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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University of ‘Abbes Laghrour’ Khenchela
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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.
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