Explore the different relationships amongst prison officers and
prisoners through instrumental and influential power in the TV drama Prison
Break
I expect to
see Instrumental power used by characters that are figures of authority in the
T.V programme Prison Break to create entertainment and a sense of prison
hierarchy. I expect to see characters that are prison inmates to use
Influential power in order to create entertainment and drama.
Imperatives
In source C we see gender playing a big part of power in
discourse within the T.V show ‘don’t come any closer else I’ll shoot’ the
character Nikka uses the imperative to insert her authority and power now she
has the gun and can instruct Michael around. This creates the drama within the
scene now one of the characters has an advantage it creates tension in the
programme. The writers used language such as imperatives when Nikka has the gun
therefore can assert her power in discourse and instruct the other characters
what to do. This subverts gender stereotypes that expect males to be more
dominant in conversation, this is what creates the entertainment in the scene. The
verb ‘shoot’ within the declarative sentence suggests aggression within the
scene which adds to the tone- creating entertainment and tension. The writers
chose specifically to use the verb to show the characters influential power now
she has the gun and to show the element of violence. This on the other hand
subverts Robin Lakoff’s theory of women use super polite forms in discourse as
she is using a direct command to boss other characters around. This proves my
hypothesis as she is using her influential power which the writers have given
her in order to assert authority. Furthermore the character Nikka gives an
option ‘else I’ll shoot’ the noun phrase gives the other characters an option
which also adds to the excitement and tension of the scene because the audience
will have to eagerly anticipate what decision the characters will make.
In source B we see
instrumental power used; the character ‘Bellick’ who plays a prison officer in
the T.V programme demands the prisoners to do what he says ‘open it’ the
imperative used here the instrumental power he has within the T.V show and
because he has the authority he cannot be challenged. This creates
entertainment for the audience because the growth of hatred towards him
continues as their presumed favourite character ‘Michael’ cannot do anything
against the power he has. The writers make ‘Bellick’ use so many imperatives to
show his position and to provoke derogatory thoughts against him due to his
language being arrogant and ill-mannered. This supports Waering’s theory of
influential and instrumental power, this is an example of the characters
hierarchy set out early to create the entertainment. The effectiveness of the
imperatives used by the characters are massive as the other characters abide by
the rules when in contact with him. On the other hand this subverts Deborah
Tannen’s theory that men negotiate status through discourse and search for
power as the prisoner within the programme are passive because they have to
comply with the rules. The writers of the programme have deliberately done this
to show Bellick’s instrumental power and to create the persona of his
character.
The character Sara uses an imperative ‘start an
investigation’ the writers have chosen the character to use a command to
highlight the different levels of power within the programme. The discourse is
between characters Sara- the prisons nurse and Bellick- one of the prisons
officers. This creates humour within the scene as the writers have subverted
gender stereotypes because Sara is challenging the alpha male. She commands the
prison officer to ‘start’ which shows the urgency of the situation and the idea that she is challenging his authority by giving him an order. The writers have chosen Sara to do this to give the the T.V. shows social power hierarchy a new perspective. Sara is asserting her instrumental power over the character Bellick. The writers have created a character whose arranance annoys the majority of the inmates and the audience therefore he doesn't like that he is being told what to do 'oh there's no need. We know what happened' this shows Bellick asserting his power in discourse. The personal pronoun 'we' suggests he is in charge of the other prison guards in the show and therefore demonstrates his big ego. The search for power between the two authoratative figures proves my hypothosis further as it shows both characters using imperatives for power over each other in discourse and this very competition creates the entertainment.
Modal verbs
In source C we see the use of modal verbs to regain power in discourse. Using modal verbs Michael gains control of the situation again. Michael uses his power to patronise Nikka 'no you won't' the personal pronoun makes it direct to Nikka and will make her think about what she is doing. Due to the writers characterisation of Michael this is effective because he is made out to be on a higher intellect level than any of the other characters in the show. This creates the entertainment because of the power of lexis used and the sentence mood. Also the auxiliary verb 'won't' used by the character Michael shows that he is in control which proves Fairclough's 'modal verb' theory to be true in this case in the show.
