Identification - Exophora and Esphora - Essay Example

Dis Analysis: Final Assignment The following paper contains an analysis of two movie reviews on the basis of a systemic functional linguistic approach. The present discourse analysis studies both reviews with respect to genre, field, tenor and mode, as described by Eggins (1994) and Martin and Rose (2001). The analyzed texts are One of the Best Movie "Gifts" Ive gotten This Year, a positive review of the movie Little Miss Sunshine, and The Simpsons movie: A mixed blessing, a negative review of the film The Simpsons. They will be referred to as the positive and the negative review respectively. 1. Field 1.1. Conjunctive relations The external and internal conjunctive relations of both texts were analyzed by means of a conjunctive reticulum (See Appendix). The analysis of conjunctive relations shows a combination of two kinds of logical relations. The positive review is mainly held together by extending relations of addition (in general, by the conjunction and). The enhancing relations play an important role as well, since there are many time and causal conjunctions. For example: And although getting there is only half the fun and family drama, (then) you have got to see what happens to believe it when they finally arrive and Olive gets to "do her thing." According to Eggins (1994), the enhancing relations represent the typical narrative pattern, where the narrator concerns on when things happened and why. It is important to note that a movie review has a narrative and expositive character as well. It is narrative when the plot is introduced, and expositive, when the reviewer expresses his opinion on the film and describes the positive and negative aspects of a movie. Similarly, the negative review alternates between extension and enhancement, with more focus on the last one. The plot of the movie has less space in the review, since the reviewer remarks the movie features that he did not find appropriate, by comparing with other films and The Simpsons TV show. Therefore, causal and comparative conjunctions are often used. But now we have The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length version of the show that has some snazzier animation but otherwise amounts to a decent oversized episode. The logical relations derive basically from an external organization of the text in both reviews. The events beyond the text (i.e. movie, actors, writers, directors) are linked by external conjunctions. At the same time, most of the relations are stamped explicitly, rather than left for the reader to decode. It is important to note that most of the internal relations are implicit, that is, the reader must interpret the internal organization of the text. Implicit elaborating relations (expressed by that is, or in fact), typical of the internal organization, could be identified in the analyzed texts. 1.2. Ideation In a broad sense, both texts represent the same field: a present-day movie. The specific topic of each one is the movie concerned by the reviewer. The movie field of both reviews (understood as the section where the plot of the movie is told) is brief (56 words in the negative review and 117 words in the positive one) in comparison with the review field. The negative review has a briefer movie field, because there is no need to introduce characters and actors like in the positive review. The Simpsons, object of the negative review, is a cartoon, and it does not have actors, but voices, and the author assumes that the characters are known by the readers of the review. The purpose of a review is to provide the readers with an evaluation of the movie and recommend them to watch it or not. We cannot expect of a review to tell the whole story, because it does not correspond to the features of this genre. However, the negative review provides a summary of the story, including the end. The positive review tells until the climax and recommends directly the readers to discover the story by themselves. Both reviews have a family as main character. However, the treatment of the family differs in both. The Simpson family is treated like a whole and sometimes Homer, the father or patriarch, is mentioned as part of the family, that is, one of its members. Olive’s family is a group of characters, always treated apart from Olive in the movie field. The review field mentions the members of the family one by one, but in the movie field they are treated as a collective. Therefore, there are classification relations between them. The girl cannot be considered a hyponym of the family, but she has a co-class relationship (See appendix for a full analysis of composition and classification). In both reviews, the processes involve the participants in sequences of actions, specifically doing processes, which represent material actions. This feature is expected from the movie field, since it tells the story. Olive is the center of the participants in the movie, and the rest of the characters (in the review field) are described in relation to her: Greg Kinnear is letter-perfect as Olives judgmental, failed motivational-speaker father; Steve Carell finds new shades of darkest despair and human comedy as her suicidal gay uncle (…); Paul Dano does amazing things (…)as Olives older brother (…), and Alan Arkin (…) still shines like a crazy diamond as her cantankerous and hedonistic grandfather. The actors’ names are more important than the characters’ names, since the reviewer takes into account how they play. The mention of proper names in the review field of the negative review is scarce. In this case, the reviewer preferred to mention characteristics of the movie. In the negative review, the participants (people and things) are part of the universe represented by the town Springfield. As a matter of fact, the reviewer criticizes that the “the Simpson family spends much of the movie isolated from the world that has captivated viewers of the TV show for so long”. 