Chapter 11

Anger in Asterix: The metaphorical representation

of anger in comics and animated films

Bart Eerden

Abstract

This chapter analyses anger in two Asterix comics albums and two Asterix
animated films. This will on the one hand yield, enrich, and qualify Forceville’s
(2005a) earlier findings on the visual representation of the Idealized Cognitive
Model of anger in the Asterix album La Zizanie and on the other hand enable
insights into medium-specific representations of the ICM of anger. In
investigating the structural part of the emotion metaphors, handbooks for comics
and animated films will be taken into account as well, thus allowing for
comparisons between theories developed in metaphor scholarship and the
practices of animation artists. The methodological framework constructed for the
analysis in this paper is applicable to (a) other emotions and (b) other pictorial
manifestations of emotions in static and moving images.

Keywords: Idealized Cognitive Model, anger, emotions, comics, animation

1. Introduction

In cognitive metaphor research, metaphorical expressions are the verbal

manifestations through which Idealized Cognitive Models (ICMs) or Folk
Models (Lakoff and Johnson 1980, 1999; Lakoff 1987) can be charted.
Zoltán Kövecses has systematically analyzed the ICMs of various emotions
(Kövecses 1986, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2002 and 2005). Based on verbal evi-
dence in several languages, Kövecses argues that people structurally concep-
tualize emotions metaphorically. For example “he is doing a slow burn” and
“he spat fire” can be traced back to the concept ANGER IS FIRE. By contrast,
“he has a ferocious temper” and “he unleashed his anger” draw on ANGER IS
244 Bart Eerden

A CAPTIVE ANIMAL (Kövecses 2000: 21). Over the past decade the research
of visual and multimodal metaphors within the cognitivist paradigm has
taken shape in the work of Carroll (1996), Forceville (1996, 2002, 2005b,
2006/this volume, 2008), Kennedy (1993), Khordoc (2001), Whittock
(1990), but most of this work focuses on creative rather than on structural
metaphors. Kövecses’ model, however, provides a good starting point for the
investigation of structural emotion metaphors in non-verbal and multimodal
representations.
Elaborating on findings by Kennedy (1982, 1993), Forceville (2005) ex-
amines visual representations of anger in an Asterix comic. Comics provide
good source material for research, because of their rich use of pictorial
metaphors to convey a vast array of emotions (see also Fein and Kasher
1996; Khordoc 2001). Forceville (2005) introduces various pictorial signs
such as “red face,” “spirals” and “bulging eyes” that are frequently used in
the Asterix comic to depict anger. The nature and use of these signs appear
to confirm that these are not just creative metaphors in the sense of Black
(1979) and Forceville (1996) but indeed manifestations of structural meta-
phors (like the “he spat fire” example) in the sense of Lakoff and Johnson
(1980, 1999).
Whereas Forceville confined himself to anger in one comics album, this
chapter, building on Eerden (2004), will analyze anger in two other Asterix
comics albums and two Asterix animation films. This will on the one hand
enrich and qualify Forceville’s earlier findings and on the other hand enable
insights into how yet another medium (animated film) can represent the ICM
of anger. In investigating the structural part of the emotion metaphors, hand-
books for comics and animated films will be taken into account as well, thus
allowing for checking theories from the realm of metaphor scholarship
against the practices of comics and animation artists. The methodological
framework constructed for the analysis in this paper is intended to be subse-
quently applicable to (a) other emotions and (b) other pictorial manifesta-
tions of emotions in static and moving images.

2. Non-verbal metaphor

The perception psychologist Kennedy is one of the first to mention cartoons

as a source of non-verbal metaphors (Kennedy 1982). Consider the wavy
lines used by a cartoonist to depict smoke. These lines realistically represent
a visible phenomenon. Now imagine the same wavy lines used in a cartoon
to represent the strong smell of garbage. These lines are not realistic but
 Anger in Asterix 245

exemplify a metaphorical representation of (invisible) smell (example from

McCloud 1994: 128). In the same way, comics use realistic and non-realistic
signs to depict emotions. Much of the importance of Kennedy’s work resides
in the fact that he argues how the signs used in comics need not always be
derived from verbal metaphors: “there may be pictorial devices which are
metaphoric but which have no clear equivalent in language” (Kennedy 1982:
600).
Kennedy introduces the term “pictorial rune” for non-realistic visual
metaphors. According to Kennedy, pictorial runes are often used to depict
abstract concepts which are difficult to depict literally. Emotions are a good
example of such abstract concepts: “States such as anxiety and pain are
difficult to depict […]. Cartoonists often turn to pictorial runes to show
these states” (Kennedy 1982: 600). Kennedy’s observation of the representa-
tion and understanding of abstract concepts through concrete perceptible
phenomena in fact reflects one of the central principles of Cognitive Meta-
phor Theory.
Kennedy’s concept of pictorial runes is further fine-tuned by Forceville
(2005a). Forceville’s analysis of the non-verbal representation of anger in
the Asterix album La Zizanie (Goscinny and Uderzo 1970) introduces two
categories of visual representations of anger, based on a metonymic relation
between sign and emotion. One category consists of pictorial runes, a term
reserved for non-realistic (not perceptible in real life) signs. The second
category is formed by “indexical signs.” The indexical sign differs from the
pictorial rune in that it is a realistic sign (although often exaggerated). Apart
from its realism, the indexical sign seems to function much like a pictorial
rune. Both pictorial rune and indexical sign signify anger through a meto-
nymic relation (as opposed to arbitrary signs or literal depiction).

