Chapter 13
Persuasion in musical multimedia
A conceptual blending theory approach
I use the Conceptual Blending Theory to discuss the application of familiar music themes in unexpected contexts, where the music assists the image and text in swaying viewers’ opinion. A new interpretation emerges in such examples after two-tier conceptual blending. The musical themes initially integrate with the original (visual) context in listeners’ long-term memory, creating stable blends with predictable connotations. In the changed context, these blends become inputs in a new integration process, where the creators consciously play with listeners’ expectations: either by enhancing them, creating what blending theorists call the vital relation of analogy, or by disappointing them, creating the relation of disanalogy. I therefore integrate insights from cognitive linguistics and musicology in discussing the persuasive potentials of music.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.The semantics of music
- 3.Conceptual blending theory
- 4.Analysis
- 4.1“The Anvil of Crom” – from barbarians to modern electoral campaigns
- 4.2The imperial march – Uniting the galactic empire, Hitler, and NATO
- 4.3“El Condor Pasa” – from the Andes to modern-day air raids
- 5.Conclusions
-
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Cited by
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