2. Tenor 2.1. Appraisal Both reviews are highly evaluative as the reviewers describe their impressions on the movies. The reviewers express their opinion as specialists, who direct their text to general readers, who act as potential audiences of the concerned films. Thus, the writer or reviewer is the major appraiser in the review, whereas the film and the aspects around it (actors, characters, and actions) are the appraised. The table below presents a summary of the kinds of attitudes in both reviews (See appendix for details). Positive review Negative review Total appraisals 36 45 affects 4 3 judgements 10 7 appreciations 22 35 Both reviews contain a high number of appreciations, since the reviewers value the quality of the movies and their features. Judgement tends to refer to the actors and characters, and affect is used to express the feelings that the movies can produce in the audience. Intensifiers amplify the force of attitudes. A broad variety of intensifiers is used by the reviewers: comparative and superlatives, adverbs of quantity and manner, modality. The attitudinal lexis represents various degrees of appreciation and feeling. The reviewers tend to amplify their opinions, and they can combine attitudinal lexis with intensifiers: its up to her unbelievably fractured family new shades of darkest despair Metaphors have also an amplifying effect, but their use is not extended in the analyzed reviews. 2.2. Identification – homophora The positive review uses frequently the homophoric reference in order to track people and things in the context of culture, outside the text. That is the case of the actors, who are introduced by their proper names, and the reviewer assumes that the reader knows these actors and the roles previously played by them. And barely holding this motley crew together is Toni Collette, who amazes by playing a mother again and yet manages not to portray the role exactly the same way, (you might recall her Oscar-nominated turn as Haley Joel Osments put-upon mom in THE SIXTH SENSE.) The actors’ names are more important than the character names in the positive review. The only example of identification of both is in the first mention of Olive, protagonist of Little Miss Sunshine, where the reviewer also provides the name of the actress. The context of culture is also important in the negative review. The homophoric reference is crucial to understand the review, because a lot of elements retrievable from the cultural context of TV shows are mentioned: The Simpsons TV show, the characters, the town, distinctive features of the show, and other sitcoms like South Park, among others. Both reviews belong to a larger context of culture, which is necessary to know in order to fully understand the texts. 3. Mode 3.1. Identification – exophora and esphora In both reviews, there are presuming reference items which can be retrievable from the context of situation. In this case, there is a non-simultaneous relationship between the writer and the readers. Although the writer does not know his readers, they are considered in the text. Therefore, the use of the second person directs to them, and the use of the first person gives the review a personal touch. This personal touch is intensified in the positive review, where the reviewer tells his personal feelings toward the movie. I cant recommend this one highly enough. And I cant wait to see it again. In the negative review, the writer is not personally committed, but the use of the first person plural enables him to be included in discourse. But now we have The Simpsons Movie… The mode of the analyzed texts is written to be read, which determines different features in comparison with spoken genres, in which the exophoric reference is a very important element. The self-identification resource (esphora) is often used in the analyzed reviews, which indicates a self-contextualizing review in many aspects. The referent occurs within the same nominal group, e.g. the use of special effects, Olives older brother (positive review), the adventures of the titular family and the dozens of eccentric characters who inhabit Springfield (negative review). 