Yu Tsukada | Adrian Daup “Panic of ‘Cancel Culture’ – A Discourse Space That Creates Panic” (Part 1)
This article introduces Adrian Daup's book, “Panic of ‘Cancel Culture’,” analyzing the origins of cancel culture and its discourse within American society.Summary
This article reviews the first part of Adrian Daup’s book, “Panic of ‘Cancel Culture’ – A Discourse Space That Creates Panic” (Seidosha, 2025). The book examines the impact of media on society through discourse analysis and historical criticism related to “cancel culture.” The article analyzes how cancel culture originated in the rhetoric used by Ronald Reagan during his 1966 California gubernatorial campaign to exploit fears of liberalism. It traces the subsequent permeation of this rhetoric into the political linguistic space. The article also points out that cancel culture has spread from the United States to various parts of the world, including Europe and Turkey, taking on different forms in each region. The author emphasizes that the roots of cancel culture predate the internet and analyzes its “way of being spoken about” to reveal the structure of discourse that mobilizes division within society.
(Source：artscape)