Nosedive: A Corpus Pragmatics Analysis of Compliments and Laughter

Abstract

The last two decades have witnessed an increase in studies aimed to unvell the insights of the complex communicative process between the collective sender and the audiences in fictional TV series. This study explores the portrayal of complimenting acts and laughter in the dystopian fictional world represented in the episode Nosedive from the TV series Black Mirror. The main objective is to identify and discuss how these resources shape the interactional routines presented to the audience and serve the needs of the collective sender's communicative intention. The research is grounded on the pragmatics of fiction and applies corpus pragmatics methodologies that allow the quantitative and qualitative study of data. Results revealed that compliments were paid in character's dialogue and by means of computer mediated communication. Laughter was identified as multimodally presented and intended ton enhance positive responses and agreement. The presence and interrelatedness of compliments and laughter as found in fictional dialogue could be interpreted as the interactional pattern that may serve to meaning-creation and meaning-interpretation purposes.