3. Anger in comics

Before presenting the results of the analysis of anger in two Asterix comics,
it is important to look at the results of Forceville’s (2005a) earlier analysis.
Forceville’s analysis of anger in La Zizanie will be the reference point for
the current analysis. La Zizanie contains 103 angry characters, and anger is
expressed through twelve different signs (Forceville 2005a: 75–77). The
twelve “angry signs” can be further divided in two categories: pictorial runes
(ex-mouth,1 spirals around the head, smoke above a head, bold face and
jagged text-balloon lines) and indexical signs (bulging eyes, tightly closed
246 Bart Eerden

eyes, wide mouth, tightly closed mouth, red face, arm/hand position and
shaking.
Table 1. Signs of anger in percentages of total number of angry characters per
album. (Percentages in the table are rounded to whole percents. For ex-
ample, “bulging eyes” occur 47 times in La Zizanie on a total of 103 an-
gry characters. This means that in 46 (45,63) percent of all angry char-
acters in La Zizanie “bulging eyes” is present.)

La Zizanie Asterix Légionnaire Asterix et Latraviata

Pictorial runes
Smoke/steam 1 2 -
Helmet - 3 -
Ex-mouth 13 21 16
Bold face 38 34 48
Jagged line 31 16 4
Spirals head 44 50 35
Indexical signs
Bulging eyes 46 42 59
Closed eyes 37 50 41
Wide mouth 4 34 48
0
Tight mouth 1 15 4
3
Red face 1 32 7
7
Hand/arm 5 59 70
0
Shaking body 6 5 1

The pictorial runes in La Zizanie, Forceville argues, are metonymically mo-

tivated, just as the indexical signs (Forceville 2005a: 82). More importantly,
the runes in La Zizanie, in some cases, appear to be direct manifestations of
the ICM of anger, thus confirming Kennedy’s claim that pictorial metaphors
do not necessarily have a verbal counterpart (Kennedy 1982: 600). However,
Forceville acknowledges the possibility that the runes under scrutiny here
“have become conventionalized as, somehow, ‘visual translations’ of verbal
manifestations of ICMs” (Forceville 2005a: 83). Both indexical signs and
pictorial runes are commensurate with the important central conceptual
 Anger in Asterix 247

metaphor ANGER IS A HOT FLUID IN A PRESSURIZED CONTAINER (as dis-

cussed by Kövecses 1986).
In this chapter, two other Asterix comics, Asterix et Latraviata (Uderzo
2001) and Asterix Légionnaire (Goscinny and Uderzo 1967) are analyzed to
test the insights of Forceville (2005a).2 Asterix et Latraviata is a relatively
recent album whereas Asterix Légionnaire was published in 1967, three
years before La Zizanie. With almost twenty-five years between the two
albums, they represent a cross-section of the Goscinny/Uderzo oeuvre.
The signs depicting anger in Asterix Légionnaire and Asterix et La-
traviata correspond largely, in form and in frequency, to the signs in La
Zizanie. See table 1 for the results, including Forceville’s.
As is noticeable from table 1, the two “eyes,” “mouth,” and the
“hand/arm” categories are the most frequently used signs in the three Asterix
albums. “Helmet” is a new pictorial rune, which does not appear in Force-
ville’s list. A helmet flying off a head as well as a character with smoke or
steam around its head appear only three times but these signs are certainly
worth mentioning.3 They are good examples of the depiction of different
categories or stages of anger. The helmet flying off is a sign that occurs with
the outburst of anger. “Smoke” as a sign occurs right before the explosion of
anger when the emotion is (still) suppressed. This stage of anger is described
by Forceville as “typically [comprising] a tightly closed mouth, often em-
phasized by clamped teeth and the ‘hidden arm/hand’ position” (Forceville
2005a: 83–83).
The “hand/arm” sign is a rather large category of different arm positions
occurring in different stages of anger. Forceville (2005a) uses a threefold
distinction to differentiate the “arm/hand” category: (i) fisted hands; (ii)
hands/arms emphatically close to the body; and (iii) pointing with the index
finger. Positions (i) and (ii) are particularly associated with attempts to con-
trol anger whereas position (iii) suggests the eruption of anger. A closer look
at the “hand/arm” category in the two Asterix albums reveals two additional
elements of this sign, “upright position” and “stretching forward.” The first
element (“upright”) seems to appear with Forceville’s description of
arm/hand position (i) and (ii), with fisted hands or arms close to the body (as
if to keep the anger inside the body-container). These positions of arm/hand
often occur in combination with an upright position of the body in which the
head is tilted with the nose pointing upwards.4 The second element (“stretch-
ing forward”) typically co-occurs with the outward pointing arm/hand posi-
tion (iii) in an outburst of anger. The forward stretched body appears to
convey the eruption of the pressurized container. Moreover, “stretching for-
ward” seems to be preceded by the “upright” position, thus conveying a
248 Bart Eerden

