This Bachelor Thesis combines insights from Pragmatics, Media and Communication Studies, and Popular Culture. The thesis analyses in how far Bojack Horseman, protagonist in the Netflix series "Bojack Horseman", fulfills politeness principles and felicity conditions to communicate successfully with different interlocutors. It effectively illustrates how Bojack's communication evolves throughout the seasons.
The paper begins by briefly defining some relevant concepts that are essential for the understanding of the series "BoJack Horseman" as well as the linguistic analysis of it. After this, some previous research on the series in focus is outlined to give an insight into possible research areas for this series and the relevance of the series in general. Subsequently, the working hypothesis presumes the approximate outcome of the analysis. As a last part of the Background/Theory Chapter, the different pragmatic theories which build the basis for the analysis are displayed and discussed in detail. As a first step of the analysis part, the data at hand, as well as the conducted methodology, are presented. Next, BoJack’s communication with his closest friends is analysed, based on the explicated theories, to then move on to discuss his communication in public. The results of the analysis are presented during 3.2 and 3.3. Nonetheless, an overview of the results is given in 3.4. To finish the research, the discussion and conclusion part delivers an overview of all findings and their implications for linguistics as well as other areas, which are also discussed broadly.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Background/Theory Chapter
2.1 Defining some Concepts
2.2 Previous Research on BoJack Horseman
2.3 Working Hypothesis
2.4 Theories
3. Analysis
3.1 Data and Methodology
3.2 BoJack’s Communication with his Closest Friends
3.3 BoJack’s Communication in Public
3.4 Results – An Overview
4. Discussion/Conclusion
5. Works Cited
Objectives and Research Focus
The primary objective of this thesis is to analyze the communicative behavior of the protagonist in the Netflix series BoJack Horseman from a pragmatic perspective. It examines how the character navigates social interactions with his friends and in public settings, focusing on whether his speech acts are successful or infelicitous based on linguistic conventions.
- Application of speech act theory and felicity conditions to animated character communication.
- Investigation of the cooperative principle and politeness strategies in interpersonal conflicts.
- Analysis of the correlation between BoJack’s complex emotional history and his communicative success.
- Evaluation of how interlocutors interpret and respond to BoJack's controversial public and private utterances.
Excerpt from the Book
BoJack’s Communication with his Closest Friends
For the following analysis of BoJack’s communication with his closest friends, BoJack’s friends Todd and Diane have been selected. Limiting this research to these two friends helps to go into detail concerning the analysis of their communication with the protagonist, and second, Todd and Diane have proven to maintain close to BoJack during the whole series, which makes the analysis more consistent and thus reliable. To find out how BoJack communicates with his friends and how they interpret and react to his speech acts, it is necessary to take all the theoretical aspects discussed into account. In the following example of BoJack’s speech act situation with his friend Todd, the illocutionary act after Austin (1962: 101), so the coherence between the utterance and the intention, is analysed first, to then elaborate how the two friends react to that, which is called perlocutionary act (Austin 1962: 101).
As BoJack strives for social reputation, he longs for support from his friends, for example when his nomination for the Oscars is concerned. While the protagonist talks to one of his best friends, Todd Chavez, about not being nominated neither by Todd nor at all, he tries to captivate him linguistically. Before directly confronting his best friend, BoJack states that he would need a holiday and would want to go with Todd, so he expresses a desire towards his interlocutor (It’s You 2016: 23:15-23:18). Todd does not take it on but instead tells BoJack that he does not feel well (It’s You 2016: 23:18-23:43). This means that BoJack threatens Todd’s negative face, so his freedom of action, through his directive speech acts (Brown/Levinson 1987: 65; Searle 2002: 5). Furthermore, BoJack does not fulfil the sincerity rule (Searle 1969: 66) in his request to go on holiday with Todd, as the viewer knows that BoJack’s intention is to get nominated for the Oscars. His propositional content (1969: 66) thus is a means to get nominated rather than to go on holidays.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Presents the central research interest, the choice of the Netflix series BoJack Horseman as the object of study, and the theoretical framework used to analyze communicative pragmatics.
2. Background/Theory Chapter: Defines core linguistic concepts such as speech acts, politeness, and humor, and provides an overview of previous research regarding the series.
3. Analysis: Investigates the protagonist's communication patterns in private interactions with friends and public scenarios, employing quantitative and qualitative methods.
4. Discussion/Conclusion: Summarizes the findings, confirms the initial hypothesis regarding BoJack's communicative development, and highlights the influence of his personal history on his interactions.
5. Works Cited: Lists all academic sources, episode transcripts, and theoretical works used throughout the thesis.
Keywords
BoJack Horseman, Pragmatics, Speech Act Theory, Cooperative Principle, Politeness Principle, Felicity Conditions, Communication, Illocutionary Act, Perlocutionary Effect, Face-threatening Acts, Netflix, Linguistic Analysis, Humour, Persona, Social Interaction
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this bachelor thesis?
The thesis focuses on the pragmatic analysis of the protagonist's communication in the animated series BoJack Horseman, examining how he interacts with his environment and his friends.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
The work covers speech act theory, the cooperative principle, the politeness principle, and the impact of the character's mental state on his linguistic output.
What is the main research question of the work?
The goal is to determine how BoJack balances his communicative intentions with social conventions and how successful he is in achieving his goals through verbal interactions.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The paper uses qualitative analysis of specific scene excerpts backed by pragmatic theories, complemented by a quantitative overview of successful and unsuccessful communication instances.
What does the main part of the analysis address?
The main part analyzes specific scenes involving friends like Todd and Diane, as well as public conflicts, to evaluate the efficacy of BoJack's speech acts.
Which keywords characterize this paper?
Key terms include BoJack Horseman, pragmatics, speech act theory, politeness principle, and social interaction.
How does BoJack's personal background influence his communication?
The analysis suggests that BoJack’s complex and often traumatic history forms the basis for his difficulties in following standard communicative rules, especially in the early seasons.
What role does the character Diane play in the analysis?
Diane is highlighted as a character who challenges BoJack to reflect on his behavior, acting as a catalyst for his potential communicative growth.
Do public interactions differ from private ones for the protagonist?
Yes, the paper confirms that establishing common ground with strangers in public is significantly more difficult for the protagonist than interacting with close friends.
- Citation du texte
- Lisa Thöne (Auteur), 2021, Communication in the Netflix Series "BoJack Horseman" from a Pragmatic Point of View, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1474649
