A Multimodal Metaphor Analysis On Anti-epidemic News Cartoons

News cartoons are the results of the “marriage” between news reports and cartoons,which belong to typical multimodal discourses.News cartoons take hot social topics as material and use metaphor,exaggeration,and symbolism to mirror real social events by combining images,words,and colors,as well as other elements.In recent years,news cartoons have become hot topics for multimodal metaphor researchers at home and abroad.In the visual age,since visual language is more easily accepted and understood by cartoon viewers,cartoonists use multiple modes,such as images,colors,and words,to realize the meaning construction of multimodal metaphor in cartoons.Based on Kress & van Leeuwen’s(2006)visual grammar and the construction and classification of multimodal metaphor proposed by Feng Dezheng(2011),this thesis uses a qualitative research method to analyze the meaning construction of multimodal metaphor in 33 anti-epidemic news cartoons,revealing the social functions and values implied by multimodal metaphor in news cartoons.The thesis has the following findings: First,there are three kinds of mapping models for the multimodal metaphor in anti-epidemic news cartoons: the cross-modal mapping model,the mono-modal mapping model,and the multimodal mapping model.The thesis finds that the majority of news cartoons are mono-modal mapping models,while the number of news cartoons with multimodal mapping models is the lowest.Second,the meaning construction of multimodal metaphor in visual grammar,in terms of representational meaning,is achieved through the substitution of participants in the type of narrative representation and the symbolic attributes of the symbolic process in the type of conceptual representation.In terms of interactive meaning,there are three ways to realize the meaning construction of multimodal metaphor.Firstly,from the perspective of shot distance,there are 25 news cartoons with multimodal metaphors.Secondly,from the perspective of a vertical angle,there are 21 news cartoons presented at low angles.Finally,from the perspective of a horizontal angle,there are 25 news cartoons presented in frontal views.In terms of compositional meaning,from the perspective of information value and salience,multimodal metaphor in news cartoons is mostly presented in central-marginal forms.In terms of framing,multimodal metaphor is mostly color-based,representing the connection or separation from news cartoons’ contents.Finally,the social functions contained in the multimodal metaphor include four aspects:(1)praising the dedication and great anti-epidemic spirits of medical staff;(2)advising the public to refuse wild food on the table;(3)guiding public opinion and advising the public not to create rumors;(4)providing residents with advice for epidemic prevention.The values embodied by the multimodal metaphor include the collectivistic value,the people-centered value,and the values of diligence and selfrestraint in the excellent Chinese traditional culture.This thesis analyzes multimodal metaphor in anti-epidemic news cartoons based on visual grammar,showing that multimodal metaphor provides a new way for viewers to interpret news cartoons,allowing them to receive the information comprehensively conveyed by news cartoons;visual grammar and multimodal metaphor achieve theoretical complementarity to a certain extent.In addition,this thesis can both arouse viewers’ attention to news cartoons with important social significance and stimulate viewers’ thinking on hot social issues when reading news cartoons.