In source A the character Lincoln uses modal verbs to show his influential power over his little brother in the show ' It can't be done' the modal verb 'can't' suggests that Lincoln is more powerful and has more authority between the two as he is dictating what Michael does which is popular for an older brother. The characterisation of Lincoln in the show shows him to be strong and agrressive which ultimately adds to the entertainment when seeing the brother have an argument.This furthermore complies with Fairclough's theory theory of auxilliary verbs demonstrate power as they are the mood of the subject in this case it happens to be a declarative sentence. This shows the audience that in the show physical presence can have advantages which is an indication to the future and an insight into actual prison life. Furthermore, Lincoln shows the prison the audience that in the show it is important to have intelligence and that status is a powerful aspect when it comes to the programmes reflection of prison life 'those plans you can't show people. Guys like Abruzzi' he is giving his little brother advice with an order, we can tell its an order from the use of the modal verb ' can't' which shows Lincoln has some intelligence which takes the light off of Michael and creates the entertainment for the audience as the brothers are now competing for power over one another.Linking back to my hypothesis as we see the brothers searching for supremacy in the programme which is showing the audience a sense of prison heirarchy in the show which creates tension between characters.The writers created a violent character and others like Abruzzi to create the sense of prison life within the show and therefore Lincoln is using his influential power to protect Michael although Michael feels opposed which creates the drama within the scene.
Lexical choice
In source C the script writers have chose the words carefully to portray Sara the prison doctor in the show as an authoratative figure but at the same time polite 'thanks guy, I'll take it from here' the lexis 'I'll take it from here shows her instrumental power in which complies with Waering's theory. But also supports Robin Lackoff's theory that females are more polite in discourse. The lexis 'thanks' shows her appreciation and which can be related to her characters nature of being polite and as she is a doctor in the programme the audience would expect that from a characters whose job is to help people.
In source B Michael uses interrogatives lexis to show power 'So?' the rhetorical question shows Michael’s total disregard to the problem at hand almost to say he is better than that he doesn't need to worry about the little things. It also suggests that people of lower intelligence should be working with the toilets as he is too good for that, this reflects his character as he the audience value him because he is the main character and expect him to be doing dramatic scenes and important scenes. Michael’s response gives an impression as to say 'fix it then' this shows his social power among the prisoners because he is deemed more intelligent than the rest of them and they need his intelligence therefore respect him and listen. This creates the drama in the scene because for the first time we are introduced to the rude side of Michael in the programme in which complies theory of politeness. Linking back to the hypothesis this proves it further as we see Michael using his influential power to create the drama within this scene.
Modal verbs
In source C we see the use of modal verbs to regain power in discourse. Using modal verbs Michael gains control of the situation again. Michael uses his power to patronise Nikka 'no you won't' the personal pronoun makes it direct to Nikka and will make her think about what she is doing. Due to the writers characterisation of Michael this is effective because he is made out to be on a higher intellect level than any of the other characters in the show. This creates the entertainment because of the power of lexis used and the sentence mood. Also the auxiliary verb 'won't' used by the character Michael shows that he is in control which proves Fairclough's 'modal verb' theory to be true in this case in the show.
In source A the character Lincoln uses modal verbs to show his influential power over his little brother in the show ' It can't be done' the modal verb 'can't' suggests that Lincoln is more powerful and has more authority between the two as he is dictating what Michael does which is popular for an older brother. The characterisation of Lincoln in the show shows him to be strong and agrressive which ultimately adds to the entertainment when seeing the brother have an argument.This furthermore complies with Fairclough's theory theory of auxilliary verbs demonstrate power as they are the mood of the subject in this case it happens to be a declarative sentence. This shows the audience that in the show physical presence can have advantages which is an indication to the future and an insight into actual prison life. Furthermore, Lincoln shows the prison the audience that in the show it is important to have intelligence and that status is a powerful aspect when it comes to the programmes reflection of prison life 'those plans you can't show people. Guys like Abruzzi' he is giving his little brother advice with an order, we can tell its an order from the use of the modal verb ' can't' which shows Lincoln has some intelligence which takes the light off of Michael and creates the entertainment for the audience as the brothers are now competing for power over one another.Linking back to my hypothesis as we see the brothers searching for supremacy in the programme which is showing the audience a sense of prison heirarchy in the show which creates tension between characters.The writers created a violent character and others like Abruzzi to create the sense of prison life within the show and therefore Lincoln is using his influential power to protect Michael although Michael feels opposed which creates the drama within the scene.
Lexical choice
In source C the script writers have chose the words carefully to portray Sara the prison doctor in the show as an authoratative figure but at the same time polite 'thanks guy, I'll take it from here' the lexis 'I'll take it from here shows her instrumental power in which complies with Waering's theory. But also supports Robin Lackoff's theory that females are more polite in discourse. The lexis 'thanks' shows her appreciation and which can be related to her characters nature of being polite and as she is a doctor in the programme the audience would expect that from a characters whose job is to help people.
In source B Michael uses interrogatives lexis to show power 'So?' the rhetorical question shows Michael’s total disregard to the problem at hand almost to say he is better than that he doesn't need to worry about the little things. It also suggests that people of lower intelligence should be working with the toilets as he is too good for that, this reflects his character as he the audience value him because he is the main character and expect him to be doing dramatic scenes and important scenes. Michael’s response gives an impression as to say 'fix it then' this shows his social power among the prisoners because he is deemed more intelligent than the rest of them and they need his intelligence therefore respect him and listen. This creates the drama in the scene because for the first time we are introduced to the rude side of Michael in the programme in which complies theory of politeness. Linking back to the hypothesis this proves it further as we see Michael using his influential power to create the drama within this scene.
