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Cultural texts can be described by Vanhoozer et al, as any work that is done by human beings that has a meaning because it is done intentionally and not as a fluke or by reflex. They include newspaper articles, books and other printed material, objects, images, spaces, films and music (Vanhoozer et al. , 2007, p. 248). There are a number of aspects of the English language (figures of speech) that are used in the writing of cultural texts to make the language use in the texts flowery, or even to explain some things in a deeper manner.
They are also used to show the emotional intensity or to explicitly show the writer’s sense impressions by comparing one thing with another that is common or well known to the reader.
Some examples of these are the use of metonyms, metaphors and connotations. A metonym can be defined as the usage of a word in a text to denote one thing while in actual fact; the word refers to a related thing.
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It can also be described as a situation where a word is replaced with another one that is closely associated with it (Casnig, 2009).
An example of a metonym is the way people say plastic to mean credit cards or the way they say Washington, while what they actually mean to refer to is the United States Government. A metaphor on the other hand is defined as the comparing of two things without using words ‘like’ or ‘as’. They are a good way to put an image into the mind of the reader in regards to the message that they are trying to convey.
Improper use however could mean that the message that the writer is trying to convey will not be understood properly (Wheeler English, 2010).
An example when it comes to its use is when used in a sentence, when somebody says, “…her hair is snow white. ” Here, the color of hair is being compared to the color of the snow, but there is no use of the words ‘like’ or ‘as’, and thus this makes the expression a metaphor. When it comes to connotations, these are ideas that are implied or suggested. They refer to the connections or associations that are connected to certain words or even the emotional suggestions that are related to the word in question (Word Reference. com, 2010).
An example of this could be the way the word snake if used in reference to a person could be used to mean that the person is evil or dangerous. It could also mean that the person is crafty and not open and honest in their dealings with people. The cultural texts that I am going to use to show how metonyms, metaphors and connotations have been used are: a film on Eyes on the Prize Interviews. The specific interview in this case is the Rosa Parks interview that was done on November 14, 1985, and was produced by Blackside Inc.
The interview was gathered as part of Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years (1954-1965). The second cultural text will be an article titled “Walking while Muslim” which is an article that was written in the year 2005 by Margaret Chon and Donna E. Arzt. Finally, I am also going to look at Everyday Theology: How to Read Cultural Texts and Interpret Trends which is a book written by Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Charles A. Anderson and Michael J. Sleasman.
In the film on an interview with Rosa Parks, examples of metonyms that have been used are: when she is asked by the interviewer about how segregated their area was, she says, “In 1954, after the Supreme Court decision had been handed down to do away with uh, segregation in the public schools…”. Here, Supreme Court is a metonym for judges or juries, because in actual fact, they are the ones that make rulings in court. Another example is when Rosa Parks refers to the bus as being ‘packed’, which is a metonym for full, or filled to capacity.
When it comes to connotations, an example of one is when the interviewer asks her, “How did you feel about sparking the boycott…? ” The word spark here is used to mean that she was the one who agitated or stirred the people into action. Another connotation is when she refers to people as blacks and whites in her interview. This is a connotation of the African Americans and the American people (Washington University Film and Media Archive, 1985). In the article, “Walking while Muslim”, there are also some figures of speech that have been used in its content.
Examples here are the use of connotations where it is said that the United Nations standing committee is toothless. What this means is that they have no power in terms of the functions that they are allowed to carry out. It is also shown when it is said that the international human rights enforcement systems are expected to have a better track record than the UN in the protection of human rights. The phrase track record is used here to refer to the record of their actual performance and accomplishments.
This is because in the literal sense, track record means a documentation of speeds that an athlete runs or has been running over a period of time. Metaphors have also been used where the International Human Rights law is being likened to a guardian of religion. Here, the law and guardian have been compared without the use of ‘as’ or ‘like’. There is also an example of a connotation where they say that Jihad is one of the Islamic beliefs that are perceived as religious zealotry directed at non-Muslims. The word Jihad here is used as a connotation of the violent aggression of Muslims towards non-Muslims or secular people (Chon, M. and Arzt, D. , 2005). In the book, Everyday Theology: How to Read Cultural Texts and Interpret Trends, figures of speech have also been used in this context. Examples of some of these are: one of the characters in the book, Kevin Warwick—a leading researcher and professor of cybernetics at the University of Reading, says he is a cyborg. This is a metaphor because he is comparing himself to a being that is part human, part machine. In the book also, there is also a section where biotechnology is likened to a savior, and also where we are told that we should offer ourselves as living sacrifices.
