral stories and narratives in the media and illustrates how daily news content can be used to tell eternal stories.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 17, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Apr 5, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021
• Deposit Date: Jan 8, 2022
• Journal: Critical Studies in Media Communication
• Print ISSN: 1529-5036
• Electronic ISSN: 1479-5809
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 38
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 255-268
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15295036.2021.1907429
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/8539133