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Part of
The Language of Crisis: Metaphors, frames and discourses
Edited by Mimi Huang and Lise-Lotte Holmgreen
[Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture 87] 2020
► pp. 169–196

Chapter 6
Metaphors for protest

The persuasive power of cross-domain mappings on demonstration posters against Stuttgart 21

Heated debates can inspire people to make use of creative linguistic means such as metaphor to express their point of view. In this chapter, I investigate the emotional appeal and persuasive power of metaphors on demonstration posters used by opponents of the railway modernization project Stuttgart 21 in Germany. In this context, metaphors are used both to construct and fuel the crisis. Protesters often draw on quite drastic conceptual mappings to aggravate existing tensions, demonize their ‘enemies,’ and express strong negative emotions like anger or fear. An examination of resistant discourses cannot only shed light on people’s attitudes towards elites, but also enhance our understanding of political protest in general.

Keywords: Stuttgart 21, protest discourse, conceptual metaphor, Critical Discourse Studies, Critical Metaphor Theory, emotion, persuasion
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Contextual background
    • 1.2Research questions
  • 2.Conceptual metaphor theory: Three adjustments
    • 2.1Terminological clarity
    • 2.2Labeling conceptual mappings
    • 2.3Context-dependent and discourse-pragmatic functions: Metaphor in cognitive linguistic approaches within critical discourse studies
  • 3.Data and methodology
  • 4.The language of protest exemplified by Stuttgart 21 demonstration posters
    • 4.1The role of resistant discourses in formulating (counter-)ideologies
    • 4.2Constructing a political crisis: The target concept democracy
    • 4.3The political myth of corruptive politicians: Crime and immoral behavior
    • 4.4Expression of emotional attitude through violent metaphors
      • 4.4.1 destruction, war and terror as source concepts
      • 4.4.2Religious source domains: hell and devil
      • 4.4.3Mental illness domains: delusion and insanity
      • 4.4.4 darkness, doom and death as source domains
    • 4.5Demonization and personification through metaphor
  • 5.Concluding remarks
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 16 July 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.87.06kot
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