Constructing Meaning: Metaphorical Frameworks in Cinema

Abstract

This thesis investigates how metaphor contributes to the thematic depth and viewer's understanding of cinema through a mixed methodology based on Aristotle's definition of metaphor. The study focuses on motion pictures by Hayao Miyazaki, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Béla Tarr concerning metaphorical concepts from Paul Ricoeur, theories of unconscious and dreams from Carl Jung, and interpretation of space by Gaston Bachelard. The results reveal that metaphor in cinema functions beyond semantic or systematic ornamentation. Metaphor is a transformative tool during the creative process, beginning with the filmmaker's preceding observation. Then, the viewer experiences metaphor through the perception of time and space within a film. As a result, new and broader meanings emerge as a moment of exchange between the filmmaker and the audience.