In this case, we are being directly compared to sacrifices (animals that are usually offered to God in order to appease him or thank him for something). There is also the use of metonyms where it says that “whatever label we choose to wear,” referring to the title that we choose to have because in actual fact, we cannot wear a label. Another metonym that I have discovered is when the author says that as Christians, they may fail to see the way the world looks at those who believe that the present is all that there is. Here, the ‘world’ does not refer to the physical globe, but to the people who are non-believers.
It is a word that is commonly substituted for those who are not adherents of Christianity (Vanhoozer, K. et al, 2007).
When a person has watched a film, advertisement or read a book, there are distinct elements that are evident throughout the work of art that seemingly communicate more than their surface meaning. This essay seeks to demonstrate how metaphor, connotation and metonym are usually used in distinct cultural texts such as in books, film and others. It specifically applies the basic concepts of communication theory to cultural texts, objects and images. Body Communication theory lays emphasis on exchange and production of meaning and information through symbols and signs (Littlejohn, 2002).
It draws its argument from encoding and sending of a specific message, where it is received and decoded by the recipient and synthesized for a meaning and information to be drawn out of it. What communication theory depicts is that communication does permeate all evels of human experience while being central to comprehending a certain human behavior (Griffin, 1997). Through metonym, metaphor and connotation, the main elements of communication theory are brought into focus, since they are figurative use of sending certain messages but in distinct ways.
Through them, cultural texts are deciphered and understood, where meanings are drawn beyond the surface meaning. Metonym Metonym, a figure of speech, is rhetorically used where a concept or entity is not called by its name but through the name of another thing that is associated intimately with it. It is the use of a single object or thing to identify another, which might be related. For example, in Act III, scene II of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, (Lines 74-77): ‘Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears’ (Pickering & Hoeper, 1982).
‘Ear’ in this case represents attention, since it is the ears that we use to pay attention to speech. Once the ‘lending ear’ (attention) has been heard, the basic understanding of ‘lend’ (to borrow something) is stretched to include nonmaterial things, in this case attention. Washington might be the capital of the United States, but it is usually used as an obvious metonym for the U. S. government. In film, metonym gives meaning to distinct elements of plot, such as in the recent movie, American Beauty. It is a comedy where personal, inner conflict is depicted through metonyms.
For instance, the protagonist, ‘Tootsie’, shows signs of inner conflict when he lacks confidence to carry out a scam. In another level of conflict, metonyms in the form of coworkers, boss, father, friends, TV audience and his love depict the protagonist’s social conflict. The movie is all about different levels of conflict that are splendidly shown metonymically, through different contexts. This is achieved through outward projection of different levels of conflict on other characters it is seen, creating a very dramatic impact. Particular types of metonyms in substitution do influence our thoughts, actions and attitudes.
This is achieved through focusing on a specific aspect and suppressing another inconsistent with a particular metonym. For example, Lakoff and Johnson argue that when you think about ‘Picasso’, your thoughts move beyond a piece of art (1980). You start thinking of it in relation to the individual, his artistic conception, technique, art in history and other relations. Connotation Connotation in texts, expressions and in mere words shows the expressed and emotive part of a language. Seemingly, all connotative signs and expressions lie vaguely midway between ambiguity and symbolism.
For instance, the word ‘iron’ denotes a very tough metal but can connote that a man is a piece of ‘iron’ since he has won a boxing match without a problem. Connotations form a major component of poetry, where its power of expression, suggestion and emotion offers parameters that gauge the literary capability of an author while the cultural text awareness of the reader is revealed. This means that connotation must be culture and text bound to be of any significance. For instance, in Elizabethan times black was synonymous to piracy, lust, infidelity and cruelty.
