macrocycliche

Macrocycliche is a neologism used in discourse studies to describe an overarching cliché that recurs across large-scale discourses such as politics, media, and advertising, shaping how complex issues are framed and understood.

Etymology: the term combines macro- (large-scale) with cliché. It originates in online and scholarly discussions in the 2010s and remains informal rather than universally standardized.

Characteristics: macrocyclic in scope, it operates across multiple platforms and genres, serving as a simplification device that is propagated by institutions, media organizations, and political groups. It tends to resist direct refutation by remaining implicit in framing, and it often masks underlying complexity when applied to diverse situations. Analysts typically identify macrocyclichés by comparing repeated phrases or motifs across speeches, articles, and campaigns.

Applications and examples: a recurring slogan like “we must do more for the middle class” appearing in speeches, op-eds, and policy documents can function as a macrocycliche by framing economic debate around a single demographic category. Another example is a framing that “globalization is a threat” used across outlets to consolidate support for a particular policy stance.

Relation to other concepts: macrocycliche is related to cliché, framing, and discourse analysis. It is distinguished from micro-level clichés by its cross-domain recurrence and large-scale cultural reach.

Criticism: the concept can be vague and context-dependent; identifying a macrocycliche may rely on interpretive methods in discourse analysis, and its utility depends on the analyst’s theoretical framework.

See also: cliché; framing; discourse analysis; political rhetoric; political communication. Notes: macrocycliche is a relatively new, informal term with limited formal literature, used primarily in descriptive discussions of discourse patterns.