Fighting Words in the Antipodes

Area of Science:

• Sociology of Diagnosis
• Media Studies
• Public Health Communication

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic presented unique challenges for public understanding and response.
• Media narratives significantly influence societal perceptions of health crises.
• The sociology of diagnosis highlights the social construction of illness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze media metaphors used to describe COVID-19 in Australia and New Zealand.
• To explore how these metaphors shape individual and collective pandemic responses.
• To examine the consequences of these metaphors for mental health during the crisis.

Main Methods:

• Commentary and analysis of media reporting on COVID-19.
• Application of sociological and philosophical (Derridean) approaches to metaphor.
• Qualitative examination of rhetorical strategies in media discourse.

Main Results:

• Media employed metaphors such as combat, natural disasters (bush fires, earthquakes) to frame the pandemic.
• These metaphors influenced the constitution of the pandemic locally and internationally.
• Rhetorical strategies in media significantly impacted public response and mental well-being.

Conclusions:

• Media metaphors are powerful tools that construct the social reality of pandemics.
• The framing of COVID-19 through specific metaphors had tangible consequences for mental health.
• Critical analysis of media's role in health crises is essential for effective public health strategies.