The purpose of this paper is to analyse the portrayal of dominance and control in cross-sex interactions on television. In doing so, stereotypical behaviour of men and women could certainly become visible since what we see on screen is often a reflection of what we expect to see. This study will focus on the analysis of instances of interruption and overlap in the American television series "The Big Bang Theory". By looking at the portrayal of gender behaviour in regards to the cross-sex interactions, the aim will be to observe how power relations between opposite sexes is portrayed to us through television and what it tells us about stereotypical thinking in our society.
The difference in male and female language is a frequently discussed subject in modern research. Investigating the different utilization of language of both sexes does not only seem to be of interest to linguists and anthropologists, but equally to modern feminists who for instance engage with the issue of power and the role that it plays in conversations between men and women. Gender researchers such as Don H. Zimmerman and Candace West have helped create the groundwork for the examination of this topic by claiming that interruption is mostly done by men, and that this phenomenon correlates with the fact that dominance and control is often directed towards women during conversations. However, studies such as Zimmerman’s and West’s have been deemed problematic due to criticism relating to the fact that their main focus lies solely on gender; therefore excluding other important and relevant aspects of identity such as ethnicity, nationality, and occupation.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Previous Research
- Methodology
- Interruption and overlap
- Definitions
- Power relations and the four functions of interruption
- Analytical approaches
- Conversation Analysis (CA)
- Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)
- Results
- Extract 1
- Extract 2
- Extract 3
- Extract 4
- Discussion of the results
- Conclusion
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper aims to analyze the portrayal of power dynamics and dominance in conversations between men and women within the context of the American sitcom "The Big Bang Theory." Specifically, it examines instances of interruption and overlap as indicators of power relations between genders in the show's dialogues. The study seeks to observe how television portrays these interactions and what they reveal about stereotypical thinking in society.
- Interruption and overlap in cross-sex conversations
- Power relations and dominance in spoken interactions
- The portrayal of gender roles in television
- Stereotypical thinking about men and women in society
- The impact of television on perceptions of gender dynamics
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The introduction establishes the paper's focus on analyzing interruption and overlap in conversations between men and women as a reflection of power dynamics. It draws attention to the ongoing debate about gender differences in language and the significance of power in cross-sex interactions, referencing previous research by Don H. Zimmerman and Candace West. The paper then outlines its objective to explore the portrayal of these dynamics in the American sitcom "The Big Bang Theory."
Chapter 2 reviews previous research on gender and language, focusing on the themes of power and male dominance in spoken communication. It discusses Robin Lakoff's theory of women's speech style and highlights the lack of empirical evidence in earlier research. This leads to the discussion of various studies that investigated interruption and overlap in conversations, including Robinson's and Reis' study on the effects of interruption, gender, and status. The chapter also examines the portrayal of men and women on television, drawing upon studies that analyzed U.S television commercials and television drama.
Chapter 3 describes the methodology employed for the study. It outlines the selection of "The Big Bang Theory" as the primary source for analysis, highlighting the show's frequent focus on cross-sex interactions and the increased presence of female characters in later seasons. The chapter then details the use of the GAT2 transcription system for analyzing the dialogue, explaining its advantages and conventions for phonetic and linguistic analysis.
Chapter 4 delves into the concepts of interruption and overlap, providing definitions and exploring their connection to power relations. It further discusses the four functions of interruption, providing a framework for analyzing the observed instances of interruption and overlap in the chosen episodes of "The Big Bang Theory."
Chapter 5 introduces the analytical approaches used in the study: Conversation Analysis (CA) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). These approaches provide distinct frameworks for interpreting the observed interactions and understanding the underlying power dynamics in the chosen dialogue segments.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The key words and concepts explored in this paper include interruption, overlap, conversation analysis, critical discourse analysis, gender, power relations, dominance, cross-sex interaction, television, "The Big Bang Theory," and stereotypical thinking.
- Quote paper
- Anonym (Author), 2018, Interruption and Overlap in Conversations between Men and Women on the Basis of "The Big Bang Theory", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/537914
