The representation of coronavirus: 'Don't be afraid but pay attention'

Coronavirus...coronavirus...'Don't be afraid but pay attention'

14 June 2020

In this blog post, I would like to write about coronavirus and language: how it is talked about in the media? As I do this, I am hoping to contribute to an interest in ‘coronavirus and language’ (see below). I would like to find out if there might be, if any, a positive representation of coronavirus other than its negative (and rather grim) representation in the news.

I am also inspired by auto-ethnography (self-reflection through writing) and I would like to talk a bit about how I coped with the lockdown. I will do so in the second part of this blog post. But first, I will tell you more about what I have learnt so far about language (particularly metaphors) and coronavirus, and how the use of metaphors creates a specific representation of coronavirus. Ready?

I would have liked to travel this summer, day dreaming…and I could bizarrely hear the sounds of a helicopter, as if I am in it, leaving the ground, for some exciting good views!

Coronavirus and language

 Many blog posts, tweets and articles have explored how language, mostly used by politicians,  frame our attitudes about the coronavirus. When we analyse language, there are many aspects we can look at for example, the presuppositions and assumptions made in a text, the nominalisations used (for example, how a particular phenomenon is named and described) and the metaphors used (see for example, Unger, Wodak & KhosraviNik 2016: 283 and Wodak & Krzyzanowski 2008). The metaphors used to talk about coronavirus has been a focus of interest in what is written about coronavirus and language. So, what are metaphors? What do they do? And what does the use of metaphors tell us about the representation of coronavirus?

Metaphors and coronavirus

You might be already familiar with the term ‘metaphor’ (for example, saying ‘my mother is the moon'). But if you do not know the term, here is its definition by an expert on metaphors, Elena Semino. She defines metaphors as follows:

‘By metaphor, I mean the phenomenon whereby we talk and, potentially, think about something in terms of something else’ (Elena Semino (2008: 1).

In Metaphor in Discourse, Elena Semino shows us how metaphors can frame the way we think about actions, processes, or phenomena; metaphors also have richness of meanings (see for example, Semino 2008: 4-10). For example, when we say 'life as a journey', we are likely to communicate many meanings about life, for example, life as movement, as an adventure, or possibly going through unexpected events or new things.

I like this article by Paul Elie, named ‘against virus as metaphor’ published in the New Yorker (I knew about this article on Twitter: @elenasemino). This article is interesting because it explains why some/many of us did not take coronavirus seriously at first. The article tells us two things. First, even before the outbreak of covid 19, ‘the virus’ was already popular as a metaphor, for example, when we say, this video went ‘viral’ or when we say this computer had ‘a virus’. Second, it is this popular use of ‘the virus’ as a metaphor -the article suggests- that could have made coronavirus seem less serious than what it is.

There is more about metaphors and coronavirus, in this blog post by Brigitte Nerlich named ‘metaphors in the time of coronavirus’. (She is on Twitter: @BNerlich). The blog post talks us through the many metaphors that have been used to talk about coronavirus, such as ‘flattening the curve’ (also used as a persuasive device as in ‘stay at home, flatten the curve’), ‘the domino effect’ (showing how easy it is to spread the virus) and the ‘spike protein’ as ‘weapon’ in reference to the spikes on the virus that allow it to stick to human cells. This blog post also explains how coronavirus is described as a natural disaster or as a plague killer. Another variation of this metaphor is describing coronavirus as a tsunami, as @elenasemino pointed out in one of her tweets. To elaborate on the tsunami metaphor, here is an example from an article on the BBC news website about coronavirus in South Africa:

'But so far, and against most predictions, South Africa's hospitals remain quiet, the anticipated tsunami of infections that many experts here have been waiting for has yet to materialise'.

Coronavirus is also described as ‘an enemy’ in which nations are described in a ‘state of war’. You might have already noticed that politicians used phrases such as ‘the fight’, ‘the struggle’ and ‘the battle’ in their speeches on the coronavirus. From one perspective, you might argue that the war metaphor is used as a persuasive strategy to show the seriousness of the situation and to persuade people to follow the social distancing rules.

