Multimodal metaphors and metonymies in Soviet  anti-alcohol posters: the role of the image of the bottle  and (de)personification / Metáforas e metonímias multimodais nos cartazes Soviéticos antialcoolismo: o papel da imagem da garrafa e a  (des)personificação

Erica Pinelli

Multimodal metaphors and metonymies in Soviet anti-alcohol posters: the role of the image of the bottle and (de)personification / Metáforas e metonímias multimodais nos cartazes Soviéticos antialcoolismo: o papel da imagem da garrafa e a (des)personificação

Erica Pinelli

Abstract

Abstract: In the last decades there has been a proliferation of studies investigating metaphors and metonymies, as they are defined in the Conceptual Metaphor Theory. Recently, increasing attention has been paid to multimodal metaphors and metonymies and to their persuasive role in both commercial and social advertisements. In this paper we analyze Soviet anti-alcohol posters published during the Gorbačëv’s anti-alcohol campaign (1985-1988), and we investigate the role of a central pictorial element, i.e. the bottle, that metonymically gives access to the concepts of alcohol or alcoholism. In anti-alcohol posters of the ‘80s, the bottle’s metonymic image often interacts with other metaphorical processes. In particular, we focus on the interactions between the metonymies triggered by both pictorial and verbal use of the bottle (bottle metonymies) and the process of (de)personification undergone in these specific contexts. In some posters, the bottle is personified to convey the message that alcohol can damage people’s private lives by substituting for their loved ones and taking their rightful place. In some other posters, a human alcoholic is represented as a bottle, showing that alcoholism makes people lose their human features. The interactions between the metonymic image of the bottle and (de)personification processes play a central role in Soviet anti-alcohol posters and aim to demonstrate the destructive effects of alcohol abuse on drinkers’ private and social life.

Keywords: Soviet anti-alcohol posters; metaphor; metonymy; multimodality; Russian.

Resumo: Nas últimas décadas, houve uma proliferação de estudos relativos à metáfora e à metonímia, segundo a definição da Teoria da Metáfora Conceitual. Recentemente, uma crescente atenção tem vindo a ser dedicada às metáforas e metonímias multimodais e ao papel persuasivo que desempenham na publicidade comercial e social. Neste trabalho, analisamos os cartazes soviéticos antialcoolismo publicados durante a campanha de propaganda de Gorbačëv contra o consumo de bebidas alcoólicas (1985-1988). De modo particular, interessa-nos o papel central de um elemento pictórico, a garrafa, metonímia que se traduz como os conceitos de alcool ou alcoolismo. Nos cartazes anti-alcoolismo dos anos oitenta, a imagem metonímica da garrafa entra frequentemente em interação com outros processos metafóricos. Nosso estudo vai precisamente focalizar a interação entre as metonimias desencadeadas por meio do uso pictório e/ou verbal da garrafa e o processo de (des)personalização ocorrido nesses contextos específicos. Alguns cartazes apresentam a garrafa como personificação para transmitir a mensagem de que o alcool é prejudicial para a vida privada dos indivíduos, pois pode manifestar-se enquanto um substituto dos entes queridos e levar às ações que independem da vontade do sujeito. Outros cartazes mostram a pessoa alcoolizada representada enquanto uma garrafa, para demonstrar que o alcoolismo destrói características humanas. A interação entre a imagem metonímica da garrafa e os processos de (des)personificação desempenha um papel primordial nos cartazes antialcoolismo soviéticos e visa representar os efeitos negativos do abuso de álcool na vida privada e social dos indivíduos.

Palavras-chave: cartazes antialcoolismo soviéticos; metáfora; metonímia; multimodalidade; russo.

Keywords

Soviet anti-alcohol posters; metaphor; metonymy; multimodality; Russian; cartazes antialcoolismo soviéticos; metáfora; metonímia; multimodalidade; russo.

Full Text:

PDF

References

BAGDASARJAN, V. Ė. Trezvost’ – norma perestrojki. In: AKSENOV, V. B. (ed.), Veselie Rusi. XX vek. Gradus novejšej rossijskoj istorii: ot “p’janogo budžeta” do “suchogo zakona”. Moscow: Probel-2000, 2004. p. 310-352.

