A Comparative Study Of Multimodal Metaphors On The Construction Of Medical Staff’s Images In Chinese And American Cartoons About COVID-19

The medical staff received unprecedented attention of news media around the world for they played a vital role in the front-line battle against the coronavirus epidemic in early 2020.Among various medias,news cartoons are fruitful in metaphorical meanings and can reflect real social events by using exaggeration and other rhetorical techniques,thus becoming the main genres for shaping the image of medical staff.Based on the framework of conceptual blending theory and conceptual metaphor theory,this study chooses 148 cartoons of Chinese and American medical staff about COVID-19 from February 11,2020 to May 22,2022.The cartoons are selected from Chinese News Cartoon Network,USA Today and American Political Cartoon Network.With the help of qualitative research tool Nvivo12,this study identifies the multimodal metaphor types in cartoons,and explores the integration of various elements in cartoons as well as the construction of multimodal metaphorical meaning,so as to make a comparative analysis of the medical staff’s images portrayed in the epidemic cartoons between the two countries,and reveal the reasons for their differences.After detailed analysis,the following three findings emerge from this study: Firstly,twelve types of multimodal metaphors are identified in both Chinese and American cartoons.But only nine of them can be identified both in Chinese and American cartoons which are game and competition metaphor,war metaphor,supernatural biology metaphor,journey metaphor and social occupation metaphor under structural metaphors category,and entity metaphor as well as container metaphor under ontological metaphor category and up metaphor under orientational metaphor category.Organism metaphor and historical figure metaphor are metaphor types unique to Chinese cartoons,while stage metaphor and downward metaphor are only found in American cartoons.Second,the distribution of themes between Chinese and the American cartoons appear to be quite different owing to the differences in physical context,cultural backgrounds and ideologies.Chinese cartoons focus on expressing the solidarity and cooperation of Chinese people in fighting the epidemic,so the images of medical staff in Chinese cartoons are positive.Besides,the collective image and individual image of medical staff are the focus of Chinese cartoons.Nevertheless,American cartoons tend to show the contempt of the American public for the coronavirus epidemic and the selfishness and inaction of the American government.Moreover,influenced by American values of individualism,nearly three quarters of American cartoons emphasize the individual images of medical staff.In addition,metaphorical differences are influenced by different physical environments,cultural values and ideologies.Due to different physical environment,China was a country with agricultural civilization in ancient times.Influenced by traditional culture,some metaphors used in Chinese cartoons are terrestrial landscapes;Influenced by traditional marine civilization,metaphors in American cartoons are mostly related to the ocean.From the perspective of cultural values,China advocates collectivism,so it tends to emphasize collective fighting,while the United States advocates individualism,so it puts more emphasis on individual fighting against the virus.From an ideological point of view,the Chinese government values the interests of the people,while the American regime values political interests.It is hoped that this study can enrich the study of multimodal metaphors and improves the public’s understanding of medical staff by the comparative analysis of the multimodal metaphors of the epidemic cartoons in China and America.It is conducive to enhancing national cohesion and enhancing the public’s confidence in defeating the epidemic.