At War with Metaphor: Media, Propaganda, and Racism in the War on Terror

by Erin Steuter Mount Allison University, Deborah Wills

Overview

When 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, including political cartoons and talk radio, are enmeshed in these damaging, dehumanizing metaphors. Analyzing media through the lenses of race and Orientalism, it invites us to hold our media and ourselves accountable for the choices we make in talking war and making enemies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739121986
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	08/15/2008
Pages:	266
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Erin Steuter is associate professor of sociology at Mount Allison University. Deborah Wills is associate professor of English at Mount Allison University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 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

Editorial Reviews

Written 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 Reviews

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

Written 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

Written 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.

March 2009 CHOICE

Written 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.

March 2009 Choice Reviews

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

Written 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

From the Publisher