IMS 103 Assignment Blog

Brain = washing machine
Depression = broken washing machine
Blue moods = scratchy radio music
Hysteria = process of archaeological dig

These metaphors have consequences of actions. In “brain = washing machine” “depression = broken washing machine,” implied is the idea that depression is something you usually can’t avoid or predict happening and it usually is not your fault. But when you’ve diagnosed the problem and fixed the machine, the machine works better; like when depression is diagnosed and treated. In “blue moods = scratchy radio music” implied is the idea that there isn’t a big problem, but that you just need to adjust your way of thinking – go from thinking positively to negatively, like turning a dial in your mind. In “hysteria = process of an archaeological dig” implied is that there’s a step-by-step process for diagnosing and realizing the causes of hysteria.

On one hand, these metaphors are helpful for explaining emotions that are normally hard to explain, but on the other, they also cloud the understanding of the underlying emotion.