Week 7: Cultural Systems 2 – Face, Politeness and Power
The two most prominent approaches to the study of linguistic politeness are the conversational-maxim view by Leech (1980, 1983) and the face management view (Brown & Levinson 1987).
As I didn’t want my entry to just contain blatant materials that are lifted from the lecture notes, I racked my brains to find relevant examples to exemplify the use of these two approaches.
Then it struck me! The headline news for the past week had revolved around Jack Neo (a local film maker) and his extra-marital affairs that recently came to light. Thus, I decided to use the 2 approaches of linguistic politeness to assess his press conference clip (see below), where he made a public apology for his affair.
I feel that my analysis is relevant to the contents of the press conference, because the speaker (Jack Neo), being a well-known public figure in Singapore is using the press conference to maintain a harmonious relationship with the general public by seeking their forgiveness.
Disclaimer: My analysis of the press conference is purely from the angle of using linguistic expression in the cultural context, and I would not be commenting on my personal opinions with regards to Jack Neo’s adulterous ways.
http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/news/44818.html
In the clip, you would see that he expressed deep remorse over his adulterous actions and he apologized to the media by saying “I caused this saga. All this is my fault. It has nothing to do with anyone else… Please give me a chance.” After which he is seemingly over-whelmed by his emotions and his eyes started brimming with tears.
I believe he is employing the sympathy maxim here, by ‘maximizing sympathy between self and other’. In this instance, this would be the most appropriate maxim to adopt as he is seeking for the public’s forgiveness on the affair.
Following Jack Neo’s address, it was his wife’s turn to address the media.
http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/news/44820.html
She attempts to seek the understanding of the media and began by saying “I am not an artiste. I don’t know how to handle this (the affair & the press conference)”. I believe she started off with a modesty maxim, minimizing praise to self, so that it reduces the social distance between her and the media. Subsequently, it would help the viewers to sympathize with her and her current situation.
She goes on to professed her love for Jack Neo, marriage and her family and said that “I have already suffered a lot. Please spare me.” The of the word “please spare me” puts the viewers in a higher status and allows us to assume that we have got the power in deciding whether Jack Neo’s acts should be forgiven.
Also, when faced with this face-threatening act (FTA), Jack Neo’s wife (Irene) redressed the FTA with positive politeness. Saying that she has already suffered a lot, she is attempting to demonstrate closeness and solidarity with the media reporters and ultimately the viewers at home. This is because one seldom confesses their’s suffering to another person, unless he or she is a close friend and/or family member.
On a personal note, I do feel that this press conference seemed somewhat staged, especially the dramatic exit. Having said that, I think it is really up to Irene to decide for herself if her husband is to be given a second chance
What a sharp n clear analysis n application of what we learned about politeness maxims and face to current hot news. I liked the way you identified the various maxims and components of politeness in the press conference video. Totally enjoyed reading this post of yours, and not to mention the juicy video as well. :)
ReplyDeleteI felt that you applied what we learnt in class quite interestingly. It was an insightful perspective too. Indeed it shows the prevalence of such politeness maxims and face issues in interactions and communication situations in our everyday life.
ReplyDeleteHi ZhiFei & James
ReplyDeleteThank you for the compliments. Well I was just trying to find something that people would be interested to read about... :)
GY
I actually thought I'll never hear about Jack and Irene's public apology ever again but guess it's not the case :3
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think that even if Jack and Irene are sincere about their feelings, they shouldn't even make a public apology. Why? By giving a public apology, they're subjecting themselves to critical, and often cynical, scrutiny by the public (you think it's staged, and this is what I mean. I think it's staged too).
In fact, because I think it's staged, the employed maxims are questionable in terms of their intention. Are they really making an honest apology, or are they just trying to save face by going public?
Class 95 DJ The Flying Dutchman (of The Morning Express, my favourite radio program) commented that Jack made a mistake by giving a public apology, for the same reason. If Jack doesn't want to hear further slamming by the public, then he shouldn't have given something for them to criticise in the first place.
That's a great attempt at using the politeness maxims and strategies to analyze the much publicised apologies and requests (pleas). But I don't seem to be able to watch the videos.
ReplyDelete