1887
image of The shadow drama

Abstract

Abstract

This study examines how discursive polarization between majority populations and so-called non-Western immigrant identities is enabled via verbal and visual metaphors in outputs by the Human Rights Service (HRS), a prominent Norwegian extreme-right media outlet. Focusing especially on the HRS’s use of visual primary metaphors of cold and darkness, a contribution is made to the existing literature regarding how right-wing outlets construct an image of immigrants and Muslims as threatening Others. As such, the potential polarizing outcomes of the HRS’s visual primary metaphors are theorized to arise from a capacity to invite certain forms of embodied cognition and implicitly associate the target identities with a range of negative emotions. Ultimately, the HRS’s visual primary metaphors of cold and darkness are best understood as polarization vehicles that tacitly support anti-social biases by leveraging the rapidity and efficiency with which subjects can respond emotionally to visual information—especially fear triggers.

Available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/jlac.00117.and
2024-08-05
2024-09-19
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/10.1075/jlac.00117.and/jlac.00117.and.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.1075/jlac.00117.and&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. HRS
    HRS 2017, October3. “Rights dokumenterer den kulturelle revolusjonen (2) [Rights documents the cultural revolution].” Rights.no. https://www.rights.no/2017/10/rights-dokumenterer-den-kulturelle-revolusjonen-2/
    [Google Scholar]
  2. HRS
    HRS 2018a, November12. “Ny bok: Eksperimentet som slo feil [New book: The experiment that failed].” Rights.no. https://www.rights.no/2018/11/ny-bok-eksperimentet-som-slo-feil/
    [Google Scholar]
  3. HRS
    HRS 2018b, October2. “Bokbombe: -Om to generasjoner er Vesten utslettet av islam, sier tysk økonom. [Bookbomb: -In two generations the West will be eradicated by Islam says German economist].” Rigths.no. https://www.rights.no/2018/10/bokbombe-om-to-generasjoner-er-vesten-utslettet-av-islam-sier-tysk-okonom/
    [Google Scholar]
  4. HRS
    HRS 2018c, March12. “Priviligerte innvandrere [privileged immigrants]”. Rights.no. Privilegerte innvandrere | Human Rights Service
    [Google Scholar]
  5. HRS
    HRS 2019a, March26. ”Bergens tidende serverer « rasisme, nazisme og hat” fra “hvite” mot muslimer [Bergens Tidende is serving “racism, Nazism, and hate” from “whites” against Muslims].” Rights.no. https://www.rights.no/2019/03/bergens-tidende-serverer-rasisme-nazisme-og-hat-fra-hvite-mot-muslimer/
    [Google Scholar]
  6. HRS
    HRS 2019b, September27. “Islamiseringen ruller taktfast videre [The Islamification is rolling tactfully onwards].” Rights.no. https://www.rights.no/2019/09/islamiseringen-ruller-taktfast-videre/
    [Google Scholar]
  7. HRS
    HRS 2019c, January25. “Regjeringen vil strupe økonomisk støtte til moskeer I Norge [The government will strangle economic support for mosques in Norway].” Rights.no. https://www.rights.no/2019/01/regjeringen-vil-strupe-okonomisk-stotte-til-moskeer-i-norge/
    [Google Scholar]
  8. HRS
    HRS 2019d, April29. “Et slag i ansiktet på islam og apologetene: terrrorister på Sri Lanka er styrtrike [A punch in the face of Islam and the apologists: The terrorists in Sri Lanka].” Rights.no. https://www.rights.no/2019/04/et-slag-i-ansiktet-pa-islam-og-apologetene-terrrorister-pa-sri-lanka-er-styrtrike/
    [Google Scholar]
  9. HRS
    HRS 2019e, December2. Fullt juleoppgjør i Seljord [Full Christmas clash in Seljord]. Rights.no. https://www.rights.no/2019/12/fullt-juleoppgjor-i-seljord/
    [Google Scholar]
  10. HRS
    HRS 2019f, February28. Ingen IS-kvinner angrer. Tvert om, forteller reporter [No IS-women regrets. Quite the opposite says reporter].” Rights.no. https://www.rights.no/2019/02/ingen-is-kvinner-angrer-tvert-om-forteller-reporter/
    [Google Scholar]
  11. HRS
    HRS 2019g, May25. “Barn av IS-krigere: Sverige betaler [Children of IS-warriors: Sweden pays].” Rights.no. https://www.rights.no/2019/05/barn-av-is-krigere-sverige-betaler/
    [Google Scholar]
  12. HRS
    HRS 2019h, January30. “Endelig! Erna til fullt angrep på moskeene i Norge [Finally! Erna in full attack against mosques in Norway].” Rights.no. https://www.rights.no/2019/01/endelig-erna-til-fullt-angrep-pa-moskeene-i-norge/
    [Google Scholar]
  13. HRS
    HRS 2019i, May9. Oppsiktsvekkende: Sverige til fullt angrep på ekstrem islam [Sensational: Sweden in full attack against extreme Islam]. Rights.no. https://www.rights.no/2019/05/oppsiktsvekkende-sverige-til-fullt-angrep-pa-ekstrem-islam/
