The Use of Metaphor in Defining the Pandemic Phenomenon

Résumé En

Although pandemics are perceived as scientific and technicalproblems, their multi-layered political implications trigger an ideology-laden debate. In this paper, we argue that in the face of the upheavalscaused by Covid-19, a considerable part of the political and mediasystems has used narratives rooted in neo-nationalist and neo-liberalideologies. On the one hand, neo-nationalism is visible through theportrayal of stereotypical « others » in mainstream media. On theother hand, the health emergency has tested and will continue to testinstitutions and their ability to find and implement solutions that minimiseharm without restricting individual freedoms. Those entrusted with theinstitutional and political responsibility to inform the public once againcommunicated on the event using the primal rhetorical figures. First inChina, then in Italy and Europe, and finally throughout the world,politicians, journalists, doctors, economists and opinion leaders havedefined the health emergency as “war”. The metaphor of war has beenused and abused from the beginning, and the first and most vocaldisseminators of the term « war » and its associated concepts havebeen politicians. This paper proposes an extension of the concept of Orientalism as a possible key to understanding the construction of stereotypical representations of Covid-19 as the ‘enemy’ and the pandemicas ‘war’ during the lockdown. Furthermore, it is argued that politicalpositions and conflicts over pandemic measures are not random andnor do they depend on the idiosyncrasy of individuals. Rather, theyrepresent certain material interests and socio-cultural and ideologicalbackgrounds.