Chapter Three
72
Figure 5. Barroso, Lost in Space (2013).
This is how citizen journalism site called Café Babel sees him (Figure
5). Below this image, one of its editors (surname undisclosed) addresses
the President of the European Commission following his evasive replies in
an interview: “Barroso, it was clear last night that the distance between the
institution that you represent and the real Europe is a chasm that may be
insurmountable for you and those who applaud you.”
Conclusions
Cosmic metaphors, ranging from highly conventionalised ones (such as
“orbit”) to elaborate passages structured around the imagery of the human
body in outer space, illustrate the creative dimension of metaphor in
public/political discourse. The embodiment hypothesis accounts for the
ease with which such metaphors may be interpreted by the target audience
who, largely subconsciously, rely – in thought and language – on a
pervasive cognitive pattern relating physical distance to emotional
engagement. Mappings which integrate the EVENT STRUCTURE metaphor,
i.e. “purposive action is self-propelled motion toward a destination”
(Lakoff 1994: 60) and “manner of action is manner of motion” (ibid.),
seem to be successfully employed for the portrayal of indolence and
disinterest with socially relevant issues. The metaphorical operation of
locating a human being (with their physical limitations) in outer space
(with its adverse physical conditions) results in uncontrolled movement
and the absence of a clear sense of direction. Other vital aspects of
embodiment, e.g. vertical and upright body position, as well as physical