Abstract

What is it about Lagos, Nigeria, today that fascinates the Western imagination? Why are journalists today calling attention to this Nigerian city?  What can the case of Lagos teach us about important international issues?  How can communication and media research help us to understand the current, bold public discourse about Lagos?       The present essay argues and supports the view that Western public discourse frames Lagos as an exemplar of the “new globalization.”  However, traditional framing analysis is not adequate in the case of the discourse and, especially, the images of the “new globalization.”  New analytical tools are required to address the mythic qualities of the new globalization, as well as the mythologizing of Lagos. The present study, therefore, seeks to illuminate Lagos through an application of framing analysis, combined with an analysis of visual rhetoric.  In addition, the study calls attention to what Brittany Stuckey (2015) calls ”mythos,”  a way of conceptualizing the master narratives of the new globalization.

Key Words:   Lagos, globalization, Mythos, visual rhetoric, National Geographic

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*Brittany Stuckey is an alumna of Humboldt State University, 1 Harpst Street, Arcata, U.S.A. and a former research fellow, and teaching assistant in the Department of Communication. Her research delves into rhetoric and public discourse, mythos, visual rhetoric and new media.

**Sunny Short-Miller is an alumna of Humboldt State University, 1 Harpst Street, Arcata, U.S.A., currently pursuing further studies in education and pedagogy. Her research interests are in rhetoric, globalization, and new media.

***Elizabeth Phillips is a senior member of the Debate Team at Humboldt State University, 1 Harpst Street, Arcata, U.S.A. Her research interests are in political rhetoric, economic discourse, and new media.

****Michael S. Bruner, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Communication at Humboldt State University, 1 Harpst Street, Arcata, U.S.A..  His research interests are in contemporary

^JCMRJournal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 8, No. 2, October 2016, 15 – 33