On the other hand 'Sucre' responds by calling Michael 'fish' this is a derogatory term in prison for when someone is new in this is used effectively in the programme to show elements of real prison hierarchy and make it realistic . Usually fishes won’t have much 'street smart' in prison and won't know the ropes. Sucre is challenging Michael's power because he is new and doesn't know much about prison. This complies with Brown and Levinson's theory of positive and negative face. Sucre is negative face as has the desire to not have his actions impeded. Sucre is using a saving face method by being insulting towards Michael therefore searching for social power amongst the prisoners even though he has more of a social reputation in the programme. The search for power in discourse relates back to my hypothesis as they are both using their ifluential power to create power and entertainment.
We can also tell this by Michael's response 'boss' this shows he knows he is in a higher position than him but there is a sense of sarcasm portrayed consequently it shows that Bellick may have authoritative power but not any power socially as prison guards are number one enemy to the prisoners. Also we see another social class involved when the Pope asks Bellick a question ' is there a problem here, deputy?' this suggests that the Pope is reminding Bellick of his social class within the prison. The word 'deputy' patronises him and makes the Pope look even more powerful in an authoritative sense. This also complies with Waering's theory of instrumental power as the Pope has over ruled the prison officer.
Declaratives
Declaratives are also used to insert power Michael uses declaratives effectively ‘It's a two man job’ this suggests that the other prisoners should listen to him. The prisoners know he is intelligent therefore he is using his power to influence what the other prisoners do. Asserting his intelligence is being used to insert his influential power amongst the other prisoners. We also see Abruzzi use declaratives to insert his power in a different way ‘Demolition runs in the family’ this is to try and scare the other prisoners to make him more powerful, it’s an intimidation strategy. If the other prisoners are afraid of him it means he can instruct other inmates around. The effect it has on the audience makes us think that he is violent which is stereotypical of prisoners which the script writers have done to create the element of entertainment due to the characterisation of Abruzzi the audience will expect to see violence which also emulates real life prison heirarchy, The fact that he states that ‘demolition ‘ runs in his family makes us as the audience feel like he is in charge because he has the ability to hurt people which is important in prison. George Keith and John Shuttleworth said that men compete in discourse and we see Abruzzi doing this here therefore this complies with their theory as he is competing for power. This relates back to my hypothesis as the competition amongst the characters using influential power is used again to create the entertainment.
Conclusion
To conclude I think that my hypothesis has been proved correct by the research I have conducted. We see multiple times in the programme the characters of authoritative figures and prison inmates search for power amongst the social prison hierarchy within the programme. The authoritative figures such as the characters 'Bellick' and 'Sara' and the 'pope' all show their instrumental power using linguistic devices such as imperatives and modal verbs what we would be expect to see in the programme to create that sense of entertainment and to show where each character stands. On the other hand we see that the characters 'Lincoln' 'Sucre' 'Michael' and 'Abruzzi' are al; searching for power over one another constantly with the use of imperatives. modal verbs, declaratives. This creates the entertainment and drama as we see arguments unveil and reflects a sense of reality as stereotypically we would expect prison inmates to fight for the alpha male position within the wing which also creates the drama within the programme. The limitations of my language investigation is that it was hard to find transcripts to analyse therefore had to do my own. Another limitation is that it was hard not to refer to the characters as if they were real. If I were to do this again I would chose different elements to investigate and narrow down the amount of episodes I used to transcript
Conclusion
To conclude I think that my hypothesis has been proved correct by the research I have conducted. We see multiple times in the programme the characters of authoritative figures and prison inmates search for power amongst the social prison hierarchy within the programme. The authoritative figures such as the characters 'Bellick' and 'Sara' and the 'pope' all show their instrumental power using linguistic devices such as imperatives and modal verbs what we would be expect to see in the programme to create that sense of entertainment and to show where each character stands. On the other hand we see that the characters 'Lincoln' 'Sucre' 'Michael' and 'Abruzzi' are al; searching for power over one another constantly with the use of imperatives. modal verbs, declaratives. This creates the entertainment and drama as we see arguments unveil and reflects a sense of reality as stereotypically we would expect prison inmates to fight for the alpha male position within the wing which also creates the drama within the programme. The limitations of my language investigation is that it was hard to find transcripts to analyse therefore had to do my own. Another limitation is that it was hard not to refer to the characters as if they were real. If I were to do this again I would chose different elements to investigate and narrow down the amount of episodes I used to transcript
