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Article published In: Review of Cognitive Linguistics
Vol. 24:1 (2026) ► pp.286–317

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Metaphorical framing of political events through ENTERTAINMENT scenarios

A cross-cultural perspective

ORCiD logo with link | Vilnius University
ORCiD logo with link | Vilnius University
ORCiD logo with link | Vilnius University
Published online: 12 November 2024
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/rcl.00206.cib
Abstract
The article sets out to examine the entertainment source domain and its scenarios as realised in the media discourse surrounding political events in Belarus in 2021. Metaphorical scenarios are investigated considering different viewpoints, such as those presented in Lithuanian, German, and Russian media. The methodological framework is a blend of Cognitive Linguistics and Critical Discourse Studies, embracing the viewpoint (Sweetser, E. (2012). Viewpoint and perspective in language and gesture, from the ground down. In B. Dancyger & E. Sweetser (Eds.), Viewpoint in language (pp. 1–2). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), Critical Metaphor Analysis ( (2005). Politicians and rhetoric. The persuasive power of metaphor. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), metaphorical scenarios (Musolff, A. (2016). Political metaphor analysis: Discourse and scenarios. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), and framing (Hart, C. (2014). Discourse, grammar and ideology. Functional and cognitive perspectives. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). The results demonstrate that the entertainment domain acquires multiple scenarios depending on the viewpoint. The evaluation attached to the scenarios is mostly negative; however, the viewpoint adopted in Lithuanian and German discourses is very different from Russian discourse. The former is based on Western values and targets the authoritarian regime, whereas the latter is Russian-centric, with the Western world posited as a major threat to the Belarusian and Russian societies.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Data and methods
    • Metaphor identification
    • Metaphor interpretation
    • Metaphor explanation
  • 3.Results
    • 3.1Scenario development in Lithuanian media discourse
    • 3.2Scenario development in German media discourse
    • 3.3Scenario development in Russian media discourse
  • 4.Discussion
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Notes
  • Sources used in examples
  • References
References (65)
Sources used in examples
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