As mentioned in my last post, several candidates have already announced that they are running for president in the 2016 election. Hillary Clinton not only started giving speeches, she produced a short, two-minute video announcing her candidacy. You can see the video here. This video is fascinating for several reasons.
For one, Mrs. Clinton does not even appear in the video until it is more than half over. The beginning of video features real people discussing their plans to do something new in their lives, e.g., people who are getting new jobs, moving to a new town, getting married or retiring. After many of these vignettes, Mrs. Clinton appears in the video and announces, “I’m getting ready to do something too. I’m running for president.” Now I am no expert on political strategies but it seems that Mrs. Clinton is deliberately using two clever techniques here. First, by showing these vignettes, she is comparing herself to real Americans with real-life problems and life goals. Secondly, she is using a narrative structure similar to a novel or short story. This technique lets the audience know that she is a storyteller, and she wants to be the narrator of the story of America in the next few years.
The other interesting aspect of the video is that Mrs. Clinton uses a striking number of metaphors. In a short script of only 92 words, she uses 13 different conceptual metaphors. I believe she uses these to sound more folksy and in touch with regular American people. This high use of metaphors provides further evidence that it is hard not to speak in metaphors when talking about American politics. I will include the entire script here thanks to the folks at bustle.com for the transcript. The transcript will be followed by the metaphors in Mrs. Clinton’s short speech. As always, I have highlighted the metaphors in italics.
“I’m getting ready to do something too. I’m running for president. Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times. But the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top. Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion. So you can do more than just get by. You can get ahead, and stay ahead. Because when families are strong, America is strong. So I’m hitting the road to earn your vote, because it’s your time. And I hope you’ll join me on this journey.”
Horse Racing
running for president
As mentioned in my last post, it is very common to compare American elections to horse races.
Example: “I’m getting ready to do something too. I’m running for president.”
get ahead and stay ahead
In any type of race, a person, animal or car must compete with other racers to win. The winner of a race must travel faster than the other competitors in order to get ahead of them and then stay ahead until they cross the finish line. In this case, Mrs. Clinton is comparing American families competing for limited financial resources to runners in a race. With her help they can succeed in American society by winning the race.
Example: “You can get ahead, and stay ahead.”
Personification
families are strong/America is strong
In the American psyche, we often consider ourselves to be strong people who confront adversity with tenacity and perseverance. This is true perhaps because of our country’s history which began with a revolution against the British, or because we survived a bloody civil war and helped win two world wars. In a common form of personification, American families and even America itself are compared to a human being. Thus, we can say that both American families and America are strong.
Example: “Because when families are strong, America is strong.”
Boxing
Following the sense that Americans are strong people, politicians are doubly confident in their strengths as competitors and survivors. Thus we can have metaphorical expressions of people acting like boxers fighting their way through a tough fight. Even more so like a boxer, some politicians compare themselves to a champion, or someone who wins fights against tough opponents.
fight their way back
Example: “Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times.”
a champion
Example: “Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion.”
Senses
A second metaphor is used in the previous example using our experiences with senses. It is very common to describe abstract processes with concrete experiences. For example, we describe difficult circumstances as being tough as if it is a hard piece of leather or piece of bark. In this case, we refer to economic circumstances as being tough.
tough economic times
Example: “Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times.”
Cards
the deck is stacked
Another way of describing a difficult or unfair situation is by comparing it to a card game. Among friends, the deck of cards is not tampered with and is completely normal. In some cases, people may try to cheat by putting specific cards into special locations in the deck for easy access. This is called stacking the deck. Metaphorically, stacking the deck means that one person or group is unfairly controlling the situation.
Example: “Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times. But the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top.”
Height
We also create metaphors based on sensory experiences with height. We conceive of people with power and money being at the top of a structure while poor people without power are at the bottom of scale. These metaphors are derived from conceptual metaphors of up being good and down being bad. In this case, the people in power in American government and society are at the top.
Example: “But the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top.”
Journeys
Finally, perhaps the most powerful and overarching metaphor in the video is that of a journey metaphor which Mrs. Clinton uses both implicitly and explicitly. These journey metaphors take many forms.
fought their way back
In one instance, the American people are fighting their way back from economic times, as if they are coming back from a long journey.
Example: “Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times.”
We can also speak of making a journey with difficulty as just getting by, as if we are squeezing past an obstacle walking on a path. In this case, Mrs. Clinton combines a horse racing metaphor with a journey metaphor as if people are racing on a journey together.
Example: “So you can do more than just get by. You can get ahead, and stay ahead.”
hitting the road
An unusual expression about beginning a journey is hitting the road. This phrase is perhaps derived from the sense of our shoes hitting the pavement as we begin to walk.
Example: “So I’m hitting the road to earn your vote, because it’s your time.”
join me on this journey
In the last example, Mrs. Clinton explicitly invites the viewers of the video to go on the metaphorical journey with her as if she and the American people are travelling together to create a better American society.
Example: “And I hope you’ll join me on this journey.”
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As I mentioned, these examples illustrate how common metaphors are in everyday speech about politics. I am continuously amazed how strange and difficult this type of language for people learning English as a second or foreign language. I hope that these students can understand these colorful expressions.
Next time: Metaphors in Rand Paul’s Announcement