4. Genre In the analyzed reviews, the following schematic structure or stages can be identified: Title: It is typically realized by a nominal group or noun phrase, not by a complete clause or sentence (Eggins, 44). However, the positive review does not identify the movie (Little Miss Sunshine). Instead of it, a complete sentence acts as title: One of the Best Movie "Gifts" Ive gotten This Year. The negative review has two noun phrases, one of which is the name of the film, and the second nominal group contains adjective and noun: The Simpsons movie: A mixed blessing. Both titles show the subjectivity of the authors. Author: The reviewer’s name appears below the title. This information is important in movie reviews, unlike other genres, because they represent the perspective of a determined person, and it is possible to find positive and negative reviews of the same movie. Introduction: This stage is realized by complete sentences. The subjectivity of the authors is remarked by the use of many adjectives, which express how the writers rate the film and its features (rare, bombastic, genuine, eccentric). The author of the positive review uses the first person singular pronoun. In the negative review, the author introduces a rhetorical question, and he uses the first person plural pronoun. In this introduction stage, the positive review indicates the general position of the writer towards the movie. The negative review provides the readers with a background and the positive features of The Simpsons TV show before criticizing the movie in following stages. Summary of the movie (narrative stage): It is characterized by verbs in present tense and complete sentences. The participants are specific, and they are often described by means of adjectives. This stage also contains action verbs (do, arrive), and circumstances of manner, realized by adverbs (unbelievably, unendingly, inadvertently). Cast / director / writer review: The negative review gives only an unspecific commentary on the cast: “The sprawling supporting cast gets little to do…” Then, it refers to the writers of the movie, and mentions that they had a long and hard work in a script, which does not fulfill the expectations. Since this stage is highly subjective, there are many adjectives and adverbs. The positive review deals with cast, director and writers. The clauses are linked by addition, implicitly or explicitly. The movie actors and the characters are also related. In the negative review, there is a brief mention of the actors who play the voices. The use of parenthesis to introduce the actors’ names next to the characters’ names, which is often in many movie reviews, appears only once in the positive review. Recommendation: In this last stage, the reviewer recommends (or not) the movie. The positive reviewer remarks his own experience on the film and, despite the lack of imperative statements, he uses his own enthusiasm as a way of inspiring others to see the movie. The negative review does not present this stage. Instead of it, the reviewer makes a comparison with another film with similar features, and a successful treatment. In conclusion, both texts share their main features on genre, field, tenor and mode, although they represent a positive and a negative review respectively. They are film reviews, each of them refers to a determined film, in both cases the authors review from a specialized perspective of a film critic, and both are written texts. They achieve their social purpose: reviewing a film. They are targeted at people who do not have seen the movies. In the case of the negative review, the targeted audience is minor because the author assumes that they are viewers of The Simpsons TV show. Thus, the presuming references are based in this situation. The reviews achieve the three social functions of language, or metafunctions, mentioned by Martin and Rose: the interpersonal metafunction to enact relationships (appraisal), the ideational metafunction to represent experience (ideation and conjunction), because the reviewers share with the readers their personal experience on watching a movie; and the textual metafunction to organize text (identification). As a staged and goal oriented social process, both reviews can be considered successful. Work cited Eggins, Suzanne. An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics (1st edition). London: Pinter, 1994. Martin, J. R. & Rose, David. Working with Discourse: Beyond the Clause. Continuum, 2001. Appendix Conjunctive reticulum (Positive review) Internal External Lexical Item 1. It is very rare to see a movie that can charm the hell out of an audience without the use of special effects, worn-out clichés 1 2. and bombastic action set pieces these days. 2 exp add and 3. But thats exactly what happened to me tonight at a sneak preview of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. 3 exp caus but 4. Assembling the best 4 imp caus (although) 5. and most unlikeliest of ensemble casts you may probably see all year, 5 exp add and 6. SUNSHINE on the face of it is a relatively (pun intended) simple story. 6 7. Little seven-year-old Olive (Abigail Breslin) has one wish in life: 7 imp simil 8. to be considered for the finals of the Little Miss Sunshine Pageant in Redondo Beach, CA. 8 (that is) 9. When her big chance comes at the most unexpected time, 9 exp simult when 10. its up to her unbelievably fractured family to pull themselves together 10 11. and make it happen for her, no matter what it takes. 11 exp add and 12. And what it takes is a sad, painful, tragic 12 exp add and 13. and yet unendingly hilarious trek in a barely operational VW bus from Albequerque, NM to the Pageant. 