Distancing in the Discursive Behavior of Heroes and Antiheroes in American Film Discourse

Abstract

The article focuses on characteristic aspects and means of implementing the distancing strategy in the discursive behavior of heroes and antiheroes in American film discourse. The strategy is implemented through the tactics of self-defense, evasion, concise presentation of information, emphasizing differences between the participants in the interaction, exclusion from joint activities, and demonstration of a pessimistic approach using both the verbal and non-verbal codes. The findings indicate that distancing is more typical of and is used in more varied situational contexts by heroes in comparison with antiheroes. In particular, heroes resort to distancing when attempting to avoid conflict interaction, protecting their personal space, or refusing to embrace the circumstances they find themselves in. Antiheroes distance themselves in order to restrict intrusion into their personal affairs or dissociate themselves from an unfavorable situation. While all the tactics singled out for the distancing strategy are typically found in the hero’s communicative repertoire, the tactics of self-defense and emphasizing differences between the participants in the interaction tend to prevail in that of the antihero.