Chapter Three
74
of a sense of direction and control over their actions, looking down from
afar on the seemingly minute problems of the electorate, seem to signal a
pervasive sense of a discrepancy between public expectations and the lack
of concern exhibited by those in power. Cognitively-orientated research
provides explanation of the conceptual underpinnings of such imagery,
which – in turn – account for positive or negative interpretations.
Embodied experience appears to play a significant role in structuring
experience alongside cultural constructs, such as that of the alien. The
unfriendly environment of outer space with conditions which are
incompatible with the functioning of the human body, constitutes a
suitable source domain for the intended meanings of unreliability and
unpredictability. The axiological load which both the conventional and
novel space metaphors presented above clearly illustrate is obvious and
disparaging when applied to the political class as seen through the eyes of
their electorate.
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