The power of symbolism and the creativity of the metaphorical are the focus of Footnote #17, which seeks to distinguish Metaphor through animation’s identity as a ‘metaphorical’ medium and, as a consequence, its fundamental rhetorical and symbolic potential. Topics for Chris and Alex include the thorny issue of film when considered as a language, and whether or not we can see images as symbols in the same way as written words; the split between denotative and connotative interpretation in the examination of media; metonym and the role of imagination; the commitment of animation to ‘the idea’ and the cultural specificity of this act of creation; and the use of fantasy as a psychoanalytical process of metaphorical meaning making.

**Fantasy/Animation theme tune composed by Francisca Araujo**