SOCIO-COGNITIVE ANALYSIS OF POWER RELATIONS IN THE MOVIE THE HELP: A MULTIMODAL CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
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Date
2024
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Publisher
University of ‘Abbes Laghrour’ Khenchela
Abstract
Abstract
The present research is a multimodal critical discourse study that seeks to investigate the
ways different forms of power relations are represented within The Help movie. These power
relations are generally expressed through the dichotomous representations of the Self and the
Other, which are integrated within the communicative modes of the movie. Hence, the
primary aim of this work is to identify these modes of communication, to examine their
portrayal of power relations between these ideological groups, and to conclude the
significance of such critical analytical procedure in promoting racial equality. This study
adopted a qualitative research design, in which Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis
(MCDA) necessitates the use of content analysis as the main data gathering and analytical
tool. The sample selected for this analysis is a set of ten scenes that were extracted from The
Help movie. The results and findings obtained show the disparity between the representations
of this racial polarity. The positive “self” is embraced by the white ideology while the
negative “other” is attributed to the black community. Thus, notions of dominance and
resistance are born from this disparity between representations. A harmonious coexistence is
achieved at the end to stabilize the relations between both races. This form of equality,
however, is still an illusion that the whites employ to extinguish similar resistances and
maintain their control and manipulation over the blacks. As a result, this current study offered
few suggestions for future researches that will contribute to the permanent termination of this
white supremacy and the realization of true ideological equality.
Keywords: Multimodal critical discourse analysis, power, power relations, ideology,
dominance, resistance, harmony.