Metaphor and ideology in film

Metaphor is not just a mere decorative device, but must be regarded as a central process in language and cognition. This dissertation explores the possibility to employ Max Black's interactional theory of metaphor and cognitive metaphor theory to study metaphor in film language. This point of view has not yet been considered within film studies, yet it is indispensable for the analysis of complex metaphorical structures in film texts, and it may also provide a precise framework for the understanding of associative film language. First of all, the description of the metaphorical process proposed by interaction and cognitive metaphor theories is discussed and applied to the analysis of film texts. A special attention is given to how ideology is involved in the construction and reception of conventional and non-conventional metaphors. In the last part of the dissertation, Neil Blomkamp's District 9 and Roland Emmerich’s 2012 are analysed in detail, with a particular focus on the interaction of structuring, personification and displacement metaphors in the determination of the ideological discourses of the films.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

m_ph

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

m_ph

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Birmingham

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Comanducci, Carlo

• PN0080 Criticism
• P Philology. Linguistics
• PN1993 Motion Pictures