13 exp add and 14. And although getting there is only half the fun 14 exp add exp caus and although 15. and family drama, 15 exp add and 16. you have got to see what happens to believe it 16 imp succ (then) 17. when they finally arrive 17 exp simult when 18. and Olive gets to "do her thing." 18 exp add and imp add 19. The strong cast sounds not a single false note, 19 (in addition) 20. and when the more touching moments arrive, 20 exp add exp simult and when 21. they dont seem forced 21 22. the way they would in most other big-budget behemoths, 22 imp simil (like) 23. because these moments are truly earned. 23 exp caus because 24. But WHAT a collection of characters this is. 24 exp caus but imp simil 25. Greg Kinnear is letter-perfect as Olives judgmental, failed motivational-speaker father; 25 (for example) imp add 26. Steve Carell finds new shades of darkest despair 26 (in addition) 27. and human comedy as her suicidal gay uncle, a leading Proust scholar; 27 exp add and imp add 28. Paul Dano does amazing things with little more than facial expressions as Olives older brother whos deep into Nietzche 28 (in addition) 29. and a vow of absolute silence, 29 exp add and 30. and Alan Arkin, 30 exp add and 31. though he has played this kind of role with both hands tied behind his back 31 exp caus though 32. and his eyes closed, 32 exp add and 33. still shines like a crazy diamond as her cantankerous 33 exp simil like 34. and hedonistic grandfather. 34 exp add and 35. And barely holding this motley crew together is Toni Collette, 35 exp add and exp simil 36. who amazes by playing a mother again 36 exp mean by again 37. and yet manages not to portray the role exactly the same way, 37 exp add and 38. (you might recall her Oscar-nominated turn as Haley Joel Osments put-upon mom in THE SIXTH SENSE.) 38 39. Im not at all familiar with the work of the two directors, 39 imp simil 40. Jonathan Dayton 40 (that is) 41. and Valerie Faris, 41 exp add and 42. or the writer, Michael Arndt, 42 exp alter or 43. but they have definitely raised the indie film bar with this effort. 43 exp caus but 44. Not a single moment is wasted; 44 imp caus (because) 45. not a single scene is in this film 45 imp add (and) 46. without having a reason for being there, 46 exp purp without 47. and its all character-driven. 47 exp add and imp add 48. Theres also nothing fluffy about it 48 also imp simil (1) 49. - commentary about everything from how twisted our pop culture can be, to how our drive for being #1 winners can blind us to all of the things that are the most important are all there under the bittersweet laughs 49 (for example) 50. and tears for the audience to discover. 50 (3) exp add and imp conseq 51. I cant recommend this one highly enough. 51 (in conclusion) 52. And I cant wait to see it again. 52 exp add exp simil and again Ideation analysis (Positive review) Movie field: Little seven-year-old Olive (Abigail Breslin) has one wish in life: to be considered for the finals of the Little Miss Sunshine Pageant in Redondo Beach, CA. When her big chance comes at the most unexpected time, its up to her unbelievably fractured family to pull themselves together and make it happen for her, no matter what it takes. And what it takes is a sad, painful, tragic and yet unendingly hilarious trek in a barely operational VW bus from Albequerque, NM to the Pageant. And although getting there is only half the fun and family drama, you have got to see what happens to believe it when they finally arrive and Olive gets to "do her thing." Lexically-rendered movie field: Little seven-year-old girl (girl) has one wish in life: to be considered for the finals of the Little Miss Sunshine Pageant in Redondo Beach, CA. When the girl’s big chance comes at the most unexpected time, its up to the girl’s unbelievably fractured family to pull the family together and make the girl’s wish happen for the girl, no matter what the girl’s wish takes. And what the girl’s wish takes is a sad, painful, tragic and yet unendingly hilarious trek in a barely operational VW bus from Albequerque, NM to the Pageant. And although getting to the Pageant is only half the fun and family drama, the readers have got to see what happens to believe what happens when the girl and the girl’s family finally arrive and the girl gets to "do the girl’s thing." Classification Composition [People] [places] [girl (Olive)] girl repetition girl co-class girl’s family repetition family repetition girl co-class readers repetition girl repetition girl’s family repetition girl Little Miss Sunshine Pageant part (sup) Redondo Beach, CA co-part Albequerque, NM repetition Pageant x 2 wish part girl’s chance repetition girl’s wish x 3 part “girl’s thing” girl fictional girl’s family People non-fictional readers Places Girl (Olive) USA wish Redondo Beach, CA Albequerque, NM chance “thing” Little Miss Sunshine Pageant Participants (Agents) Processes Participants (Patients) Circumstances girl’s big chance comes at the most unexpected time girl’s unbelievably fractured family pull together the family the family make happen the girl’s wish for the girl girl’s wish takes trek in a barely operational VW bus from Albequerque, NM to the Pageant the girl and the girls’s family