The war metaphor, however, has been criticised a lot. In fact, if there is anything positive about the coronavirus pandemic, it could be said that it has contributed to an increasing interest and debate about metaphor, language use and the coronavirus. To illustrate, a google search on ‘coronavirus and the war metaphor’ shows about ‘21 million results’, which leads to many many pages with links to content (articles/videos) about the war metaphor and the coronavirus.

As I mentioned above, many of these articles are against the use of the war metaphor. Since this feeds into my inquiry of the representation of coronavirus, I will briefly sum up the main arguments against the war metaphor, before moving on to the second part of my blog post about coping with the lockdown (yay, finally!).

The war metaphor

There are at least two arguments against the use of a war metaphor in talking about covid 19. First, a war metaphor could give wrong assumptions about the world, which needs unity and cooperation rather than discourse on war, as this article argues, for example. Second, a war metaphor could put the listener/viewer in a state of frenzy and panic, as my former lecturer Veronika Koller argues in this article.

In my view, the above-mentioned metaphors of a war, of a natural disaster make an official representation of coronavirus. It is described here as a looming threat (‘a war’ or an  ‘enemy’), as something dynamic (‘a moving curve’) and as something unavoidable (‘a tsunami’, ‘a natural disaster’ etc.).

I passed through days since the corona outbreak when stepping out of the door (to buy things from the shop nearby) gave me negative feelings and was something uncomfortable. I always looked round me, as if the coronavirus (the ‘invisible enemy’) would suddenly appear and track me down, as I went to the shop and came back. Luckily, these feelings were intermittent. It was listening to songs and music that helped me get over my fears. I will tell you more below about my fascination with a song in Spanish called 'coronavirus', in this following section.

Coping with the corona quarantine…🎧

My main coping strategy in corona lockdown was listening to songs. I would like to say more about this but first I will tell you about a course/module I attended at Lancaster University. It was about understanding media. I learnt from the lectures of Julia Gillen that when we study media texts, we can examine not only the texts themselves (for example, the lyrics) but also what we do with them, for example, the practices that surround listening to songs.

In corona lockdown, I think I was mainly listening to songs to overcome boredom and negative thoughts. Like books or paintings, some songs inspire me, for example, give me energy to go through the 'tasks of the day' or explore new things. But since in the past, I mainly listened to songs in English and Arabic, I thought it would be a good idea to listen to songs of languages I don't speak. I even thought after a while that life could be more welcoming and tolerant, if we adopt this as a practice, since songs and their video-editions carry with them cultural symbols, new tastes etc.

I started listening to Indian songs; I am still exploring them but so far, I like this one by Neha Kakkar. I then moved to explore songs in Spanish. In this (most amazing) time of self-reflection, I stumbled  upon a song on YouTube called 'coronavirus'. When I first listened to it, it sounded like a dance song, and I thought it is brave. It is not something usual, I think, that we have songs about 'disease', and with such an upbeat rhythm? I became more curious and checked the lyrics' meanings in Google. 

As I will explain below, this song was inspiring as it was hopeful and humorous. It made me more confident; as a language scholar, I could see other representations of coronavirus other than the dominant images of war and tsunami.

CORONAVIRUS, CORONAVIRUS, LÁVENSE LAS MANOS, HÁGANLO SEGUIDO ‘wash your hands. Do it often’

The 'coronavirus' song -I am using as an example of another representation of coronavirus-  has at least three versions on YouTube: one is by the singer Andy Zvala, another is by Mister Cumbia (these are grown-ups) and a third version is by a child singer, Ramiro Martínez. He is an accordion player and has a YouTube channel of his own, with about 6 thousand subscribers (featured below).

I hope that you, like me, enjoy the song (here is the link to it! Surprise!).