BARCELONA, A. Metaphor and Metonymy at the Crossroads: A Cognitive Perspective. Berlin; New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 2003. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110894677

BARCELONA, A. Motivation of Construction Meaning and Form: The Role of Metonymy and Inference. In: PANTHER, K.; THORNBURG, L.; BARCELONA, A. (ed.). Metonymy and Metaphor in Grammar. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2009. p. 363-399. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/hcp.25.22bar

BHATTACHARYA, J.; GATHMANN, C.; MILLER, G. The Gorbachev Anti-Alcohol Campaign and Russia’s Mortality Crisis. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, Pittsburgh, PA, v. 5, n. 2, p. 232-260, 2013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1257/app.5.2.232

BOLOGNESI, M. Il linguaggio figurato nella comunicazione multimodale. Il genere pubblicitario e la campagna sociale. RICOGNIZIONI, Torino, v. 6, p. 11-28, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.13135/2384-8987/3510

BOLOGNESI, M.; VERNILLO, P. How Abstract Concepts Emerge from Metaphorical Images: The Metonymic Way. Language and Communication, [S.l.], v. 69, p. 26-41, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langcom.2019.05.003

BONNELL, V. E. Iconography of Power: Soviet Political Posters under Lenin and Stalin. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.

BUVINA, E. Il fascino e la maledizione dell’alcol nella stampa popolare russa. Quaderni di Palazzo Serra, Genova, v. 25, p. 59-98, 2014.

BUVINA, E.; CURLETTO, M. A. Il lubok. Un’enciclopedia illustrata della vita popolare russa. Bologna: Emil, 2015.

DENROCHE, C. Metonymy and Language. A New Theory of Linguistic Processes. New York; London: Routledge, 2014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315749396

DIRVEN, R.; PÖRINGS, R. Metaphor and Metonymy in Comparison and Contrast. Berlin; New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 2002. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110219197

FORCEVILLE, C. J. Pictorial Metaphor in Advertising. London; New York: Routledge, 1996. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203272305

FORCEVILLE, C. J. Multimodal Metaphor in Ten Dutch TV Commercials. The Public Journal of Semiotics, Lund, Sweden, v. I, n. 1, 2007, p. 15-34. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37693/pjos.2007.1.8812

FORCEVILLE, C. J. Non-Verbal and Multimodal Metaphor in a Cognitivist Framework: Agendas for Research. In: FORCEVILLE, C. J.; URIOS-APARISI, E.(ed.). Multimodal Metaphor. Berlin; New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 2009. p. 19-42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110215366

FORCEVILLE, C. J. Metaphors in Pictures and Multimodal Representations. In: GIBBS, R. W. JR. (ed.). The Cambridge Handbook of Metaphor and Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. p. 462-482. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511816802.028

FORCEVILLE, C. J.; URIOS-APARISI, E. (ed.). Multimodal Metaphor. Berlin; New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 2009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110215366

GIBBS, R. The Poetics of Mind: Figurative Thought, Language, and Understanding. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994.

GOOSSENS, L. Metaphtonymy: The Interaction of Metaphor and Metonymy in Expressions for Linguistic Action. Cognitive Linguistics, [S.l.], v. 1, p. 323-340, 1990. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/cogl.1990.1.3.323

HERRERO RUIZ, J. The Role of Metaphor, Metonymy, and Conceptual Blending in Understanding Advertisements: The Case of Drug-prevention Ads. Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses, Alicante, v. 19, p. 169-190, 2006. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14198/raei.2006.19.10

IGOŠINA, T. S. Grafičeskij dizajn otečestvennogo social’nogo plakata (istorija i sovremennye tendencii). Moskva: Avtoreferat, 2009.

LAKOFF, G.; JOHNSON, M. Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980.

LAKOFF, G.; TURNER, M. More than Cool Reason. A Field Guide to Poetic Metaphor. Chicago; London: The University of Chicago Press, 1989. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226470986.001.0001

LANGACKER, R. W. Reference-Point Construction. Cognitive Linguistics, [S.l.], v. 4, p. 1-38, 1993. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/cogl.1993.4.1.1

LITTLEMORE, J. Metonymy. Hidden Shortcuts in Language, Thought and Communication. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107338814

MCQUARRIE, E. F.; PHILLIPS, B. J. Indirect Persuasion in Advertising: How Consumers Process Metaphors Presented in Pictures and Words. Journal of Advertising, [S.l.], v. 34, n. 2, p. 7-20, 2005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2005.10639188

MURRAY, D.; SORRELL, S. Alcohol. Alkogol’. London: FUEL Publishing, 2017.