arrive girl gets to do “girl’s thing” Identification analysis (Positive review) Table 1. Presented and presumed participants in One of the Best Movie "Gifts" Ive gotten This Year Presenting Presuming Reference items Type of phora Referent it cataphora seeing a movie without determined features a movie an audience the use of special effects esphora special effects worn-out clichés homophora Retrievable from the cultural context of films bombastic action set pieces homophora Retrievable from the cultural context of films that anaphora seeing a movie without the mentioned features me exophora writer (Christopher T. Chase) tonight exophora Date of the review (July 26, 2006) a sneak preview of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE esphora Little Miss Sunshine the best and most unlikeliest of ensemble casts esphora ensemble casts you exophora readers of the review all year exophora Year of the review (2006) SUNSHINE anaphora Little Miss Sunshine the face of it esphora anaphora it Little Miss Sunshine a relatively (pun intended) simple story anaphora Little Miss Sunshine Olive (Abigail Breslin) homophora Retrievable from the cultural context of films wish cataphora to be considered for the finals of the Little Miss Sunshine Pageant the finals of the Little Miss Sunshine Pageant esphora the Little Miss Sunshine Pageant her big chance anaphora Olive her unbelievably fractured family anaphora Olive themselves anaphora the family members make it happen anaphora Olive’s wish for her anaphora Olive what it takes anaphora Olive’s wish what it takes anaphora Olive’s wish trek VW bus getting there anaphora to the Pageant you exophora readers of the review believe it anaphora what happens they anaphora Olive and the family “her thing” anaphora exophora Olive’s action in the pageant, retrievable from the film The strong cast cataphora cast of Little Miss Sunshine not a single false note the more touching moments exophora comparative reference Retrievable from Little Miss Sunshine Comparative tie with the other moments of the film they anaphora the more touching moments they anaphora the more touching moments most other big-budget behemoths comparative reference Comparative tie with big-budget films these moments anaphora the more touching moments a collection of characters this anaphora a collection of characters Greg Kinnear homophora Retrievable from the cultural context of films Olive’s… father esphora Olive Steve Carell homophora Retrievable from the cultural context of films her suicidal gay uncle anaphora Olive Proust homophora Retrievable from the cultural context of literature Paul Dano homophora Retrievable from the cultural context of films little more than facial expressions comparative reference Comparative tie retrievable from Little Miss Sunshine Olives older brother esphora comparative reference Olive Comparative tie with Olive’s age Alan Arkin homophora Retrievable from the cultural context of films he anaphora Alan Arkin this kind of role esphora cataphora role Alan Arkin’s role in Little Miss Sunshine his back anaphora Alan Arkin his eyes anaphora Alan Arkin her… grandfather anaphora Olive this motley crew anaphora cast of Little Miss Sunshine Toni Collette homophora Retrievable from the cultural context of films a mother the role anaphora mother the same way exophora comparative reference Comparative tie retrievable from the cultural context of films you exophora readers of the review her Oscar-nominated turn anaphora Toni Collete Haley Joel Osments put-upon mom esphora exophora Haley Joel Osment Retrievable from the cultural context of films THE SIXTH SENSE exophora Retrievable from the cultural context of films I exophora writer the work of the two directors esphora cataphora the two directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris homophora Retrievable from the cultural context of films the writer cataphora Michael Arndt Michael Arndt homophora Retrievable from the cultural context of films they anaphora The writer and the directors of Little Miss Sunshine raised the indie film bar with this effort bridging x 2 The quality of independent films Effort of making Little Miss Sunshine not a single moment not a single scene this film anaphora Little Miss Sunshine there anaphora in Little Miss Sunshine it (x 2) anaphora Little Miss Sunshine our pop culture exophora The writer’s and the readers’ culture our drive exophora writer and readers us exophora writer and readers laughs and tears the most important comparative reference Comparative tie, retrievable from film the audience exophora audience of Little Miss Sunshine I (x 2) exophora writer it anaphora Little Miss Sunshine Table 2. Participant chains in One of the Best Movie "Gifts" Ive gotten This Year Writer Audience Little Miss Sunshine The cast Olive Olive’s family Introduction me an audience, you a movie Summary of the movie you Sunshine, story ensemble cast her (3), Olive family, they1 Cast / director / writer review I the audience, our2 (2), us this film, it cast, collection of characters3 Olive (2), her (2) this motley crew4 Recommendation I (2) it Appraisal analysis (Positive review) Table 1. Inscriptions of appraisal in One of the Best Movie "Gifts" Ive gotten This Year appraiser inscription appraised