sequence of anger consisting of two stages, (a) the rising or suppression of

anger, followed by (b) the explosion of anger. However, in the static images
of a comics album, “upright” and “stretching forward” are difficult to rec-
ognize. This further distinction of the “hand/arm” sign will become relevant
in the discussion of animation film in section 5.

4. Handbooks for comics and animation films

Kövecses (2000, 2005) and Forceville (2006) as well as Lakoff and Turner
(1989) and Gibbs and Steen (1999) emphasize the influence of culture and
context on (the representation of) ICMs and the interpretation of source do-
mains, which is an important issue for the current analysis. After all, only
three comics albums by the same artist have been examined in this chapter.
Previous research (Kövecses 2005) shows evidence of quite fundamental
differences between for example the verbal manifestations of the Chinese
and Western container metaphor for anger. Yu (1998) describes how the
Chinese container metaphor, contrary to its Western equivalent, does not
involve a hot fluid but a gas which produces pressure on the body container
and which is not associated with heat. Shinohara and Matsunaka (2003)
demonstrate that in Japanese the metaphor ANGER IS GASTRIC CONTENTS IN
THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM is saliently present. But within Western culture,
differences between verbal (and visual) metaphors in different languages
seem minor, suggesting that the most important conceptual metaphors of an
ICM transcend at least national/language borders.
Handbooks for comics and animated films in western culture can prove to
be helpful in further investigating the structural part of the anger representa-
tions. The results of a short survey of handbooks (Blair 1994; Maestri 1999,
2002; Thomas and Johnston 1981; Williams 2001) not only show a great
similarity between the advice proffered by the different handbooks among
themselves, but also between the handbooks and the findings on anger in the
three Asterix comics investigated. The use of, and emphasis on, the same
signs to represent anger in different examples suggests the existence of em-
bodied concepts that are, to a certain extent, cross-culturally represented
through the same signs in comics and animation.
Blair (1999) describes a number of prototypical characters and facial ex-
pressions pertaining to standard emotions. His description of the standard
anger face strikingly resembles Forceville’s description of the visualization
of anger in La Zizanie. According to Blair, a prototypical angry character
has fisted hands, clamped teeth, V-shaped heavy brows and small, black
 Anger in Asterix 249

pupils located in the corner of the eyes (Blair 1999: 24, 52, 53). All these
elements appear in Forceville’s analysis as well as in the current analysis of
two new Asterix albums (“arm/hand (i),” “tight mouth” and “bulging eyes”).
My earlier claim (Eerden 2004) about the existence of “strong” signs
which prototypically represent a certain emotion, and “weak” signs which
can only represent a certain emotion in combination with other signs, is con-
sistent with Thomas and Johnston’s (1981) views. They also emphasize that
emotions more often than not are represented by a certain combination of
signs. While a combination of signs visually represents an emotion, say an-
ger, an isolated sign from such a combination, or such a sign in combination
with other signs, might represent a headache (“spirals”) or a person who has
eaten spicy food (“red face”) rather than anger. According to Thomas and
Johnston, emotions are most importantly expressed via the eyes, and again
the similarities with angry eyes in the analyzed Asterix comics are evident.
As a final point, Thomas and Johnston describe how Disney Studios initially
tried to copy facial expressions from real actors. This method proved unsuc-
cessful and Disney’s designers turned back to their drawing boards to ex-
periment with and try out other ways to represent emotions visually. This
seems to confirm a metonymically motivated connection between sign and
emotion instead of a sign iconically depicting an emotion.
In digital animation, to conclude this brief survey of handbooks, the same
few pictorial signs of anger can be found. Williams (2001) and Maestri
(1999, 2002) yet again emphasize the eyes (with brows) and the mouth as
the main sites for the expression of emotions. These are among the most
differentiated signs in the Asterix albums.
Although the fact that the handbooks corroborate the theoretical findings
should not lead to sweeping conclusions, it does present data in support of
the idea that pictorial anger signs metonymically instantiate conceptual
metaphors, specifically the ICM of anger. Moreover, the handbooks present
“eyes” as the most important part of the face for expressing an emotion,
which ties in with “eyes” being the largest and most differentiated category
in all three Asterix albums under scrutiny here. Interestingly, Kövecses
(1990) gives numerous examples of eyes as the source domain of emotion
metaphors in English and Hungarian. The verbal expressions found by
Kövecses, however, do not correspond with the signs found in the Asterix
albums. Whereas verbal expressions seem to focus on the presence and kind
of emotions (“love showed in his eyes,” “I could see the fear in his eyes”),
consistent with the idea of eyes as “mirror of the soul” (Kövecses 1990:
173), visual signs, at least of anger, appear to focus on representing the in-
tensity of an emotion in, and also around, the eyes (pouches, brows, lines).
250 Bart Eerden

