Main Article Content
Abstract
In this study examine how Andrew Garfield uses discursive strategies in the articulation of grief and resilience in dealing with the loss of his Mother and analyze this according to positive discourse analysis. It is how Garfield goes about reframing mourning as an act of love, transformation, and creative expression that the research describes. This study is methodological in nature and uses qualitative methods to analyze Garfield’s interview with Anderson Cooper which was sourced from CNN’s YouTube and podcast platform.
It is found that Garfield’s discourse employs metaphorical framing, linguistic repetition and narrative reconstruction to challenge dominant cultural scripts of grief. He rethinks the metaphors of illness by refusing the combative ones and instead looks at grief as a continuing relationship, which establishes a perspective that makes mourning part of the way we live our lives, the way we think about life. His use of metaphors, such as grief as an ocean, a journey, or an artistic force, reshapes loss as a transformative process rather than a finite state. Moreover, Garfield’s reflections criticize social practices of stifling grief and urge for a more open, participative approach as suggested by alternative cultural understandings, including indigenous views.
The results of this study indicate that Positive Discourse Analysis has potential in understanding how people implement grief discourse in order to maintain resilience and positive reframing. Garfield’s narrative attests that mourning can be not an adversarial battle but a means of emotional presence, personal growth and life in community. His discourse brings love to the forefront as a model of mourning that is not presented as just agents must overcome initially for the love to return (as in conjunction) in time, but one that also offers affirmation of the alternate model of the mourning of one’s grind that embraces our vulnerability and its life affirming potential.
Keywords
Article Details
References
- Abbamonte, L. (2018). 'Black Lives Matter': Cross-media resonance and the iconic turn of language. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
- Bartlett, T. (2009). Towards intervention in positive discourse analysis. In C. Coffin, T. Lillis, K. O'Halloran (Eds.), Applied linguistics methods: A reader (pp. 133–147). Routledge.
- Bartlett, T. (2012). Hybrid voices and collaborative change: Contextualising positive discourse analysis. Routledge.
- Billig, M. (2002). Critical discourse analysis and the rhetoric of critique. In G. Weiss & R. Wodak (Eds.), Critical discourse analysis: Theory and interdisciplinarity (pp. 35–46). Palgrave Macmillan.
- Blommaert, J. (2005). Discourse: A critical introduction. Cambridge University Press.
- Charteris-Black, J. (2004). Corpus approaches to critical metaphor analysis. Palgrave Macmillan.
- CNN. (2024, October 8). Anderson Cooper reveals what Andrew Garfield said about grief that stuck with him [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved March 8, 2025, from https://youtu.be/9ruMKk26pW8
- CNN Audio. (2024, October 8). All there is with Anderson Cooper [Audio podcast episode]. CNN. Retrieved March 8, 2025, from https://edition.cnn.com/audio/podcasts/all-there-is-with-anderson-cooper/episodes/e92bef56-387b-11ef-8459-83008f425ae3
- Coupland, J., & Coupland, N. (2000). Selling control: Ideological dilemmas of sun tanning, risk, and leisure. In S. Allan, C. Carter, & B. Adam (Eds.), Environmental risks and the media (pp. 145–159). Routledge.
- De Fina, A. (2003). Identity in narrative: A study of immigrant discourse. Cambridge University Press.
- Fairclough, N. (1992). Discourse and social change. Polity Press.
- Fairclough, N. (1995). Media discourse. Arnold.
- Giaxoglou, K. (2018). Digital mourning: Grief and remembrance in social media. Oxford University Press.
- Halliday, M. A. K. (1990). New ways of meaning: The challenge to applied linguistics. In J. Webster (Ed.), The collected works of M.A.K. Halliday (2009) (pp. 139–176). Bloomsbury Academic.
- Jaworska, S., & Kinloch, M. (2018). Discourses of resilience and empowerment: A PDA approach. Journal of Applied Linguistics, 12(3), 45–63.
- Kövecses, Z. (2000). Metaphor and emotion: Language, culture, and body in human feeling. Cambridge University Press.
- Kress, G. (2000). Design and transformation: New theories of meaning. In W. Cope & M. Kalantzis (Eds.), Multiliteracies: Literacy learning and the design of social futures (pp. 153–161). Routledge.
- Kubler-Ross, E. (1969). On death and dying. Scribner.
- Macgilchrist, F. (2007). Positive discourse analysis: Contesting dominant discourses by reframing the issues. Critical Discourse Studies, 4(1), 74–95.
- Martin, J. (2004). Positive discourse analysis: Solidarity and change. Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses, 49, 179–200.
- Martin, J., & Rose, D. (2003). Working with discourse: Meaning beyond the clause. Continuum.
- Martin, J. R., & White, P. R. R. (2005). The language of evaluation: Appraisal in English. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Page, R. (2014). Narratives online: Shared stories in social media. Cambridge University Press.
- Pappademas, A. (2022, November 15). Andrew Garfield's search for the sublime. GQ. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/men-of-the-year/article/andrew-garfield-interview-2022. Retrieved March 10, 2025.
- Reisigl, M., & Wodak, R. (2009). The discourse-historical approach. In R. Wodak & M. Meyer (Eds.), Methods of critical discourse analysis (pp. 87–121). Sage.
- Sadowsky, M. (2017). Grief as a skill [Master's clinical research paper, St. Catherine University]. Sophia, the St. Catherine University repository. https://sophia.stkate.edu/msw_papers/787
- Semino, E. (2011). Metaphor in discourse. Cambridge University Press.
