War metaphors in public discourse

Flusberg, Stephen J.; Matlock, Teenie; Thibodeau, Paul H.

doi:10.1080/10926488.2018.1407992

Cited by 232 publications

(180 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…The military metaphor commonly used to talk about diseases such as cancer is a very common one to be found in public discourse [1]. According to Karlberg and Buell [18] 17% of all articles in Time Magazine published between 1981 and 2000, contained at least one war metaphor.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, we present a study that elucidates what the main topics are related to the discourse around Covid-19 on Twitter and to what extent the treatment of the disease is framed figuratively. Because previous research has shown that various social and political issues addressed in public discourse are framed in terms of wars [1], we assumed that this tendency may emerge also on Twitter, in relation to the discourse around Covid-19. Although Twitter contains messages written by journalists and other experts in mass communication, most tweets are provided by non-expert communicators.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Framing COVID-19: How we conceptualize and discuss the pandemic on Twitter

2020

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Doctors and nurses in these weeks and months are busy in the trenches, fighting against a new invisible enemy: Covid-19. Cities are locked down and civilians are besieged in their own homes, to prevent the spreading of the virus. War-related terminology is commonly used to frame the discourse around epidemics and diseases. The discourse around the current epidemic makes use of war-related metaphors too, not only in public discourse and in the media, but also in the tweets written by non-experts of mass communication. We hereby present an analysis of the discourse around #Covid-19, based on a large corpus tweets posted on Twitter during March and April 2020. Using topic modelling we first analyze the topics around which the discourse can be classified. Then, we show that the WAR framing is used to talk about specific topics, such as the virus treatment, but not others, such as the effects of social distancing on the population. We then measure and compare the popularity of the WAR frame to three alternative figurative frames (MONSTER, STORM and TSU-NAMI) and a literal frame used as control (FAMILY). The results show that while the FAMILY frame covers a wider portion of the corpus, among the figurative frames WAR, a highly conventional one, is the frame used most frequently. Yet, this frame does not seem to be apt to elaborate the discourse around some aspects involved in the current situation. Therefore, we conclude, in line with previous suggestions, a plethora of framing options-or a metaphor menu-may facilitate the communication of various aspects involved in the Covid-19related discourse on the social media, and thus support civilians in the expression of their feelings, opinions and beliefs during the current pandemic.

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Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Framing COVID-19: How we conceptualize and discuss the pandemic on Twitter

2020

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“…Most people have had the experience of engaging in arguments or playing games, but few have experienced war firsthand. The prevalence and utility of war as a metaphorical source domain would therefore seem to rest on factors above and beyond the more physical aspects of embodied experience (Flusberg, Matlock, & Thibodeau, ; see also Casasanto & Gijssels, ). More generally, the initial formulation of CMT provides few details about the cognitive processes involved in metaphorical mapping (e.g., Holyoak & Stamenković, ; Lakens, ; McGlone, ; Murphy, ).…”

Section: Do Metaphors Reflect Conceptual Representations?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of metaphor in communication and thought

Thibodeau

Matlock

Flusberg

2019

Language and Linguist. Compass

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Metaphor is pervasive in everyday communication. It is known to help people understand complex topics, communicate efficiently, and influence others. In this paper, we provide a review of the literature on the utility of metaphor, describing key findings and controversies while underscoring recent experimental and theoretical advances. We begin with a brief introduction to metaphor and offer a critical assessment of the claim that conventional metaphors in language reflect underlying conceptual representations and processing, a view associated with Lakoff and Johnson's groundbreaking conceptual metaphor theory (CMT). We then discuss recent research that examines whether and how metaphor shapes attitudes and reasoning, outlining some of the cognitive, affective, and social forces that moderate the efficacy of metaphors on decision making. Throughout the paper, we highlight theoretical implications of the research and identify challenges that warrant further investigation in the study of metaphor. In the end, this work paints a complex and dynamic view of metaphor in communication and cognition.

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“…These metaphors have been documented for a variety of physical and mental health conditions (see Flusberg et al 2018, for an overview), including cancer (e.g. Semino et al 2017a).…”

Section: Fighters and Warriorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Fight Like a Girl”: Tattoos as Identity Constructions for Women Living with Illness

Koller

Bullo

2019

Multimodal Communication

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In this article, we explore the functions that tattoos worn by women with breast cancer or endometriosis have in constructing identities for the wearer and conceptualise the respective illness. Drawing on previous literature on multimodal communication, tattoos and illness, we analyse a sample of 59 different tattoos for their ideational function in constructing identities. A social semiotic analysis shows that lexemes, images, type fonts and intertextuality work together to construct dominant identities for the women wearing the tattoos: as a fighter or warrior, or as a sufferer. The first, metaphoric, identity shows hybrid gendering and constructs the illness as an adversary, while the identity as sufferer often has religious overtones, particularly for breast cancer tattoos. Subversive identities centre on despair or rationality, and as such constitute an alternative to social imperatives of either staying strong and fighting the illness or accepting one’s fate. We close by discussing in how far the tattoos do justice to the complexity of living with an illness and how our research shows the need to include visual stimuli in medical consultations.

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War metaphors in public discourse

Cited by 232 publications

References 76 publications

Framing COVID-19: How we conceptualize and discuss the pandemic on Twitter

Framing COVID-19: How we conceptualize and discuss the pandemic on Twitter

The role of metaphor in communication and thought

“Fight Like a Girl”: Tattoos as Identity Constructions for Women Living with Illness

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