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Tsunamis, waves, Quixotes, and KO-vid: Metaphors about the pandemic as seen in cartoons

Laura Filardo-Llamas

Abstract


Several studies have shown evidence for the significant role that metaphors play in public health communication. The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered not only the use of common communication frameworks such as war metaphors, but also the creative use of metaphors, which is particularly relevant in the case of cartoonists. This article presents a review of the different metaphors used in cartoons (both in Spanish and in English), with the aim of compiling different metaphorical uses and reflecting upon the evaluative function of metaphors and how they contribute to expressing different visions of reality. The examples collected here show not only how certain social and political actions are legitimised or discredited, but also how these uses often appeal to particular contextual knowledge.

Keywords


metaphor; COVID-19; cartoons; discourse analysis; construals

Full Text: PDF

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.11.18273

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