A Conceptual Metaphors in Mean Girls: A Cognitive Semantic Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24256/itj.v8i1.10404Keywords:
Conceptual Metaphor, Idiomatic Expression, Mean GirlsAbstract
This study analyzes conceptual metaphors in “Mean Girls” to explain how adolescent social relationships are represented through idiomatic expressions in popular culture. The aims of this research are to identify the types of conceptual metaphors found in selected expressions, describe their source and target domain mappings, and explain how these mappings represent teenage social interaction. This research applied a descriptive qualitative method with a cognitive semantic approach based on Lakoff and Johnson’s Conceptual Metaphor Theory. The data were collected through documentary analysis by repeatedly watching the movie, examining the dialogue, script, and subtitles, and selecting expressions containing figurative meanings related to adolescent social life. The findings reveal seven metaphorical expressions: “the Plastics,” “queen bee,” “hyena,” “burn book,” “cool mom,” “you can’t sit with us,” and “life ruiner.” These expressions consist of structural, ontological, and orientational metaphors with source domains such as animals, material, fire, temperature, space, and destruction. The findings show that adolescent relationships in “Mean Girls” are represented as hierarchical, artificial, exclusive, competitive, and emotionally harmful. This study concludes that metaphorical expressions in the movie specifically construct teenage social life as a system of power, performance, and social boundaries. The research benefits cognitive semantic studies, film discourse analysis, and English language learning.
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