Metaphors of Hijab in Saudi Arabia in Images on Instagram

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of Forceville's (1996, 2008, 2009, 2015) framework of pictorial metaphor that he applied to the genre of commercial advertising to examine another genre, namely social media posts. If the study finds the framework to be lacking, it will attempt to suggest a solution to remedy its inadequacy. The primary focus of the study is pictorial metaphors of the hijab, as used on Instagram from 2016 to 2018 in Saudi Arabia. The study selected static, non-artistic images. In order to conduct this study, I adopted Forceville's (1996, 2008, 2009, 2015) framework, which is one of the most important approaches when considering pictorial metaphors. The study concluded that Forceville's approach was partly effective and appropriate for studying pictorial metaphors on Instagram because it illustrates the structural elements of pictorial metaphors, which I have applied to the metaphors in the present study. It also concluded that the difference between the two genres (advertising and social media posts) means that Forceville's approach is not entirely suitable for social media posts. Therefore, the study suggests adding the contextual factors that Kovecses (2015) proposed. The combination of Forceville's approach to pictorial metaphor and Kovecses’ contextual factors provides a systematic foundation for the study of the genre of social media posts, since it does not disregard context and its impact on the formulation of conceptual metaphors.