NACISCIONE, A. Stylistic Use of Phraseological Units in Discourse. Amsterdam; Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/z.159

NEGRO ALOUSQUE, I. Verbo-Pictorial Metaphor in French Advertising. French Language Studies, Cambridge, v. 24, p. 155-180, 2014. DOI: 10.1017/S0959269513000045

NEGRO ALOUSQUE, I.; CORTÉS DE LOS RÍOS, M. E. Meaning Construction in Print Beer Ads. Miscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies, Zaragoza, v. 57, p. 101-119, 2018.

PANTHER, K. U.; THORNBURG, L. A Cognitive Approach to Inferencing in Conversation. Journal of Pragmatics, [S.l.], v. 30, p. 755-769, 1998. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-2166(98)00028-9

PÉREZ SOBRINO, P. Shockvertising: Patterns of Conceptual Interaction Constraining Advertising Creativity. Círculo de Lingüística Aplicada a la Comunicación, Madrid, v. 65, p. 257-290, 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_CLAC.2016.v65.51988

PÉREZ SOBRINO, P. Multimodal Metaphor and Metonymy in Advertising. Amsterdam; Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/ftl.2

PINELLI, E. Metaphors and Metonymies in Soviet Anti-Alcohol Posters: A Multimodal Analysis. In: THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE RESEARCHING METAPHORS: COGNITIVE AND OTHER, 13th., 2019, Genoa. Genoa: University of Genoa, 2019. Unpublished paper presented.

PINELLI, E. Multimodal Metaphors and Metonymies in Soviet Anti-Alcohol Posters. THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF FIGURATIVE THOUGHT AND LANGUAGE (FTL5), 5th., 2020, Sofia. Sofia: University of Sofia, 2020. Unpublished paper presented.

RADDEN, G. The Ubiquity of Metonymy. In: OTAL CAMPO, J.-L.; FERRANDO, I.; BELLES FORTUNO, B. (ed.). Cognitive and Discourse Approaches to Metaphor and Metonymy. Castellón de la Plana: Universitat Jaume I, 2005. p. 11-28.

RADDEN, G. How Metonymic are Metaphors?. In: BARCELONA, A. (ed.). Metaphor and Metonymy at the Crossroads: A Cognitive Perspective. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 2003. p. 93-108. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110894677.93

RUIZ DE MENDOZA IBÁÑEZ, F. J.; GALERA MASEGOSA, A. Cognitive Modeling. A Linguistic Perspective. Amsterdam; Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/hcp.45

SERRANO LOSADA, M. Multimodal Metaphorical and Metonymic Renderings of Pain in Advertising: A Case Study. Revista Electrónica de Lingüística Aplicada, Palma de Mallorca, v. 1, n. 14, p. 35-50, 2015.

STEEN, G. The Paradox of Metaphor: Why We Need a Three-Dimensional Model of Metaphor. Metaphor and Symbol, Washington, DC, v. 23, p. 213-241, 2008. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10926480802426753

TARSCHYS, D. The Success of a Failure: Gorbachev’s Alcohol Policy, 1985-88. Europe-Asia Studies, [S.l.], v. 45, n. 1, p. 7-25, 1993. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09668139308412074

TICHONOV, A. N. (ed.). Frazeologičeskij slovar’ sovremennogo russkogo literaturnogo jazyka. Moskva: Flinta, 2004.

TRANSCHEL, K. Alcohol and Temperance in Soviet Union and Russia since 1917. In: BLOCKER, J. S.; FAHEY, D. M.; TYRRELL, I. R. (ed.). Alcohol and Temperance in Modern History. An International Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara; Oxford: ABC-CLIO, 2003. p. 579-582.

UŠAKOV, D. N. Тolkovyj slovar’ russkogo jazyka. Moskva: Sovetskaja Ėnciklopedija, 1935-1940.

VEINBERGA, E. Multimodal Metonymic Image of the Bottle in Advertising. Language in Different Contexts. Research Papers, Vilnius, v. VI, n. 1, part 1, p. 182-190, 2014.

WHITE, S. The Bolshevik Poster. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988.

YUS, F. Visual Metaphor Versus Verbal Metaphor: A Unified Account. In: FORCEVILLE, C. J.; URIÓS-APARISI, E. (ed.). Multimodal Metaphor. Berlin; New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 2009. p. 147-172.