Although different in appearance, both visual and verbal expressions of emo-

tions in eyes can be traced back to the conceptual metaphor EYES ARE CON-
TAINERS FOR THE EMOTIONS (Kövecses 1990; Lakoff and Johnson 1980).
These examples substantiate the hypothesis that visual metaphors can be
direct manifestations of an ICM instead of merely being visual translations
of verbal metaphors.

5. Animated films

This section examines the visual representation of anger in Asterix animation

films. The films under scrutiny here are Asterix et la Surprise de César
(Brizzi and Brizzi: France 1985) and Asterix chez les Brétons (van Lams-
weerde: France 1986). The first animated Asterix film is an adaptation of the
album Asterix Légionnaire (Goscinny and Uderzo 1967). Since neither of
the two other albums exists as animated film, the second film was selected
more or less randomly. Although based on the original comics album Asterix
Légionnaire (Goscinny and Uderzo 1967), Asterix et la Surprise de César is
very different from the original. Not only has the story been altered but,
more importantly for present purposes, there are salient differences in the
visual representation of anger due to the fact that animated film, unlike com-
ics, can actually show moving characters and moreover include sound. The
analysis of the representation of anger through different media is an impor-
tant way to determine the influence of a medium on its message, in this case
the pictorial metaphors. In the following paragraphs I will discuss the most
salient differences between these two media, and some consequences for the
analysis of anger.
First of all, comics are static and films are animated. This obvious fact
has a great influence on the appearance and interpretation of certain anger
signs. For example, the “famous” pictorial runes “speed lines” and “shape
changes,” used to indicate speed or motion in static images (Kennedy 1982:
501), are much rarer in animated films. The fact that animated films can
convey “motion” also sheds new light on certain anger signs. For example,
the hair of the characters turned out to be a difficult sign in comics. It is for
instance hard to see if the braids of Obelix (one of the main characters in
Asterix) swing up to express an emotion or just because they follow the
movement of his head. “Hair” as a sign is for that reason not included in the
analysis of the comics. In the animated films, by contrast, it is easy to see
how Obelix’ braids and moustache sometimes unrealistically swing up when
he expresses anger. Another example of different visualization in animated
 Anger in Asterix 251

films is the position or posture of a character’s body. In section 3 the new

categories “stretched forward” and “upright” were introduced as subcatego-
ries of Forceville’s “hand/arm” sign. But in the context of comics these pos-
ture signs are difficult to define. A change in posture that is caused by an
emotion is difficult to recognize in static images, where every panel shows a
more or less new situation. In contrast, animated films consist of shots and
sequences instead of panels, which makes it easy to detect a change in body
position.
A second big difference is related to the moving aspect of animation, too.
Since a comics album consists of a sequence of separate panels, readers can
decide for themselves how long they want to look at a panel. In fact the panel
can be seen as the smallest unit of a comic. For the average viewer the
smallest unit of an animated film is one shot (since normally a viewer can
not discern a single frame but only the succession of frames). This makes it
difficult to analyze and compare the two animated films because the length
of shots in Asterix et la Surprise de César and Asterix chez les Brétons
varies from less than one second to more than ten seconds. This means that
mutually exclusive signs (in comics) such as “wide mouth” and “tight
mouth” can easily appear multiple times in a single shot with a single char-
acter. Moreover, the comparison between a sign in a panel and the same sign
in a shot is difficult to express in numbers. If “bulging eyes” appears in a
panel it counts as one appearance, but how to count “bulging eyes” in a shot
of half a second or ten seconds, and what if “bulging eyes” appears five
times in a single shot? The inevitable conclusion is that reliable quantitive
comparison between both media is impossible. However, it is possible to
analyze the use of emotion signs across the different animated films and to
compare similarities and differences between emotion signs used in different
media in a more general sense.
One last important difference has to do with the multimodality of the dif-
ferent media. According to Forceville’s (2006) list of modes, comics contain
pictorial signs, written signs, and gestures. Animated films contain the same
three modes plus spoken signs, sounds, and music. Since the present study
focuses only on visual representations of anger, spoken signs, sounds, and
music will not be included in the analysis.

