Investigating the Social Power of Metaphor in Televised Social Debates

Abstract

Metaphors are not just pure linguistic elements or a rhetorical unit of language, but powerful tools that empower daily media interlocutions, give prestige to the users, reinforce power dynamics, and shape interlocutors’ understanding of the world. Televised debate programs are regarded as essential mediums where participants use different linguistic items and strategies in their interactions to maintain authority and defend ideology.  The current study examines the social power of metaphor in televised social debates, exploring how metaphors are utilized to establish, maintain, or/and illustrate social hierarchies and ideologies. It aims to determine the significance of the utility of metaphor in conveying complex ideas to serve as a tool of persuasion and in enhancing media communication.  This study uses qualitative and quantitative approaches in the process of data analysis and collection. It is qualitative for analyzing metaphors identified in recorded authentic interactions and debates on TV programs, and it is quantitative for administering a semi-structured questionnaire to find out the contribution of metaphor in empowering and enhancing media interactions, and investigating their role in shaping interlocutors’ perceptions, influencing their attitudes, and illustrating power relations. The most significant findings derived in this study show that metaphors are highly embedded in media practices, serving as a medium for both domination and resistance.