A Language Full of Magic
The (present) study undertakes an investigation of the strategies used in magic-themed cartoons: interactivity, the mellowing of emotionally impactful images through various linguistic means (words with strongly negative meanings are rendered innocuous // some words are purged of their negative meanings; diminutives, superlatives, positive epithets are lavishly used, etc.). It also discusses the recurrence of the word “magic” and all its inflected forms // all its paradigmatic variants, of its lexical family, as well as of other words within its lexical field. All these converge towards the prospect of a brand new understanding of // approach to evil, where we no longer speak of dark forces, but rather of being different: wizards, vampires, and the famous Dracula have become cool, or at least kind, accommodating characters who want to integrate with people/human beings and be treated as their own kind, yet without having to give up what makes them different.
Keywords: magic, animated cartoons, interactive characters, positive meanings, word frequency