6. Signs of anger in animated films

The new indexical sign “stretched forward” returns in the expression of an-
ger in the two animated films. This sign typically appears in combination
252 Bart Eerden

with the other newly introduced sign “upright.” These signs usually appear
one after the other, expressing the build-up, followed by the release of anger.
The upright position is a manifestation of the building up of pressure in the
container, usually in combination with arms close to the body and/or
clenched fists, both associated with keeping the pressure in the container
(Forceville 2005a: 81). The “stretched forward” sign expresses the release of
pressure from the body container. “Stretched forward” usually appears in
combination with stretched arms and pointing or fisted hands. The outward
pointing arms also suggest the release of pressure. For examples of both
signs, see figures 1 and 2.5

Figure 1. Upright (hand-traced still from Asterix et la Surprise de César).

Apart from “stretched forward” and “upright,” which could already be seen
in comics, although not very clearly, some other completely new signs mate-
rialize in the animated films. These signs either do not appear in comics at
all or vary substantially from their equivalents in comics. In the following
analysis these signs will be examined more closely. An important aim of the
analysis is to find out if these new signs can be attributed to a conceptual
metaphor – and if so, to which one.

6.1 Wide mouth

As with “bulging eyes” the “wide mouth” sign in animated films also ap-
pears to differ from the same sign in comics because of the multimodality
(especially the presence of the sonic modality) and the motion aspect of the
animated film. Because animated film is not static, it is even better able to
build up a sign through different stages. In the Asterix comics, “a mouth
counts as ‘wide’ if at least two of the following are visibly present: (i) the
tongue; (ii) teeth; (iii) (a) line(s) running over the cheek from the nose to the
corners of the mouth” (Forceville 2005a: 76). In animated films, by contrast,
the “wide mouth” requires the presence of only one of these three features to
 Anger in Asterix 253

Figure 2. Stretched forward (hand-traced still from Asterix et la Surprise de

César).
communicate anger, and moreover is not restricted to the “expressed anger”
stage. This has to do with animated film’s ability to express the building up
of an emotion through time in a continuous sequence. This feature of ani-
mated film along with the presence of the sonic modality makes it much
easier to identify the emotion anger in a sequence. A wide mouth typically
represents the release of pressure from the body-container. An example of
“wide mouth” in animated film is provided in figure 3.

Figure 3. Wide mouth (hand-traced still from Asterix et la Surprise de César).

6.2 Bulging eyes

The two animated films show a wide variety of “bulging eyes.” All signs,
however, include a V-shaped brow with pouches and frowns as already de-
scribed by Forceville in the Asterix comics album (Forceville 2005a: 75).
The medium animated film and its specific features (moving images) possi-
bly plays an important role in the variation in pictorial signs of anger. The
animated films show a greater range in the depiction of bulging eyes. The
two animated films for example have “bulging eyes” wide open but also with
one eye closed and the other wide open or all the traits of bulging eyes with
254 Bart Eerden

the eyelids still slightly closed. Bulging eyes are a manifestation of the (re-
lease of the) internal pressure of the body-container.

6.3 Shaking

This sign expresses anger in the same way as does the “shaking” sign in
comics which consists of (i) multiple superimposition of a character and/or
(ii) a non-moving character depicted as “loose from the ground” (Forceville
2005a: 76). There is, however, a difference in form. “Shaking” can appear in
animated film without the superimposition described for the comics version
of “shaking,” and in other cases the head of the character is the only shaking
part. The absence of superimposition or extra lines inevitably means that
“shaking” is only recognized in a sequence of frames, but not in a single
(freeze)frame.
“Shaking” is a manifestation of the (immense) internal pressure of the
container. The “shaking” sign appears especially at moments where sup-
pressed anger turns into an outburst or when an outburst ends. An earlier
study of pictorial signs representing love in animated films suggested that
“shaking” is also used as a sign when love “strikes” a person or when a per-
son instantly falls out of love (Eerden 2004: 53). This particular example of
the “shaking” sign is limited to the head only.
The shaking of the head can be traced back to the folk theory of emo-
tions. Kövecses (1990, 2000, 2005) describes the folk theory according to
which an emotion can be characterized as a five-stage scenario. In this cog-
nitive model the emotion affects the self as a force that causes a change of
state. As a result the self loses control and at a final stage responds to the
emotion with emotional behavior (Kövecses 2000: 58–59). The new sub-
category of “shaking,” which focuses specifically around the head, marks the
sudden “entering” of one of the final stages of an emotion. The character
instantly loses control.

