Political conceptual metaphors and their emotional impact

Abstract

The article deals with the use of conceptual metaphors in political rhetoric and their manipulative and emotional effects. The metaphors favored by many politicians combine a very simple explanation with a strong emotional effect. Single examples of these metaphors may not have much impact, but if they are often repeated, the audience begins to accept their message, however, metaphors and their constructions are not “fixed in the neural structures of the human brain”, and they can be studied, questioned. Social issues may have some influence on metaphorical conceptualization, such as power relationships and social pressure, and it can be said that different distributions of power in societies lead to different uses of metaphors by participants in these power relationships. Politics as a conceptual metaphor of performance is perceived as the main one in American discourse. The election campaign in the USA is a clear example. In it, candidates appear as «presumed stars»; primaries are like open castings; the campaign resembles an audition; the elections themselves are the choice of the host; the curators are acting teachers, scriptwriters and directors. A communicative situation can be a situation such as a “political debate”, where opponents play certain roles, and that whole situation represents a kind of political game.