Cover not available

Article published In: Metaphor and the Social World
Vol. 5:1 (2015) ► pp.1–19

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
authorization required

A “bright blue ball”, “brushed with clouds” or “parched, scorched, and washed away”?

Barack Obama’s use of contrasting metaphors and stories in framing climate change

 | Portland State University
 | University of New Mexico
Published online: 10 July 2015
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/msw.5.1.01rit
This paper examines President Barack Obama’s use of contrasting metaphors and metaphorical stories to frame the issue of climate change and the associated political controversies in a major policy speech at Georgetown University in 2013. One major theme in the speech contrasted a series of metaphors based on violence and destruction with a series of metaphors based on peace, tranquility, and health, all within an overall framing story about the Apollo 8 astronauts and the picture they took of the Earth from lunar orbit. Another major theme is the contrast between metaphors of passivity or obstruction and metaphors of movement and dynamic activity. Within these two sets of thematic contrasts are more subtle contrasts between metaphors associated with the effects of climate change and metaphors associated with ameliorative actions to counteract climate change. All of these themes are presented in a way that fails to acknowledge — and implicitly discredits — possible alternative frames. This, plus the obstruction / movement contrast, effectively aggravates the frame conflicts that have stymied fruitful discussion of these issues throughout the Obama administration. We close the analysis with some specific recommendations for increasing the potential for empathetic understanding through explicit awareness of the framing effects of language.
References (34)
Abbott, H.P. (2008). The Cambridge introduction to narrative (2nd ed.). Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Barsalou, L.W. (2007). Grounded cognition. Annual Review of Psychology, 591, 617–645. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Brock, T.C., Strange, J.J., & Green, M.C. (2002). Power beyond reckoning: An introduction to narrative impact. In M.C. Green, J.J. Strange & T.C. Brock (Eds.), Narrative impact: Social and cognitive foundations (pp. 1–15). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bruner, J. (2002). Making stories: Law, literature, life. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cameron, L.J. (2006). Procedure for metaphor analysis. The metaphor analysis project. Milton Keynes, UK: Open University.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (2007). Patterns of metaphor use in reconciliation talk. Discourse and Society, 181, 197–222. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cameron, L. (2011). Metaphor in spoken discourse. In J.P. Gee & M. Handford (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of discourse analysis (pp. 342–355). London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cameron, L., & Maslen, R. (Eds.). (2010). Metaphor analysis: Research practice in applied linguistics, social sciences and the humanities. London: Equinox.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dorst, A.G., & Kaal, A.G. (2012). Metaphor in discourse: Beyond the boundaries of MIP. In F. MacArthur, J.L. Oncins-Martinez, M. Sanchez-Garcia & A.M. Piquer-Piriz (Eds.), Metaphor in use: Context, culture, and communication (pp. 51–68). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dunbar, R. (1996). Grooming, gossip, and the evolution of language. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fausey, C.M., & Boroditsky, L. (2010). Subtle linguistic cues influence perceived blame and financial liability. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 171, 644–650. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gerrig, R.J. (1993). Experiencing narrative worlds: On the psychological activities of reading. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gibbs, R.W., Jr. (2006). Metaphor interpretation as embodied simulation. Mind and Language, 211, 434–458. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Green, M.C. (2004). Transportation into narrative worlds: The role of prior knowledge and perceived realism. Discourse Processes, 381, 247–266. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Green, M.C., & Brock, T.C. (2002). In the mind’s eye: Transportation-imagery model of narrative persuasion. In M.C. Green, J.J. Strange & T.C. Brock (Eds.), Narrative impact: Social and cognitive foundations (pp. 315–342). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lakoff, G. (1991). Metaphor and war: The metaphor system used to justify war in the gulf. Retrieved October 5, 2014 from [URL].
Musolff, A. (2006). Metaphor scenarios in public discourse. Metaphor and Symbol, 211, 23–38. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Oatley, K. (2002). Emotions and the story worlds of fiction. In M.C. Green, J.J. Strange & T.C. Brock (Eds.), Narrative impact: Social and cognitive foundations (pp. 39–70). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Obama, B. (2013). Remarks by the President on climate change at Georgetown University. Retrieved Oct. 22, 2014 from [URL].
Reissman, C.K. (2008). Narrative methods for the human sciences. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ritchie, L.D. (2008a). Gateshead revisited: The integrative function of ambiguous metaphors in a tricky political situation. Metaphor and Symbol, 231, 24–49. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (2008b). X IS A JOURNEY: Embodied simulation in metaphor interpretation. Metaphor and Symbol, 231, 174–199. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (2009). Relevance and simulation in metaphor. Metaphor and Symbol, 241, 249–262. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (2010). “Everybody goes down”: Metaphors, stories, and simulations in conversations. Metaphor and Symbol, 251, 123–143. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (2013). Metaphor. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (2014). “Born on third base”: Stories, simulations, and metaphor comprehension. Presented at the 9th International Conference on Researching and Applying Metaphor (RaAM), Cagliari, Italy, June, 2014.
Ritchie, L.D., & Cameron, L. (2014). “Open hearts” or “smoke and mirrors”: Metaphorical framing and frame conflicts in a public meeting. Metaphor and Symbol, 291, 204–223. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ritchie, L.D., & Schell, C. (2009). “The ivory tower” on an “unstable foundation”: Playful language, humor, and metaphor in the negotiation of scientists’ identities. Metaphor and Symbol, 241, 90–104. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Semino, E. (2008). Metaphor in discourse. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sperber, D., & Wilson, D. (1986 [1995]). Relevance: Communication and cognition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Steen, G.J., Dorst, A.G., Herrmann, J.B., Kaal, A., Krennmayr, T., & Pasma, T. (2010). A method for linguistic metaphor identification. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Thibodeau, P.H., & Boroditsky, L. (2011). Metaphors we think with: The role of metaphor in reasoning. Retrieved from [URL]
Cited by (3)

Cited by three other publications

Atkins, Scott, Ashley Mote, Kimberly Gonzalez & Krystal Alexander
2020. No sympathy for the bully. Metaphor and the Social World 10:1 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Ritchie, David
2019. Reclaiming a unified American narrative. Metaphor and the Social World 9:2 ► pp. 242 ff. DOI logo
Smith, Graham
2019. Cattle, progress, and a victimized nation. Metaphor and the Social World 9:2 ► pp. 263 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 27 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue