Study of the Multimodal Emotional Metaphors Contained in Cat Meme Video.

Abstract

A cat meme is a kind of multimodal internet meme. It often spreads through videos with pictures, words, and audio. Although this meme is popular, there is relatively little research on the topic. This study uses qualitative research to analyze high-volume cat meme videos on Bilibili, a famous video platform in China. Therefore, the study can explore how these multimodal videos achieve emotional metaphors through different modalities. The study shows that cat meme videos achieve metaphor by human-like expressions and behaviors, as well as emotional audio and text. Therefore, cat meme videos can fulfill narrative and communicative functions.