Twitter-Based Multimodal Metaphorical Memes (original) (raw)
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TWITTER-BASED MULTIMODAL METAPHORICAL MEMES PORTRAYING DONALD TRUMP
TWITTER-BASED MULTIMODAL METAPHORICAL MEMES PORTRAYING DONALD TRUMP , 2019
The present study focuses on multimodal conceptual metaphors with the TRUMP-PRESIDENT target domain in Twitter-based political memes. The source and target domains of such metaphorical memes are cued (exclusively or partially) in visual and verbal semiotic modes where verbal texts anchor the images guiding their interpretation. Expressing a strong critical stance, the analysed memes are designed to elicit negative inferences and emotional attitudes.
Multimodal figuration in internet memes
Metaphorik.de, 2023
Internet memes have become an essential part of Internet-based communication in recent years. Considering the importance of figuration of language, instances of figuration in Internet memes are no surprise. Understanding how multimodal figuration in memes function is essential to comprehend memes in general. Thus, in this paper, I will look at the role that figurative language plays in memes and how it functions. To do so, I will begin with Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) before shifting to multimodal cases of metaphor. I will also examine the case of multimodal metonymy and multimodal simile to determine how each figure functions in Internet memes, highlighting the importance of figurative combinations. Early results showed that figuration in memes is often combined (e.g., simile and metaphor), leading to categorization issues when studying figuration and multimodal figuration in Internet memes.
This study proposes a multimodal fusion model to account for the cognitive mechanisms involving 56 political cartoons (multimodal corpus) with regard to U.S. beef import issues as reported in two dominant Taiwanese newspapers, the Liberty Times and United Daily News. Specifically, this study claims that multimodal fusion model evolves from two metonymic-metaphoric networks, i.e., related metonymic network and diversified metaphoric network, and combines the conceptual, visual, and verbal modes. Our analysis demonstrates that multimodal fusion is a significant and recurrent representation technique in the genre of political cartoon and has the cognitive function of encapsulating the abstract complex political debates efficiently with irony and humorous effect. Furthermore, our analysis shows the important role of metonymy and demonstrates how metonymies and metaphors are interwoven in the process of multimodal fusion, which underlies the metaphorical mappings of conceptual scenarios related to "POLITICS IS GAME" and "POLITICS IS WAR." Finally, this study shows that although the critical messages and distinct stances of political cartoons in two newspapers both emerge through multimodal fusion, they are highlighted and contrasted through prominent visual features and verbal context shown in the cartoons.
Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 2022
Over the past few decades, the development of Conceptual Metaphor Theory and the distinction between monomodal and multimodal discourse have inspired academics to reinvestigate pictorial and multimodal metaphors. This paper identifies and analyzes pictorial and multimodal metaphors used in the editorial cartoons created by the Saudi cartoonist Abdullah Jaber to depict the impact of smartphones and social media platforms on the life of Saudis from 2011 until 2020. All editorial cartoons analyzed in this study were taken from the cartoonist’s accounts on Twitter and Instagram @jabertoon. The analysis shows the prevalence of multimodal verbo-pictorial metaphors over monomodal pictorial ones, which makes it easier for viewers to construe the cartoonist’s intended messages. Jaber’s work is not meant to entertain or amuse his readers; his cartoons are not supposed to be conveyed as comical works of art. Rather, he utilizes his cartoons to communicate messages and reflect values that users of social media platforms might overlook. His main interest is to highlight the potential consequences that can rise due to social media platforms. Besides, the analysis reveals the negative impact of smartphones and social media platforms on Saudi users, which is consistent with research findings.
Visual metaphoric conceptualization in political cartoons
Typical of metaphors in editorial cartoons is that they not only require somehow the mapping of features from one object or domain to another, as all metaphors do, but their interpretation also includes a critical stance towards a particular socio-political situation, event or person. We will argue that the "full" interpretation of editorial cartoon metaphors can best be accounted for on the basis of the combination of two cognitive interpretation strategies, i.e., schematic vs. taxonomic reasoning, following the two types of source domains distinguished by . In the chapter, we argue that schema-based reasoning tends to trigger the rich variety of features to be mapped from source to target domain, and that taxonomic reasoning is often the crucial trigger in interpreting the critical stance expressed in editorial cartoons.
