MASTER SUPPRESSION TECHNIQUES Linguistic Representation in the Movie Script Erin Brockovich

Abstract

Master suppression techniques (MSTs) were defined by Ås in the 1970s (Ås, 1992). There are seven MSTs; making invisible, ridiculing, withholding information, double binding, heap blame or shame, force or threat of force and objectification. A person uses these techniques against another person or group to gain or keep power in a social hierarchy as they are a form of emotional manipulation as well as discrimination. This study analyses master suppression techniques in the movie Erin Brockovich (Soderbergh, 2000), and the aim is to investigate how master suppression techniques are expressed linguistically in a film script. The method is primarily qualitative and partly quantitative. The theoretical basis is speech act theory, conversation analysis and discourse analytical strategies (Reisigl and Wodak, 2003). The main finding of the paper is that MSTs were often expressed through implicature, which means that the intended meaning of statements is not explicit and instead needs to be inferred. Some of the discursive strategies for detecting discrimination were of relevance (Reisigl and Wodak, 2003). The conclusion is that MSTs are expressed by breaking Gricean maxims while still fulfilling parts of the cooperative principle.