What does presidential imagery have to do with geometry?

In chapter 9 of Trump and Putin in Media Mythologies, I argue that presidential authority is often represented through spatial composition: vertical and horizontal positioning, distance from crowds, symbolic placement within visual frames, velocity, and other spatial-temporal cues. These arrangements function as implicit models of political hierarchy, legitimacy, and culture-specific perceptual templates. At the same time, these spatial structures operate differently in American and Russian media cultures, producing distinct visual grammars of presidential authority.

This chapter may be useful for courses on political culture, media sociology, or visual politics.

Why compare American frontier mythology and Russian folklore?

I propose that American frontier mythology and Russian folk narrative traditions provide two different symbolic grammars for constructing media representations of political leadership. Comparing them reveals how national cultures stage authority through different narrative logics.

How do media environments reshape leadership narratives?

Television, digital media, and earlier communication infrastructures shape how political figures appear as heroes, rulers, or performers within national symbolic frameworks.