Visual and multimodal metaphor in film: Charting the field

Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) pioneering work claimed that human beings think metaphorically, thereby initiating a remarkable revival of the scholarly interest in this queen of tropes. This interest reigned at first primarily among linguists. Since then, however, metaphor research has considerably broadened beyond the investigation of its verbal manifestations. Varieties involving visuals, specifically, are attracting much attention. This chapter sketches dimensions of metaphor pertaining to the medium of film. After a short historical positioning of cinematic metaphor within the wider field, key terms (target, source, mapping) are defined and explained. Central issues pertaining to metaphor in film (mode, creativity, embodiment, genre, diegetic versus nondiegetic source domain) are addressed, providing film scholars with tools for analysis. The discussions are enlightened by some examples