Word-Formation in Mark Boal’s &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;The Hurt Locker&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;

Starling David Hunter Iii

doi:10.4236/ojml.2013.31003

Abstract

The repetition and development of unifying themes, ideas, and images within narratives are long-standing concerns in the literature on screenwriting. Four points of consensus concerning themes are evident: themes are 1) very few 2) are different from—but related to—the plotline 3) are oft-repeated and 4) are implicitly, rather than explicitly, stated. Several areas within the field of linguistics are relevant to these topics. Foremost among them is morphology, specifically word-formation—the rules by which new words are built upon the bases of other words, roots, or stems. This article considers the relationship of several kinds of word formation to thematic repetition in Mark Boal’s The Hurt Locker, the 2010 Academy-Award winner for best original screenplay. The morphological analysis reveals a pattern of thematic repetition extending to every scene of the screenplay and that encompasses the story’s underlying and unifying themes.

Highlights

Academics and practitioners of screenwriting have written extensively about the repetition and development of unifying themes, ideas, and images within narratives (e.g. Mehring, 1990; Horton, 2000; Parker, 2002; Dethridge, 2004; Field, 1998, 2005; Snyder, 2005; Norman, 2007)
Drawing on concepts from screenwriting and word-formation, I identify a clear pattern of thematic repetition in the narrative, one that extends to every scene of the screenplay and that accounts for the story’s underlying and unifying themes, as well as the events and character arcs that dramatize them
Five nodes have five or more ties—plaudere, per-1, bhel-2, sta, skel-1. The former is the root of all compounds and acronyms associated with explosives—improvised explosive device (IED), explosives ordnance disposal (EOD), explosives disposal range, and plastic explosives

Summary

Introduction

Academics and practitioners of screenwriting have written extensively about the repetition and development of unifying themes, ideas, and images within narratives (e.g. Mehring, 1990; Horton, 2000; Parker, 2002; Dethridge, 2004; Field, 1998, 2005; Snyder, 2005; Norman, 2007). Academics and practitioners of screenwriting have written extensively about the repetition and development of unifying themes, ideas, and images within narratives Despite the differences, there are several points of consensus about the repetition of themes, within screenplays. Within the field of linguistic morphology are several concepts relevant to this topic. Of special interest and relevance is the subject of word-formation—the rules by which new words are built upon the bases of other words, roots, or stems. Drawing on concepts from screenwriting and word-formation, I identify a clear pattern of thematic repetition in the narrative, one that extends to every scene of the screenplay and that accounts for the story’s underlying and unifying themes, as well as the events and character arcs that dramatize them

Literature Review

A Further Extension

Findings

Conclusion