6.4 Ex-mouth

In comics this sign has “straight lines emitting from the mouth” (Forceville
2005a: 77). The lines express something forcefully coming out of the mouth.
This could be explained as the release of pressure, which makes “ex-mouth”
a pictorial rune. On the other hand, the straight lines might simply represent
 Anger in Asterix 255

inadvertent spitting as an expression of anger. In that case “ex-mouth”

should fall in the category of indexical signs.
The “ex-mouth” sign appearing in the animated films obviously has
“something forcefully coming out of the mouth” but without the straight
lines visible in comics albums. These lines, it seems, are replaced by sound
(shouting) and an unrealistic stream of air emitting from the mouth. The
stream of air is perceptible in the waving of clothes or hair of the “victim”
who is shouted at. These unrealistic traits confirm the idea of “ex-mouth”
being a pictorial rune. There is no example of spitting with anger to be found
in either animated film. As with “shaking,” this is again an example of a sign
which loses all its “speed lines” or superimpositions when “translated” from
comic to animation. Probably the waving of clothes is a motion hard to de-
pict in comics, hence support is needed in the form of lines to accentuate the
release of pressure. This is a good example of how pictorial signs have me-
dium-specific manifestations. In animated films the lines disappear and are
replaced by sound. For an example of “ex-mouth” in animated films, see
figure 4.

Figure 4. Ex-mouth and the waving movement of clothes in the Roman soldier’s
cape (hand-traced still from Asterix et la Surprise de César).

6.5 Upright

As an indexical sign for anger, “upright” has an erect position of the body
with the back of the head usually pressed against the neck and the nose
pointing upwards. The upright position of the body signals the build-up of
internal pressure in the body-container.
256 Bart Eerden

6.6 Stretched forward

“Stretched forward” is particularly associated with the outburst of anger and

is often preceded by the “upright” sign. “Stretched forward” usually appears
with arms pointing outwards and clenched fists or pointing hands. This sign
can be interpreted as the violent release of pressure from the container.

6.7 Low angle

At first glance, it appears as if the “low angle”-shot functions as an arbitrary

sign for anger.6 This shot (see figures 5 and 6) is often used to show angry
or threatening characters. Film theorists such as Bordwell and Thompson
stress, however, that framing does not automatically possess absolute or
general meaning (Bordwell and Thompson 2004: 263). According to Bord-
well and Thompson the context of a film will determine the function of a low
angle shot.
If “low angle” is considered neither a Peircean symbol sign nor a
Peircean iconic sign, the question will be whether “low angle” can be ex-
plained as the visual representation of a conceptual metaphor of anger, mak-
ing it an indexical sign. Possibly, “low angle” is the representation of the
conceptual metaphor ANGER IS A DANGEROUS ANIMAL (an animal to which a
character looks up from a low angle). Yet Kövecses (1990: 63) does not
derive metaphors from this concept that confirm the above hypothesis. His
outline of ANGER IS A DANGEROUS ANIMAL focuses on the growing or height
of the angry person whereas “low angle” seems to convey the experience of
the “victim” watching a huge angry character.
Perhaps the sign “low angle” does not express anger, but fear. But then
again the analysis resulted in only one example of a point of view shot from
a frightened character. Possibly, the “low angle” sign represents a part of the
ICM of anger that is not, or at least differently, expressed in language. Since
ICMs have hitherto mainly been charted on the basis of verbal expressions,
the analysis of visual expressions might result in new representations of
known conceptual metaphors or possibly even new conceptual metaphors.
Kövecses (2005), following Grady, offers a possible explanation for cul-
tural variations between conceptual metaphors and their verbal representa-
tions. According to Grady, complex conceptual metaphors are built up from
a combination of simpler primary metaphors. In this way the complex meta-
phor ANGER IS A HOT FLUID IN A CONTAINER is for example based on a
combination of primary metaphors such as INTENSITY IS HEAT, INTENSITY IS
 Anger in Asterix 257

QUANTITY and INTENSITY IS SPEED (Kövecses 2005: 27). Although the pri-
mary metaphors seem universal, combinations of primary metaphors vary
between different cultures, thus resulting in different complex metaphors,
which accounts for cultural variation in verbal expressions of anger. This
same phenomenon seems to be relevant for different modes of communica-
tion. I suggest that different modes of communication can account for varia-
tions in conceptual metaphors in much the same way as cultural context
does.

Figure 5. Low angle (hand-traced still from Asterix et la Surprise de César).

Figure 6. Low angle (hand-traced still from Asterix et la Surprise de César).