As you listen to the song, you will notice that it has an upbeat music and a call for interactivity. For example, the description of Andy Zavala's performance reads: 'Andy Zavala wants to teach how the virus is fought by singing’ and at 00.38 of the song, as the singer mentions his name and we read it as well like a banner running on the screen, we see an image of him on stage. It is as if he is now in front of us, performing the song live (see below).

Besides the upbeat music and interactivity (through the repeated mention of the singers' name: Andy Zavala and Mister Cumbia, humour is apparent, I think, in the two songs. Andy Zavala’s song for example, has a funny picture of a man wearing a ‘Norton antivirus CD’ to his nose, as a face mask, drawing on the double meaning (pun) of a virus: 1-computer virus and 2-coronavirus. There is also a graphic image of people wearing masks in a collective action, perhaps in a self-mocking manner, as if from now on, this will be our 'new' dress code.

In the song by Mister Cumbia, coronavirus is personified as two faces that keep moving in their place throughout the song (which perhaps shares with the metaphor of ‘flattening the curve’, the idea of movement). The two faces of the coronavirus have crossed eyebrows, suggesting an evil attention, which is also communicated by the ‘fake’ smile on their face (see the figure below). This cartoonist style of personifying the virus, however, brings it closer to children's stories, as if this could be a part of a (monster) story book for children, giving a light-hearted representation of the corona virus.

This light-hearted approach is also evident in the song by Ramiro Martínez. He 'seriously' acts the role of a medical professional,  as can be seen from his gestures and dress code, for example, he gestures with his index finger to the viewer, and applies a disinfectant in front of the camera, which takes me to my last and my final section (I promise!) about the lyrics of the song.

The lyrics and their structure

The lyrics follow a problem-solution structure. First, they establish coronavirus as an ‘alarm’ that has ‘scared’ the world, something that at first might be similar to the representation of coronavirus in the news. Yet, having established coronavirus as an alarm, the lyrics offer advice/solution: ‘wash your hands frequently, wear a mask and keep a meter distance from others’. It is up to the listener to infer the following message: follow this advice and things will be fine or as the description in Andy Zavala’s song says: ‘Don’t be afraid but pay attention’.

In my corona quarantine, I listened to this song quite a bit and I found it inspirational and empowering, through its upbeat music, use of humour and message of hope. Plus, it was good to see another representation of coronavirus, other than the images of coronavirus in the news, as a looming threat, a weapon; and a tsunami that is approaching.

References

Elie, Paul. 2020. (Against) virus as metaphor. The New Yorker. March 19:

https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/against-the-coronavirus-as-metaphor Accessed May 27, 2020.

Nerlich, Brigitte. 2020. Metaphors in the time of coronavirus. Making Science Public. March 17. https://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/makingsciencepublic/2020/03/17/metaphors-in-the-time-of-coronavirus/ Accessed May 27, 2020.

Tisdall, Simon. 2020. Lay off those war metaphors, world leaders. You could be the next casualty. The Guardian. March 21. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/21/donald-trump-boris-johnson-coronavirus Accessed May 27, 2020.

Semino, Elena. 2008. Metaphor in discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Serhan, Yasmeen. 2020. The case against waging ‘war’ on the coronavirus. The Atlantic. March 31.

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/03/war-metaphor-coronavirus/609049/ Accessed May 27, 2020.

Unger, Johann, Wodak, Ruth, & KhosraviNik, Majid. 2016. Critical discourse studies and social media data. In David Silverman (Ed.), Qualitative research (4th ed.). London: SAGE, pp. 277-293.

Wodak, Ruth, & Krzyzanowski, Michal. 2008. Qualitative discourse analysis in the social Sciences. Palgrave Macmillan

Links to the songs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lap1eCx3Wvw&t=2s (Andy Zavala)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hW4DF6FWtk (Mister Cumbia)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21oUje8pUcY (Ramiro Martínez)