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 (Carpentier, 2014; Way, 2015). This paper explores the relationship between the multimodal representation of a historical documentary, Greece, The Hidden War (Gabriel, 1986) and the reception and discussions amongst its viewers in the comments, to investigate the way in which the multimodal representation influenced the ensuing discussions. By carrying out a multimodal analysis of the documentary and a reception study of the related comments, also informed by descriptive statistics, the research investigates which aspects of the documentary the viewers draw on, which topics and discourses they bring into the discussion that develops in the comments, and how they articulate their points in response to them. The reception study outlined above is corroborated by a multimodal analysis of the social actors (van Leeuwen, 1996) mentioned by the viewers. This is based on constructs borrowed from social semiotics (e.g. Kress and van Leeuwen, 1996, 2001; van Leeuwen, 1999; Machin and Mayr, 2012) and recently applied to documentary films (Castaldi, 2021, 2024, 2025). The reception analysis highlights three levels of engagement: a micro level that pertains themes and events specifically related to the programme; a meso level that addresses the Greek Civil War in its entirety; 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 recontexualisation of the events portrayed in the documentary.