Identifying and interpreting visual metaphor in political cartoons
In: Manuela Romano (ed.), Metaphor in Social-Political Contexts: Current Crises, 2024
Metaphors abound in political cartoons. This is unsurprising, as visual metaphors are excellent rhetorical tools to provide, in one glance, an evaluation of a newsworthy person or state of affairs in the world. Analysts of cartoons, however, are faced with the challenge of examining and categorizing any visual metaphors in a systematic and replicable manner. In this chapter I revisit my own earlier, co-authored work on metaphor in political cartoons (Bounegru and Forceville 2011; Forceville and Van de Laar 2019; Zhang and Forceville 2020), rooted in Black (1962, 1979), to zoom in on possible criteria for identifying and interpreting metaphors in them. The chapter, which includes a critical discussion of the visual metaphor identification procedure (VISMIP) proposed by Šorm and Steen (2013, 2018), ends by giving some practical advice to aspiring analysts of corpora of discourses featuring visual metaphors.
2021
This paper aims at studying the employment of multimodal means of communication in the political sphere with restriction to cartoon images that discuss agents, ideologies and concepts and how they are construed in America's 2020 presidential election to ensure feasibility. The paper moves from discussing multimodality and its place in politics to discussing cartoon as a genre of multimodal discourse used for political purpose then to analysing selected cartoons. The paper attempts a reconciliation of Cooperative Principles Theory and Relevance Theory. It also introduces a concept termed emotive signifiers employed for cartoon analysis. Several concepts and theories across pragmatics and multimodal analysis are employed in the study to explore the meanings in the selected political cartoons.
Linguistic Research, 2018
This paper aims to explore multimodality within a framework of cognitive semantics by conducting a case study of political cartoons with special focus on the optimal manifestations of conceptual metaphors (Lakoff and Johnson 1999) and blends (Fauconnier 1997) in them. It looks into the cartoons which have been published from January to August in 2017 to illustrate escalating tensions over the issue of developing nuclear weapons in North Korea between North Korea and the United States after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. Total 26 relevant cartoons were collected from multiple public webpages, which use the original hairstyles of the political figures to satirize their political actions or to show conflicts and their unpleasant emotions. This study provides a qualitative analysis of five selected cartoons that represent the sub-types to clarify how hair constitutes the overall construal of the cartoon within a framework of cognitive semantics. It supports the claim that cognitive mechanisms such as conceptual metaphor and blending are not confined to verbal artefacts, but they are pervasive in multimodal manifestations since multimodal data as well as linguistic data are outcomes of human cognition (Dancygier and Vandelanotte 2017).
Multimodal Analysis of Politically-Motivated Images on Social Media
Multimodal Analysis of Politically-Motivated Images on Social Media, 2017
This work investigates how politically-motivated images on Facebook reflect the social realities of Nigerians using Kress and van Leeuwen's (2006) Social Semiotic Approach. The findings of the study reveal that through politically-motivated images on Facebook, people express hope in the ability of Nigerian political leaders to impact positively and they show frustration when the desired change they expect is not realised. Images also serve as a tool to sensitise the people and rebuild the consciousness of the Nigerian Facebook users. The study concludes that politically motivated images used on Facebook are products of social thinking of the people and a reflection of people’s attitude to the political situation of the country. Images are used to express opinion on the state of the nation and affect the perception of readers about the country.
MENTAL SPACES AS A WAY OF MEMES’ IMPLEMENTATION IN POLITICAL DISCOURSE
ВЧЕНІ ЗАПИСКИ ТАВРІЙСЬКОГО НАЦІОНАЛЬНОГО УНІВЕРСИТЕТУ ІМЕНІ В. І. ВЕРНАДСЬКОГО, 2020
The article is devoted to the mental spaces as a way of memes’ implementation in political discourse. It highlights the specificity of analyzing mental spaces as well as the contextual component they represent in the process of verbalizing Internet-memes in political discourse. The article is aimed at distinguishing main principles of forming mental spaces in memes with contextual component in political discourse basing on the presidential elections in the United States of America 2020. The urgency of the article is formed due to the challenges which may arise in the process of interpreting Internet-memes which are involved into verbalization of political discourse. The author points out the core aspects of mental spaces, Internet-memes and political discourse including detailed analyzes of the latest researches in the mentioned fields. To achieve the aim of the article there have been distinguished the correlations between mental spaces and political discourse, the peculiarities of contextual component of the Internet-memes and direct interactions between mental spaces as well as Internet-memes. The author highlights six types of mental spaces. The article presents a number of practical examples of Internet-memes with contextual component which illustrates the presidential elections in the United States of America 2020 and is devoted to the confrontation between the representative from the Democratic Party Joe Biden and current President of the United States of America Donald Trump from the Republican Party. All the practical material has been purposefully selected from official news agencies presented in social network such as Instagram: BBC, Fox News, ABC, and CBS. Additional attention has been payed to comparison of posted in the mentioned resources Internet-memes to distinguish the difference between contextual components chosen to be presented by different news agencies. In conclusion the author has stressed on the possibility of contextual component of Internet-memes to form the mental spaces. Key words: Internet-memes, mental spaces, political discourse, presidential elections 2020, contextual component, news agencies.