Facing cancer: metaphors in medical animation films

Abstract

Conceptual Metaphor Theory claims that metaphors are a key instrument for making abstract and complex phenomena comprehensible. Cancer, one of the deadliest diseases in the world, is one such complex phenomenon. Hitherto, metaphors pertaining to the nature and treatment of cancer, and to coping with it, have been analysed almost exclusively in verbal communication. Cancer metaphors, however, are also often audio-visualized in animations. In this article, the authors analyse the metaphors in 30 short medical animation films. Their purpose is twofold: (1) to assess whether these animations feature the same metaphors as those prevailing in the verbal texts analysed in earlier research; and (2) to show how animation provides medium-specific ways to present metaphors related to ‘dealing with cancer’. They end the article with reflections on challenges with respect to the identification and categorization of metaphors in animated films to help future researchers, and with some cautious recommendations for possible practical uses of understanding cancer metaphors in animations.