This is shown in Shakespeare’s depiction of Elizabethan disgust of the connotation black in more vivid racial terms. In Othello, Iago expresses that “... an old black ram is tupping your white ewe” and “arise…or else the devil will make a grandsire of you” (Pickering & Hoeper, 1982). This association of Othello shows the established historical connotation that Western nations had concerning black as pure evil. The communicative element of connotation is pervasive and everywhere. It is expressed in all cultures and dwells across all ages in all literary styles, genres, cultural expression such as music, architecture and painting.
Music offers something more to people beyond the rhythm and stones, thus connotation end up being capable of having double meanings and creating euphemisms. In film, connotation makes a communicative entry, as in the official poster of Ugly Betty, Season 2. In the poster, there is a darker background that lies behind Alexis, Amanda, Daniel, Marc, Claire and Willie, connoting Mode as being business and in that juncture, wealth and money equals evil and power. In the same poster, there is a white and blue background behind Betty, Hilda, Henry, Justin, Christina and Iganscio.
This connotes family, happiness, tranquility and deeper peace. In hair product advertisements, the portrayal of hair as free flowing and seemingly in motion in an immaculate style connotes a woman readying herself to socialize, in that the free-flowing hair connotes freedom, as elaborated by Williamson, (1978). Metaphor Metaphors are simply comparisons showing two things, unlike in a major way, but importantly similar in a certain way. Being an analogy, a metaphor lies between two ideas or objects and elaborated through the usage of a certain word, which communicates figuratively.
In books, metaphors communicate a poetic imagination that enables authors such as Shakespeare to show a comparison between the world and stage, where humans enter and leave the stage, as seen in the drama “As You Like It”, while Robert Frost’s poem, ‘The Road Not Taken’ compares the life of a person to a journey. In film, metaphors elaborate issues figuratively, such as in a short film entitled The Unique Oneness of Christian Savage. In the film, a child loses a best friend who falls from a tall tree where they had been playing.
The child then runs away from the funeral and the words spoken, and starts beating the “evil” tree that killed the friend using a broken branch. This is a visual metaphor introducing an element of conflict without the use of words but very powerful. In adverts, metaphors are used in associating products using semantic domains that have positive connotations. The truth in an advert appears like a law for advertisers to keep off from explicitly making such statements that might be either true or false. For instance, in an air freshener advert, it might be said in an advert that it will bring a tropical breeze in your home.
While it is obvious it cannot do this, what is metaphorically communicated is that your house will have fresh air. In addition, the communicative element of metaphors also takes a visual course, where it becomes a window of new thinking. These visuals give the individual a chance to escape while those who are creative can explain and interpret a novel world. In understanding the metaphor, the interpretation is on the world we live where we establish the relationship. In advertising, this is even clearer and true in the recent highly creative and digital images in advertisements.
In fact, the smarter a metaphor is the more unforgettable and memorable the advert campaign. In some Ford Motors adverts, the car transforms itself in different terrains, into a metallic ape along a mountain and a crocodile in a river. This is a visual metaphor for strength and safety. Most importantly, the more fun and creative the metaphor, the more unforgettable the message it conveys. It has been a major sell for adverts with figurative images. For instance, there are adverts on the campaigns on Aids by the French. It has images which are very captivating and fearful but communicate their intention.
One is a naked man having sex with a gigantic venomous arachnid, while another shows a female doing the same with another, a metaphor for unprotected sex. It is disgusting and scary to say the least, but aptly effective. Such graphical metaphors depict the underlying element of communicative theory, where the way communication is done might not be important, rather, it is whether the message has been communicated at all (Littlejohn, 2002). In the case of the French Aids Campaign adverts, the emotional figurative hook connects well with the audience. Conclusion
Metonyms, connotation, and metaphors are demonstrated in cultural texts with a communicative element that edifies the spirit of the communication theory. All of them work in different ways to aid communication.
Griffin, E. (1997). A first look at communication theory (3rd edition). New York: McGraw-Hill. Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Littlejohn, S. W. (2002). Theories of human communication (7th edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Pickering, J. & Hoeper, J. (1982). Literature. London: Macmillan. Williamson, J. (1978). Decoding Advertisements. London: Marion Boyars.
Cultural Text Analysis. (2016, Aug 17). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/cultural-text-analysis-essay
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