    [Google Scholar]
  14. HRS
    HRS 2019j, February11. Til frontalangrep på islams nedrige kvinnesyn. – Fjern hijaben fra offentlig ansate [Frontal assault on Islam’s wicked view of women – Remove the Hijab from public employees]. Rights.no. https://www.rights.no/2019/02/til-frontalangrep-pa-islams-nedrige-kvinnesyn-fjern-hijaben-fra-offentlig-ansatte/
    [Google Scholar]
  15. HRS
    HRS 2020a, April3. “Regjeringen til fullt angrep på shariaekteskap og foreldre som lemlester døtre. [The government in full attack on sharia marriages and parents who mutilate their daughters].” Rights.no. https://www.rights.no/2020/04/regjeringen-strammer-grepet-for-a-forhindre-tvangsekteskap-og-kjonnslemlestelse/
    [Google Scholar]
  16. HRS
    HRS 2020b, May5. Nådestøtet: Dere kan dra hjem igjen [The final blow: You can go home again]. Rights.no. https://www.rights.no/2020/05/nadestotet-dere-kan-dra-hjem-igjen/
    [Google Scholar]
  17. HRS
    HRS 2020c, April28. Toppolitikere i strupen på islam: – En hatefull og onskapsfull ideologi [Top politicians go for Islam’s throat: A hateful and evil ideology]. Rights.no. https://www.rights.no/2020/04/toppolitiker-i-strupen-pa-islam-en-hatefull-og-onskapsfull-ideologi/
    [Google Scholar]
  18. HRS
    HRS 2020d, January2. “En villet utskiftning av eget folk. [A deliberate replacement of own people].” Rights.no. https://www.rights.no/2020/01/en-villet-utskiftning-av-eget-folk/
    [Google Scholar]
  19. HRS
    HRS 2023, May2. “Om HRS [About HRS].” Rights.no. https://www.rights.no/om-hrs/
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Ahmed, Sarah
    2004The Cultural Politics of Emotion. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Ana, Santa O.
    1999 “‘Like an Animal I was Treated’: Anti-immigrant Metaphor in US Public Discourse.” Discourse & Society(): –. www.jstor.org/stable/42888249. 10.1177/0957926599010002004
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926599010002004 [Google Scholar]
  22. Andreasen, S. Mosgaard
    2020 “Moral Economies of Exclusion: Politics of Fear through Antagonistic Anonymity.” Global Discourse(): –. 10.1332/204378919X15755364498325
    https://doi.org/10.1332/204378919X15755364498325 [Google Scholar]
  23. 2022 “Making Enemies: War(b)ordering in Norwegian Extreme Right Discourse.” Journal of Borderlands Studies(): –. 10.1080/08865655.2022.2085138
    https://doi.org/10.1080/08865655.2022.2085138 [Google Scholar]
  24. Askeland, Norunn, and Magdalena Agdestein
    2019Metaforer: Hva, hvor og hvordan?Oslo: Universitetsforlaget
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Arcimaviciene, Liudmila, and Sercan H. Baglama
    2018 “Migration, Metaphor and Myth in Media Representations: The Ideological Dichotomy of ‘Them’ and ‘Us’.” Sage Open(). 10.1177/2158244018768657
    https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244018768657 [Google Scholar]
  26. Barker, Martin
    1981The New Racism. London: Junction Books.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Bergsaker, Tore, and S. Silje Skiphamn
    2020 “Disse nådde viraltoppen i 2019. [These reached viral popularity in 2019].” Journalisten.no. https://www.journalisten.no/faktisk-faktiskno-hege-storhaug/faktiskno-disse-nadde-viraltoppen-i-2019/396138
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Brüggemann, Michael, and Hendrik Meyer
    2023 “When Debates Break Apart: Discursive Polarization as a Multi-dimensional Divergence Emerging in and through Communication.” Communication Theory(): –, 10.1093/ct/qtad012
    https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtad012 [Google Scholar]
  29. Charteris-Black, Jonathan
    2006 “Britain as a Container: Immigration Metaphors in the 2005 Election Campaign.” Discourse & Society(): –. 10.1177/0957926506066345
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926506066345 [Google Scholar]
  30. Chkhaidze, Ana, Parla Buyruk, and Lera Boroditsky
    2021 “Linguistic Metaphors Shape Attitudes towards Immigration.” Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society: –. 10.31234/osf.io/qyhgr
    https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/qyhgr [Google Scholar]
  31. Corell, Synne
    2011 “The Solidity of a National Narrative: The German Occupation in Norwegian History Culture.” InNordic Narratives of the Second World War: National Historiographies Revisited, edited byHenrik Stenius, Mirja Österberg, and Johan Östling, –. Lund: Nordic Academic Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Cunningham-Parmeter, Keith
    2011 “Alien Language: Immigration Metaphors and the Jurisprudence of Otherness.” Fordham Law Review: .
