Supernatural
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
School of Education, Culture and Communication Competitive Talk and the Three Main Characters in Supernatural Essay in English Studies Ingeborg Dahlqvist School of Education, Culture and Supervisor: Thorsten Schröter Communication Autumn 2011 Mälardalen University School of Education, Culture ESSAY IN ENGLISH STUDIES and Communication HEN301 15 hp Autumn 2011 ABSTRACT Ingeborg Dahlqvist Competitive Talk and the Three Main Characters in Supernatural 2011 Number of pages: 30 This study focuses on all-male dialogues in the popular television series Supernatural. The purpose is to determine if and to what extent some linguistic features that are said to be characteristic of competitive talk among men occur in these dialogues. Do modern, scripted dialogues correspond to the impression given in the literature? Can the principal male characters‟ spoken interaction in Supernatural be considered competitive and thus stereotypically male? The material for this quantitative and qualitative study consists of the entire third season of the series, which comprises 16 episodes that were originally broadcast in 2007-2008. The quantitative analysis consists in counting the occurrences of the linguistic features investigated in the dialogues between two or all three of the main characters. The qualitative aspect was about identifying and interpreting the linguistic features in relation to the contexts in which they occur. The results show that the dialogues between the three main characters in Supernatural do contain some features said to be characteristic of competitive speech among men. While there are no occurrences of verbal sparring, the other phenomena investigated (questions, impersonal topics, monologues and playing the expert) are common. However, the results also show interesting aspects of these features that do not correspond with competitive speech style. Keywords: English, gender, competitive talk, all-male interaction, television series, Supernatural ii Table of contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 2 Background ............................................................................................................................. 2 2.1 Gender in the horror genre ............................................................................................... 2 2.2 Language and gender ....................................................................................................... 3 2.2.1 Features of competitive speech style ....................................................................... 4 3 Material and method ................................................................................................................ 8 3.1 Material ............................................................................................................................. 8 3.1.1 Transcripts .............................................................................................................. 10 3.2 Method ............................................................................................................................ 10 3.2.1 Questions ................................................................................................................ 11 3.2.2 Monologues and playing the expert ....................................................................... 12 3.2.3 Topic choice ........................................................................................................... 12 3.2.4 Verbal sparring ....................................................................................................... 13 3.2.5 Turn-taking ............................................................................................................. 13 4 Research results and discussion ............................................................................................ 14 4.1 Questions............. ............................................................................................................ 15 4.1.1 The frequency of questions .................................................................................... 15 4.1.2 The functions of the questions ............................................................................... 16 4.1.3 Discussion .............................................................................................................. 17 4.2 Monologues and playing the expert............. ................................................................... 18 4.2.1 The frequency of monologues ................................................................................ 18 4.2.2 The functions of the monologues ........................................................................... 18 4.2.2.1 Playing the expert in monologues .............................................................. 19 4.2.3 Discussion .............................................................................................................. 20 4.3 Topic choice............. ....................................................................................................... 20 4.3.1 The frequency of personal topics ........................................................................... 20 4.3.2 The functions of topic choice ................................................................................. 21 4.3.3 Discussion .............................................................................................................. 22 4.4 Verbal sparring............. ................................................................................................... 22 4.4.1 The frequency of quick-fire exchanges .................................................................. 22 4.4.2 The functions of the quick-fire exchanges ............................................................. 22 4.4.3 Discussion .............................................................................................................. 23 4.5 Turn-taking............. ......................................................................................................... 24 4.5.1 Interruptions ........................................................................................................... 24 4.5.1.1 The frequency of interruptions .................................................................... 24 iii 4.5.1.2 The functions of the interruptions ............................................................... 24 4.5.2 Overlapping ............................................................................................................ 25 4.5.2.1 The frequency of overlapping utterances .................................................... 25 4.5.2.2 The functions of the overlapping utterances .............................................. 25 4.5.3 Discussion .............................................................................................................. 26 5 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................... 27 References ............................................................................................................................... 29 iv 1 Introduction This study focuses on the dialogues between the three principal characters in the popular television series Supernatural. Different types of TV shows feature different types of verbal communication, and they spread new words, phrases and other linguistic phenomena to the public. The dialogues in Supernatural are thus a relevant topic for investigation since factors that may affect individuals‟ use of language should be investigated and since it is possible that television series affect their target audience‟s language use and linguistic development. Another reason for studying TV dialogues is that such dialogues are not only trendsetters, they can also be reflective of social developments, or at least of how scriptwriters may perceive and incorporate such developments. According to Suzanne Romaine (1999, pp. 1-2), our biological sex is something we are born with and not something that we can control. Gender, however, is something that we communicate and do “with our words” (Romaine 1999, p. 2). Regarding sex and gender in the horror genre, it can be said that the majority of monsters and heroes are male while the majority of victims are female (Clover, 1992, p. 12). This is important since, according to Alexandrin (2009, p. 150), television series can affect the way people view not only others but also themselves. So, apart from being entertaining, television series can shape people‟s attitudes and values, not least with respect to gender. Supernatural is a popular horror television series whose main characters are male, but it has both female and male viewers worldwide, which is another reason to examine the dialogue between the three male main characters. I will try to determine if their speech style is competitive and thus stereotypically male. The results should be of interest to, and have possible implications for, people with an interest in language and gender studies, especially when it comes to scripted material and television series. This study will focus on same-sex dialogues in which two or all three of the main characters, Sam, Dean and Bobby participate. The purpose is to determine if and to what extent some linguistic features that are said to be characteristic of competitive talk among men occur in