7. Results

Many of the signs found in the analyzed comics and films are commensurate
with the results of previous research (Forceville 2005a, Eerden 2004). The
analysis of comics and animated films reported in this chapter has also re-
sulted in the identification of some new signs of anger. Some of these oc-
curred in the two Asterix comics albums, but were not reported by Forceville
258 Bart Eerden

(2005a); others appear to be specific for the medium of animation. The ques-
tion here is whether different signs of anger downplay or highlight different
parts of the ICM of anger in verbal, comics, and animated form, respec-
tively. Further analysis is necessary to chart the conceptual metaphors which
are expressed through the newly found animated signs.
The “eyes” and “mouth” signs, followed by “arm/hand” are omnipresent
in both comics and animated films. The analysis of handbooks confirms the
important role of the three largest categories of signs and the rich variations
existing within each category (Blair 1999; Maestri 1999, 2002; Thomas and
Johnston 1981; Williams 2001). These three categories are the most used
and most differentiated signs in the comics, animated films, and handbooks
examined. But however important these signs are in visual representations,
verbal equivalents seem hard to find.
An example of the differences between verbal and visual representations
can be found in the source domains for “eyes.” The verbal expressions
largely pertain to EYES AS CONTAINER FOR EMOTIONS with the emotion
being visible in the eyes (“I could see the fear in his eyes,” “his eyes were
filled with anger,” and “love showed in his eyes”). Comics and animated
films, by contrast, are able to express not only the presence of a certain emo-
tion, but also the intensity of an emotion like anger, as well as its stage. This
again confirms the idea that complex conceptual metaphors might be con-
structed and expressed differently in different media and modes of communi-
cation.
The representation of anger in animated films results in the identification
of at least one new sign (“low angle”) which does not seem to fit in with the
central conceptual metaphor of anger (ANGER IS A HOT FLUID IN A PRESSUR-
IZED CONTAINER) as derived from verbal expressions. While all the other
signs can be explained as referring to embodied metaphors, “low angle” has
no relation to the body of the angry person, which explains why it is not
compatible with the container metaphor. Kövecses also presents verbal ex-
pressions that do not refer to the container metaphor but to other conceptual
metaphors, such as ANGER IS A DANGEROUS ANIMAL or ANGER IS AN OPPO-
NENT. However none of these examples seem to be related to the “low angle”
sign. The “low angle” sign originates from the unique possibilities (such as
framing and motion) of the animated medium. Also “low angle” seems to
focus more on the perspective of a “victim” experiencing or witnessing the
anger expressed by another character. When a “victim”-character is not
present in the story, it is the viewer who experiences the anger through a
virtual point-of-view-shot.
 Anger in Asterix 259

Animated films and comics in general contain yet other examples of signs
conveying emotions that are not related to the body. One might think of a
light-bulb or rain cloud above someone’s head. Certainly this area of picto-
rial metaphor needs more research. Shinohara and Matsunaka (this volume)
give examples of such external signs as thunder, wind, or flowers often oc-
curring in Japanese Manga. They also give examples of background scenes
of panels which are used to express the emotional state of the character in
the panel. A similar version sometimes appears in the Asterix comics. This is
not included in the current analysis, as the signs do not seem to appear struc-
turally, but further research is important here. One such sign is “green text
balloons,” which appears in La Zizanie. Forceville labels this sign as arbi-
trary and thus excludes it from his analysis, using the sign as an independent
indicator of anger, since the green text balloons appear in over 50 percent of
the anger panels (Forceville 2005a: 75). The green text balloons seem even
more arbitrary because they do not appear in the next two albums. However,
a closer look at the emotion anger in Asterix et Latraviata and Asterix et la
Surprise de César shows many unrealistically colored backgrounds in pan-
els with angry characters. These background and text balloon signs might be
arbitrary, but in light of Shinohara and Matsunaka’s research it is possible
that these signs actually express certain conceptual metaphors.
The results in table 1 present “hand/arm” and “eyes” as the largest two
categories of signs, followed by “mouth” signs. On average, “eyes” appears
in 85 percent of anger panels, for “hand/arm” the average is 63 percent, and
the category “mouth” can be found in 51 percent of the anger panels. The
three categories are not only the largest in numbers but also the most differ-
entiated signs, both in comics and animated films. The three signs are at the
very least commensurate with the conceptual metaphor ANGER IS A HOT
FLUID IN A PRESSURIZED CONTAINER. I would venture the stronger claim
that the container metaphor is at the center of the representation of anger in
the analyzed comics as well as the animated films.
Kövecses emphasizes the role of the container concept as central to the
concept of anger. It seems warranted to conclude that certain complex and
central embodied concepts such as CONTAINER and FORCE play a central
role in metaphors, irrespective of medium or mode. However, based on ver-
bal evidence, the concept of anger consists of a number of other important
metaphors such as ANGER IS A BURDEN, ANGER IS AN OPPONENT IN A
STRUGGLE and ANGER IS A CAPTIVE ANIMAL (Kövecses 2000: 21). These
metaphors are good examples of concepts that are not primarily based on
embodiment but seem more related to behavioral aspects. It seems that vis-
ual representations of anger focus almost entirely on embodied container
260 Bart Eerden