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Douglas, Mary
    1966Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concept of Pollution and Taboo. London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Døving, Alexa Cora
    2020 “‘Muslims Are…’ Contextualising Survey Answers.” InThe Shifting Boundaries of Prejudice. Antisemitism and Islamophobia in Contemporary Norway, edited byChristhard Hoffmann, and Vibeke Moe, –. Oslo: Scandinavian University Press. 10.18261/978‑82‑15‑03468‑3‑2019‑09
    https://doi.org/10.18261/978-82-15-03468-3-2019-09 [Google Scholar]
  35. Ekman, Mattias
    2015 “Online Islamophobia and the Politics of Fear: Manufacturing the Green Scare.” Ethnic and Racial Studies (): –. 10.1080/01419870.2015.1021264
    https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2015.1021264 [Google Scholar]
  36. Fay, Adam J., and Jon K. Maner
    2012 “Warmth, Spatial Proximity, and Social Attachment: The Embodied Perception of a Social Metaphor.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology(): –. 10.1016/j.jesp.2012.05.017
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.05.017 [Google Scholar]
  37. Fiske, Susan T.
    2018 “Stereotype Content: Warmth and Competence Endure.” Current Directions in Psychological Science(): –. 10.1177/0963721417738825
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721417738825 [Google Scholar]
  38. Forceville, Charles J., and Thijs Renckens
    2013 “The ‘Good is Light’ and ‘Bad is Dark’ Metaphor in Feature Films.” Metaphor and the Social World(): –. 10.1075/msw.3.2.03for
    https://doi.org/10.1075/msw.3.2.03for [Google Scholar]
  39. Gonçalves, Isabella
    2023 “Promoting Hate Speech by Dehumanizing Metaphors of Immigration.” Journalism Practice(): –. 10.1080/17512786.2023.2212661
    https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2023.2212661 [Google Scholar]
  40. Hall, Stuart W.
    1980 “Encoding/Decoding.” InCulture, Media, Language: Working Papers in Cultural Studies, edited byStuart Hall, Dorothy Hobson, Andrew Lowe, and Paul Willis, –. Birmingham: Hutchinson.
    [Google Scholar]
  41. Hart, Christopher
    2020 “Animals vs. Armies: Resistance to Extreme Metaphors in Anti-immigration Discourse.” Journal of Language and Politics(): –. 10.1075/jlp.20032.har
    https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.20032.har [Google Scholar]
  42. Ijzerman, Hans, and Gün R. Semin
    2009 “The Thermometer of Social Relations: Mapping Social Proximity on Temperature.” Psychological Science(): –. 10.1111/j.1467‑9280.2009.02434.x
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02434.x [Google Scholar]
  43. Kahneman, Daniel
    2011Thinking, Fast and Slow. London: Macmillan.
    [Google Scholar]
  44. Lakoff, George
    2014aDon’t Think of an Elephant! Know your Values and Frame the Debate. Vermont: Chelsea Green.
    [Google Scholar]
  45. 2014b “Mapping the Brain’s Metaphor Circuitry: Metaphorical Thought in Everyday Reason.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience: . 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00958
    https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00958 [Google Scholar]
  46. Lakoff, George, and Elisabeth Wehling
    2016Your Brain’s Politics: How the Science of Mind Explains the Political Divide. Exeter: Societas.
    [Google Scholar]
  47. Landau, Mark J., and Lucas A. Keefer
    2014 “This is Like that: Metaphors in Public Discourse Shape Attitudes.” Social and Personality Psychology Compass(): –. 10.1111/spc3.12125
    https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12125 [Google Scholar]
  48. Landau, Mark J., Daniel Sullivan, and Jeff Greenberg
    2009 “Evidence that Self-relevant Motives and Metaphoric Framing Interact to Influence Political and Social Attitudes.” Psychological Science(): –. 10.1111/j.1467‑9280.2009.02462.x
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02462.x [Google Scholar]
  49. Lean, Nathan
    2017The Islamophobia Industry – Second Edition: How the Right Manufactures Hatred of Muslims. London: Pluto. 10.2307/j.ctt1v2xvxq
    https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1v2xvxq [Google Scholar]
  50. LeDoux, Joseph E.
    1996The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life. New York: Simon and Schuster.
