Metaphor criticism

1. Metaphoric Criticism

2. Metaphoric Criticism Metaphor - something used, or regarded as being used, to represent something else Tenor: topic that is being represented Vehicle: medium used to represent the tenor Metaphors utilize familiar vehicles to explain unfamiliar tenors. Frequency: Similar vehicles are used repeatedly to describe many different tenors Intensity: An unexpected or unusual vehicle is used to describe a specific tenor. Example: Benedict Arnold is a famous backstabber.

3. Procedures for Analyzing an Artifact Examine the artifact: What is the context? (setting, genre, audience, rhetor , ect .) Isolate the metaphors Sort the metaphors Do different metaphors emerge. Is there a theme? Discover an explanation for the artifact What is significant about the metaphors – the frequency or the intensity?

4. Research Question Is Top Gun a movie about a man struggling to find his sexual identity? If so, why was this particular genre used to address this subject or tell this story? Charlie Maverick Iceman and Wolfman

5. F14: Pilot + Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr. Action blockbuster 1986

6. Analyzing the Volleyball Scene A: The Top Gun guys want Mav to stay and play another game of volleyball with them but he leaves to go to Charlie’s house. B: The gay guys want Mav to be gay but he entertains the idea of being straight. A: Charlie wants to have sex with Mav but he suddenly decides to go back to the Top Gun base to shower with a bunch of other men. B: Charlie wants Mav to be straight but he entertains the idea of being gay.

7. “I’m glad we got that straight.”

8. Homoerotic Dialogue? “I’d like to bust your butt but I can’t” – Air Boss Johnson “He’s on my tail, comin ’ hard!” – Goose “I gotta be straight with you man. I can’t afford to blow this.” – Goose “They must be close. I’m getting a hard on.” – Wolfman “Get your butts out of that flight gear!” – Jester “I’m gonna go head to head with him!” – Maverick

9. LBGT slang: Top – The active partner Bottom – The passive partner Maverick wants to be at the top of his class at Top Gun academy Explanation for the Artifact A: Pilot A: RIO B: Top B: Bottom

10. Why is this Metaphor Relevant to the Audience? Is this metaphor relevant to: straight men, gay men, straight women, or men who are struggling with their sexual identity?

11. “Gay subtext always makes every movie better.” – Quentin Tarantino