concepts whereas verbal expressions regularly draw on non-embodied, be-

havioral concepts. Since culture and context influence behavior rather than
physical aspects, it appears that verbal expressions more strongly reflect
culture-specific expressions of anger. The visual part of comics and ani-
mated films, which draws heavily on embodied concepts, seems less influ-
enced by culture-specific metaphors.
The current analysis of pictorial signs in comics and animated films sup-
ports Forceville’s (2005a) and my own earlier (Eerden 2004) assumption
that pictorial signs provide medium-specific representations of the ICM of
anger. Presumably, the charting of ICMs through verbal expressions alone
creates “blind spots.” To achieve a complete insight in an ICM means one
has to study the metaphorical representations in every mode of communica-
tion. The emphasis on embodied concepts and the temporal development of
an emotion are examples of new insights from analyses of clearly defined
corpora, in this case three comics albums and two animated films. Future
research into other modes of communication will certainly yield new aspects
of ICMs that have hitherto been downplayed in verbal (and visual) contexts.
Tying in with the “blind spots” of the “charting project” is the idea that a
particular medium draws on specific medium-related possibilities and im-
possibilities to represent a certain emotion. Such medium-specific represen-
tations appear to occur on two levels. A specific medium draws heavier on
certain unique combinations of primary metaphors to construct complex
conceptual metaphors. Since animated film (as opposed to comics) can de-
pict movement, it will draw more on those primary metaphors concerning the
progression of an emotion through different stages. Moreover, some concep-
tual metaphors are in fact limited to a specific mode of communication, or
are at least very rare in other modes. Consider for example an indexical sign
that is tied to animated film such as “low angle.” This sign is all-pervasive in
the analyzed films and is an important sign in the representation of anger.
This metaphorical sign, however, does not seem to have a verbal equivalent.

8. Further research

Since research into non-verbal and multimodal metaphor is relatively new,

further research can move into largely unexplored areas. In addition, it is
important to verify or falsify the results of previous research. This is one of
the main reasons for me to use a clearly defined corpus of research. The
more eclectic approach of Kövecses or Lakoff and Johnson makes it more
 Anger in Asterix 261

difficult to compare results. Considering the current analysis and results,

some important research projects come to mind.
First of all, more research into the visual representation of anger and
other emotions is needed to substantiate and verify the results reported in the
current chapter. Research should, however, not be limited to comics and
animation alone. Other forms of communication and especially multimodal
communication should be included. Forceville (2006) distinguishes nine
different modes of metaphorical representation, including at least pictorial
signs, written signs, spoken signs, gestures, sounds, music, smells, tastes and
touch. Further research into these modes can present important insights. The
current analysis already suggests that certain medium-specific signs in com-
ics appear as “sonic” signs in animated films.
A particularly interesting area is the representation of emotions in various
new media. One can think of the representation of emotions through emoti-
cons and different fonts in internet communication or the use of emotion-
specific avatars; and of the representation of emotions in Massive Multi-
player Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGS) such as Second life.
MMORPGS can prove especially interesting for research into cultural varia-
tions because MMORPGS create a new cross-cultural online community.
Finally, Gibbs and Steen (1999) as well as Kövecses (2005) underline the
important influence of culture on ICMs. This suggests cross-cultural differ-
ences in the conceptualization and representation of emotions. Complex non-
western media such as manga and anime are important source material for
further investigation in cultural variations (Shinohara and Matsunaka 2003,
this volume). Especially for this kind of research and its comparison with
earlier findings, the use of a clearly defined corpus is important. Moreover,
the use of empirical research and verifiable experiments is crucial if we are
to present evidence about the structural use of metaphorical signs and con-
ceptual metaphors.

Notes

1. This sign shows straight lines emitting from the mouth.

2. The albums used here are Dutch translations (since language is not a part of
the analysis) of Asterix Légionnaire (Goscinny and Uderzo 1967) and Asterix
et Latraviata (Uderzo 2001).
3. Both signs occur in Asterix Légionnaire and steam/smoke occurs once in
Latraviata. The helmet can be seen on page 19 and 23 and the steam/smoke
occurs on page 15 and 16 and in Latraviata on page 17.
262 Bart Eerden

4. Forceville (2005a) also recognizes an upward tilted head in combination with

anger and suggests that it might correspond with pride.
5. For copyright reasons and in order to emphasize the relevant details, all
figures are hand-traced stills from Asterix et la Surprise de César (Brizzi and
Brizzi: France 1985).
6. “Symbol” is the term used by Charles Sanders Peirce. A symbol is character-
ized by the arbitrary link between sign and referent; for example words in a
language are symbolic signs.

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