Unveiling the Shadows of Tragedy: Exploring a Multimodal Metaphor in Agnieszka Holland’s Mr. Jones (2019)

Abstract

This article investigates how multimodal metaphors and allusions come together in Agnieszka Holland’s movie, Mr. Jones (2019) to portray the Ukrainian famine from 1932–1933 known as Holodomor that killed millions of Ukrainians. The film utilizes powerful visual shots, delivering a vivid representation of the Holdomor. The verbal mode, conveyed through dialogues and extended sentences, is contextualized within the narrative. The visual mode, together with the verbal one, is enhanced by auditory elements. Through the intricate interplay of diverse modes, the representation of the Holodomor goes beyond the mere historical facts. It makes people think deeply about how suffering has been purposefully caused and kept hidden in history. It helps see the Holodomor from different angles, showing how allusions contribute to people’s understanding of history and the tragedy of the Holodomor in particular.