Antagonism on YouTube: Metaphor in Online Discourse

Description

This book focuses on the ways in which metaphor contributes to the development of Internet arguments, known as 'drama', particularly on YouTube. Although a growing body of research into YouTube interaction has developed descriptions of user experience on the site, empirical studies of the YouTube video page and discourse analysis of user interaction are rare. This research specifically focuses on user interaction around issues of Christian theology and atheism on the site, analysing how 'drama' emerges. Since YouTube drama occurs publicly, Antagonism on YouTube focuses on video pages rather than user reports of their actions and responses. It investigates how and why YouTube drama develops through a systematic description and analysis of user discourse activity. Through close analysis of video pages, this study contributes to a greater academic understanding of Internet antagonism and YouTube interaction by revealing the factors which contribute to the development of drama over time.

Stephen Pihlaja is Senior Lecturer in Stylistics at Newman University, UK

Where Antagonism on YouTube really shines is in Pihlaja's ability to define the scope of his project with great clarity and to analyze his texts thoroughly, milking even the most seemingly-tangential or irrelevant vlogger commentary for all its worth. * Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture * The three analyses [chapters] complement each other well, providing a comprehensive and sophisticated view of antagonistic interactions on one social media channel ... Pihlaja's work is a welcome addition to discourse studies on social media and sets a good model on how complex online interactions can be analysed as text-in-context. * Discourse & Communication * Pihlaja's research is innovative in that, while previous studies on YouTube discourse have focused on interaction, Pihlaja argues that it is difficult to elicit and identify 'typical behaviour' and has thus taken a novel approach in analysing a group of YouTube participants over time, through a variety of interactions ... Pihlaja's engaging writing style is characterised by clear and concise descriptions of both the discourse he analyses and the theoretical frameworks he uses and develops within his research. As such, this book is a valuable introduction to the discourse analysis of online data, as well as a useful tool for experienced discourse analysts who are keen to discover how communication continues to evolve within the ever-changing landscape of online environments ... In summary, the book is an engaging and well-executed qualitative study that advances the fields of CMC discourse analysis, metaphor analysis, and inter-faith scholarship. -- Lori Gilbert, University of East Anglia * LINGUIST * This book offers a very important next step for the application of the discourse dynamic approach, while also filling an important gap in the analysis of metaphor in language related to religion ... One of the key achievements of the book is that it persuasively highlights the blurred and sometimes porous boundaries between groups that are often viewed as complete opposites. * Metaphor and the Social World *