    [Google Scholar]
  51. Musolff, Andreas
    2015 “Dehumanizing Metaphors in UK Immigrant Debates in Press and Online Media.” Contemporary Discourses of Hate and Radicalism across Space and Genres, edited byMonika Kopytowska, –. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/bct.93.02mus
    https://doi.org/10.1075/bct.93.02mus [Google Scholar]
  52. Nyhetsåret
    Nyhetsåret 2021 “Norway: Top Sites in 2020.” https://storyboard.news/yearinreview/no/2020/sites
  53. Pew Research Center
    Pew Research Center 2019 “What Americans Know about Religion.” Religious-Knowledge-full-draft-FOR-WEB-2.pdf
  54. Pragglejaz, Group
    2007 “MIP: A Method for Identifying Metaphorically Used Words in Discourse.” Metaphor and Symbol(): –. 10.1080/10926480709336752
    https://doi.org/10.1080/10926480709336752 [Google Scholar]
  55. Sapolsky, Robert M.
    2017Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst. New York: Penguin.
    [Google Scholar]
  56. Schlesinger, Mark
    1997 “Paradigm Lost: The Persisting Search for Community in American Health Policy.” Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law(): –. 10.1215/03616878‑22‑4‑937
    https://doi.org/10.1215/03616878-22-4-937 [Google Scholar]
  57. Semino, Elena
    2008Metaphor in Discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  58. Smith, David Livingstone
    2011Why we Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate Others. New York: St. Martin’s.
    [Google Scholar]
  59. Sorm, Ester, and Gerald J. Steen
    2018 “VISMIP: Towards a Method for Visual Metaphor Identification.” InVisual Metaphor: Structure and Process, edited byGerald J. Steen, –. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/celcr.18.03sor
    https://doi.org/10.1075/celcr.18.03sor [Google Scholar]
  60. Steen, Rune B.
    2016 “En europeisk jungel av frykt og mistro [A European jungle of fear and distrust].” Antirasistisk.no. https://antirasistisk.no/en-europeisk-jungel-av-frykt-og-mistro/
    [Google Scholar]
  61. Sunstein, Cass R.
    2000 “Deliberative Trouble? Why Groups Go to Extremes.” The Yale Law Journal(): –. 10.2307/797587
    https://doi.org/10.2307/797587 [Google Scholar]
  62. Taylor, Charlotte
    2021 “Metaphors of Migration over Time.” Discourse & Society(): –. 10.1177/0957926521992156
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926521992156 [Google Scholar]
  63. Thibodeau, Paul H., and Lera Boroditsky
    2011 “Metaphors we Think with: The Role of Metaphor in Reasoning.” PLoS ONE(): e16782. 10.1371/journal.pone.0016782
    https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0016782 [Google Scholar]
  64. Utych, Stephen M.
    2018 “How Dehumanization Influences Attitudes toward Immigrants.” Political Research Quarterly(): –. 10.1177/1065912917744897
    https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912917744897 [Google Scholar]
  65. van Dijk, Teun A.
    1991Racism and the Press. London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  66. 1998Ideology: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
    [Google Scholar]
  67. 2006 “Ideology and Discourse Analysis.” Journal of Political Ideologies: –. 10.1080/13569310600687908
    https://doi.org/10.1080/13569310600687908 [Google Scholar]
  68. Vezovnik, Andreja, and Ljiljana Šarić
    2020 “Subjectless Images: Visualization of Migrants in Croatian and Slovenian Public Broadcasters’ Online News.” Social Semiotics(): –. 10.1080/10350330.2018.1541117
    https://doi.org/10.1080/10350330.2018.1541117 [Google Scholar]
  69. Williams, Lawrence E., and John A. Bargh
    2008 “Experiencing Physical Warmth Promotes Interpersonal Warmth.” Science(): –. 10.1126/science.1162548
    https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1162548 [Google Scholar]
  70. Wodak, Ruth
    2015The Politics of Fear: What Right-Wing Populist Discourses Mean. London: Sage. 10.4135/9781446270073
    https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446270073 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/jlac.00117.and
Loading
/content/journals/10.1075/jlac.00117.and
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keywords: metaphor analysis ; racism ; discourse ; Human Rights Service ; dehumanization ; Islamophobia
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error