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Article published In: Metaphor and the Social World
Vol. 4:2 (2014) ► pp.149–173

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A study in cinematic subjectivity

Metaphors of perception in film

 | University of Antwerp
 | Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Published online: 22 September 2014
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https://doi.org/10.1075/msw.4.2.01coe
This article offers a metaphorical and embodied examination of the representation of perception in narrative cinema. Using insights from Conceptual Metaphor Theory we argue that the perceptual states of characters can be represented cinematically via audio-visual expressions of metaphors related to the physical functioning of human bodies. More specifically, we show how a predominant pair of conceptual mappings, namely the metonymy perceptual organ stands for perception and the metaphor perception is contact between perceiver and perceived, plays a crucial role in the non-verbal representation of the characters’ perceptual experience.
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