Roda viva: o interacionismo simbólico na performance de Bolsonaro

Abstract

This article reflects on the relevance of Symbolic Interactionism theory, which explains social behavior and its manifestation in the mind, the self, and society through personal and interpersonal interactions. It analyzes the social construction of communicative acts and their symbolic meanings based on the discursive performance of the former presidential candidate Jair Messias Bolsonaro during the 2018 Brazilian election. The research is grounded in Herbert Blumer’s (1937) concept of Symbolic Interactionism and in Michel Foucault’s contributions to discourse analysis, using a qualitative and discursive approach applied to the interview broadcast by Roda Viva on July 30, 2018. The study also draws on Manzano and Araújo (2019), who examined cynicism as a rhetorical strategy, and on Antunes (2022), whose dissertation analyzed the same empirical case. The findings reveal that Bolsonaro’s performance displayed discursive and visual elements strategically designed to construct an image of authenticity and confrontation. It concludes that Roda Viva serves as a symbolic arena of interaction among media, politics, and society, where media communication acts as a mediator of meanings and a shaper of political and social perceptions.