- Stibbe, A. (2017). Positive discourse analysis: Rethinking human ecological relationships. In A. Fill & H. Penz (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of ecolinguistics (pp. 309–335). Routledge.
- Su, T. (2016). Positive discourse analysis of Xi Jinping’s speech at the National University of Singapore under appraisal theory. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 7(4), 796–801.
- van Dijk, T. A. (2008). Discourse and context: A sociocognitive approach. Cambridge University Press.
- Wodak, R., & Meyer, M. (2016). Critical discourse analysis: History, agenda, theory, and methodology. In R. Wodak & M. Meyer (Eds.), Methods of critical discourse analysis (3rd ed., pp. 1–22). Sage.
References
Abbamonte, L. (2018). 'Black Lives Matter': Cross-media resonance and the iconic turn of language. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Bartlett, T. (2009). Towards intervention in positive discourse analysis. In C. Coffin, T. Lillis, K. O'Halloran (Eds.), Applied linguistics methods: A reader (pp. 133–147). Routledge.
Bartlett, T. (2012). Hybrid voices and collaborative change: Contextualising positive discourse analysis. Routledge.
Billig, M. (2002). Critical discourse analysis and the rhetoric of critique. In G. Weiss & R. Wodak (Eds.), Critical discourse analysis: Theory and interdisciplinarity (pp. 35–46). Palgrave Macmillan.
Blommaert, J. (2005). Discourse: A critical introduction. Cambridge University Press.
Charteris-Black, J. (2004). Corpus approaches to critical metaphor analysis. Palgrave Macmillan.
CNN. (2024, October 8). Anderson Cooper reveals what Andrew Garfield said about grief that stuck with him [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved March 8, 2025, from https://youtu.be/9ruMKk26pW8
CNN Audio. (2024, October 8). All there is with Anderson Cooper [Audio podcast episode]. CNN. Retrieved March 8, 2025, from https://edition.cnn.com/audio/podcasts/all-there-is-with-anderson-cooper/episodes/e92bef56-387b-11ef-8459-83008f425ae3
Coupland, J., & Coupland, N. (2000). Selling control: Ideological dilemmas of sun tanning, risk, and leisure. In S. Allan, C. Carter, & B. Adam (Eds.), Environmental risks and the media (pp. 145–159). Routledge.
De Fina, A. (2003). Identity in narrative: A study of immigrant discourse. Cambridge University Press.
Fairclough, N. (1992). Discourse and social change. Polity Press.
Fairclough, N. (1995). Media discourse. Arnold.
Giaxoglou, K. (2018). Digital mourning: Grief and remembrance in social media. Oxford University Press.
Halliday, M. A. K. (1990). New ways of meaning: The challenge to applied linguistics. In J. Webster (Ed.), The collected works of M.A.K. Halliday (2009) (pp. 139–176). Bloomsbury Academic.
Jaworska, S., & Kinloch, M. (2018). Discourses of resilience and empowerment: A PDA approach. Journal of Applied Linguistics, 12(3), 45–63.
Kövecses, Z. (2000). Metaphor and emotion: Language, culture, and body in human feeling. Cambridge University Press.
Kress, G. (2000). Design and transformation: New theories of meaning. In W. Cope & M. Kalantzis (Eds.), Multiliteracies: Literacy learning and the design of social futures (pp. 153–161). Routledge.
Kubler-Ross, E. (1969). On death and dying. Scribner.
Macgilchrist, F. (2007). Positive discourse analysis: Contesting dominant discourses by reframing the issues. Critical Discourse Studies, 4(1), 74–95.
Martin, J. (2004). Positive discourse analysis: Solidarity and change. Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses, 49, 179–200.
Martin, J., & Rose, D. (2003). Working with discourse: Meaning beyond the clause. Continuum.
Martin, J. R., & White, P. R. R. (2005). The language of evaluation: Appraisal in English. Palgrave Macmillan.
Page, R. (2014). Narratives online: Shared stories in social media. Cambridge University Press.
Pappademas, A. (2022, November 15). Andrew Garfield's search for the sublime. GQ. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/men-of-the-year/article/andrew-garfield-interview-2022. Retrieved March 10, 2025.
Reisigl, M., & Wodak, R. (2009). The discourse-historical approach. In R. Wodak & M. Meyer (Eds.), Methods of critical discourse analysis (pp. 87–121). Sage.
Sadowsky, M. (2017). Grief as a skill [Master's clinical research paper, St. Catherine University]. Sophia, the St. Catherine University repository. https://sophia.stkate.edu/msw_papers/787
Semino, E. (2011). Metaphor in discourse. Cambridge University Press.
Stibbe, A. (2017). Positive discourse analysis: Rethinking human ecological relationships. In A. Fill & H. Penz (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of ecolinguistics (pp. 309–335). Routledge.
Su, T. (2016). Positive discourse analysis of Xi Jinping’s speech at the National University of Singapore under appraisal theory. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 7(4), 796–801.
van Dijk, T. A. (2008). Discourse and context: A sociocognitive approach. Cambridge University Press.
Wodak, R., & Meyer, M. (2016). Critical discourse analysis: History, agenda, theory, and methodology. In R. Wodak & M. Meyer (Eds.), Methods of critical discourse analysis (3rd ed., pp. 1–22). Sage.