UC Santa Barbara

When we see flags in use we subconsciously assign meanings to the flag based upon the context in which it is used. For example, the use of a Scottish flag over a government building conveys a message of officialdom, the same flag used by a member of the independence movement sends a political message, and when waved by a fan at a football match it represents support for the national team. One particularly interesting trend is when old flags are given new meanings. There are numerous examples, including the Confederate Battle Flag in the U.S., the Gadsden Flag used by the American “Tea Party” movement, the Imperial Ethiopian flag as used by Rastafarians, the Eureka flag of Australia, and various flags used in the Ukraine conflict, where flags have been “recycled” by groups who not only appropriate the symbols as their own, but also assign additional meanings to the symbols. In some cases, the meanings as intended by the users of the flag vary from the meanings as interpreted by observers of the flag. In this paper, we will present multiple examples of flag reuse, considering the original meaning of the flag and the new meanings that have been assigned to it, and discuss what lessons these old flags with new meanings can teach us about the role of flags as a form of communication.