The metaphor at the service of melodrama in journalistic story in the Spanish transition to democracy

Abstract

This paper analyses different discourse strategies used by the journalist Jesús Duva in his report “Los siete días que hicieron temblar la Transición” (The week the Spanish Democratic Transition trembled), in which features typically associated with melodrama are used to narrate the concatenation of events that culminated in the tragedies of 23rd and 24th January 1977, when Spain was immersed in the process of transforming the structures of a dictator ship into those of a democracy. The specific nature of political journalism in the construction of the discursive identity of a social group plays an important role here, as Duva’s text not only aims to retrieve the historic memory of the Transition period, but it also mythologizes it. The passing of time contributes to this effect, as it has put the account of this political process into perspective, while also charting the schematic narration of a crucial event in the future that awaited that Spanish people. Specifically, one of the formulae adopted by the narration is melodrama, a fictitious system used to imbue the experience with meaning that explains how and why the episodes took place and that also presents a polarized world vision. One of the mechanisms used to enhance this melodramatic representation is, in fact, metaphor, which lends shape and substance to a narrative that brings a social group cohesion. Its capacity for simplification makes metaphor an extremely efficient tool in the sphere of politics, constituting an ideal resource for the transmitting of large amounts of information in a simple fashion. In our case, this means of conceptualization is an essential mechanism for the shaping of melodrama. As our analysis will show, several conceptual domains metaphorically shape a melodramatic account that moves the reader, provoking feelings of admiration and fear. These domains lend coherence to the text, working together and showing that melodramatic narration is an example of metaphorical systematization.