Description
Book SynopsisWhen photographs documenting the torture and humiliation of prisoners at Abu Ghraib came to the attention of a horrified public, national and international voices were raised in shock, asking how this happened. At War with Metaphor offers an answer, arguing that the abuses of Abu Ghraib were part of a systemic continuum of dehumanization. This continuum has its roots in our public discussions of the war on terror and the metaphors through which they are repeatedly framed. Arguing earnestly and incisively that these metaphors, if left unexamined, bind us into a cycle of violence that will only be intensified by a responsive violence of metaphor, Steuter and Wills examine compelling examples of the images of animal, insect, and disease that inform, shape, and limit our understanding of the war on terror. Tying these images to historical and contemporary uses of propaganda through a readable, accessible analysis of media filters, At War with Metaphor vividly explores how news media, inc
Trade ReviewWritten in easy-to-read prose and including abundant footnotes and a comprehensive bibliography, this volume will serve those interested in the mass media per se and its effects on society....Recommended. * CHOICE, March 2009 *
A valuable contribution to our growing understanding of the ways in which we talk ourselves into war, genocide, and other crimes against humanity. It causes us to wonder what might happen if we had the courage to deal with our rivalries and conflicts in a realistic manner rather than dehumanizing and demonizing those we consider enemies. -- Sam Keen, author of Faces of the Enemy
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction Part 2 Part I: Metaphor Matters Chapter 3 Chapter 1. Weaponizing Words: Metaphor and War Chapter 4 Chapter 2. Making Enemies: Propaganda and the Making of the Orientalist "Other" Chapter 5 Chapter 3. Rallying Racism: Dehumanization and Genocide Part 6 Part II: Enlisting Discourse Chapter 7 Chapter 4. Rats in the Trap: Animal Metaphors in the News Chapter 8 Chapter 5. Infestation and Eradication: Exterminationist Rhetoric in Political Cartoons Chapter 9 Chapter 6. HateSpeak: Discourses of Dehumanization in Talk Radio Part 10 Part III: Dangerous Discourses Chapter 11 Chapter 7. Media March to War: Understanding News Filters Chapter 12 Chapter 8. Boiling the Blood and Narrowing the Mind: Fomenting Backlash Chapter 13 Chapter 9. Talking Our War to Peace: New Metaphors for Change
