Investigating multimodality, reception and civic participation on YouTube: a case study of the documentary ‘Greece: The Hidden War’

Social media have long provided opportunities for political and civic participation and YouTube is one of those social media platforms that has been studied and analysed in this light (see Carpentier, ‘Fuck the clowns from Grease!! in Information, Communication & Society , 2014; and Way, ‘YouTube as a site of debate through populist politics’ in Journal of Multicultural Discourses , 2015). This article explores the relationship between the multimodal representation of a historical documentary, Greece, The Hidden War (dir. Gabriel, 1986) and the reception and comments amongst its viewers in order to investigate the way in which the multimodal representation influenced the ensuing discussions. The research investigates which aspects of the documentary the viewers draw on and which topics and discourses they bring into the ensuing discussion. The reception analysis highlights three levels of engagement: a micro level that pertains to themes and events specifically related to the programme; a meso level that addresses the Greek Civil War in its entirety; and a macro level that relates to broader ideological antagonisms. The findings show how the multimodal representation influences viewers’ responses and highlight the agentive role and rhetorical strategies of the viewers in their interpretation and recontexualization of the events portrayed in the documentary.