attitude writer very rare movie appreciation writer special movie effects appreciation writer worn-out clichés appreciation writer bombastic action set pieces appreciation writer best and most unlikeliest ensemble casts judgement writer relatively (pun intended) simple story appreciation writer big chance appreciation writer the most unexpected time appreciation writer unbelievably fractured family judgement writer sad, painful, tragic and yet unendingly hilarious trek appreciation writer barely operational VW bus appreciation writer strong cast judgement writer not a single false note appreciation writer the more touching moments appreciation writer big-budget behemoths appreciation writer letter-perfect Greg Kinnear judgement writer judgmental, failed motivational-speaker father judgement writer new shades appreciation writer darkest despair appreciation writer suicidal gay uncle Steve Carell judgement writer leading Proust scholar judgement writer amazing things appreciation writer absolute silence appreciation writer shines like a crazy diamond Alan Arkin judgement writer cantankerous and hedonistic grandfather judgement writer motley crew judgement writer amazes Toni Collette affect writer not at all familiar the work of the two directors appreciation writer wasted moment appreciation writer character-driven film appreciation writer nothing fluffy film appreciation writer twisted pop culture appreciation writer the most important things appreciation writer bittersweet laughs and tears audience affect writer can’t recommend highly enough the film affect X35 audience charm movie affect x1 Table 2. Invocations of appraisal overtly signalled by force intensifiers It is very rare But thats exactly what happened to me Assembling the best and most unlikeliest of ensemble casts you may probably see all year a relatively (pun intended) simple story at the most unexpected time its up to her unbelievably fractured family unendingly hilarious trek in a barely operational VW bus although getting there is only half the fun and family drama when the more touching moments arrive they dont seem forced the way they would in most other big-budget behemoths these moments are truly earned new shades of darkest despair with little more than facial expressions Olives older brother And barely holding this motley crew together exactly the same way Im not at all familiar its all character-driven all of the things that are the most important are all there I cant recommend this one highly enough attitudinal lexis bombastic action set pieces its up to her unbelievably fractured family it takes is a sad, painful, tragic and yet unendingly hilarious trek Greg Kinnear is letter-perfect new shades of darkest despair still shines like a crazy diamond as her cantankerous and hedonistic grandfather Theres also nothing fluffy under the bittersweet laughs and tears metaphors a movie that can charm the hell out of an audience he has played this kind of role with both hands tied behind his back and his eyes closed still shines like a crazy diamond Conjunctive reticulum (Negative review) Internal External Lexical Item 1. Why does everything have to be a movie? 1 2. The Simpsons has been tooling along for 18 years now as a TV show 2 3. and genuine cultural institution 3 exp add and 4. and even if its quality has dipped in the last few years, 4 exp add exp cond and even if 5. it remains ideally consumed in half-hour increments, perhaps with the occasional extra-long episode. 5 6. The adventures of the titular family 6 imp caus (so) 7. and the dozens of eccentric characters who inhabit Springfield are generally fast-paced 7 exp add and 8. and densely packed with jokes, 8 exp add and 9. with absurd plots that would fall apart 9 imp add (and) 10. if stretched beyond sitcom length. 10 exp cond if imp conseq 11. That’s not a flaw; 11 (nevertheless) imp simil 12. it’s a perfect recipe for a good TV show. 12 (in fact) exp add 13. But now we have The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length version of the show that has some snazzier animation 13 exp caus but now 14. but otherwise amounts to a decent oversized episode. 14 exp caus exp cond but otherwise 15. For dedicated fans, especially those who remain regular viewers in the show’s later years, this will probably be enough. 15 imp add (and) 16. There are plenty of laughs in the beginning of the film, 16 imp caus (because) 17. and the movie showcases many of the show’s best features, including clever voice cameos (Green Day, Tom Hanks), 17 exp add and 18. incisive political satire 18 imp add (and) 19. and hilariously oddball references to obscure bits of culture. 19 exp add and 20. Things slow a little 20 imp succ (then) 21. as soon as the story kicks into gear, with Simpson patriarch Homer inadvertently sparking an environmental disaster that causes the government to lower a giant dome over Springfield. 21 exp succ as soon as 22. Ostracized by their neighbors 22 imp succ (then) 23. because of Homer’s idiocy, 23 exp caus because 24. the Simpsons find their way to Alaska, 24 imp succ (then) 25. only to return to save their town from destruction. 25 imp succ (then) imp conseq 26. It’s a plot that’s easy to imagine filling a regular episode, 26 (consequently) 27. and other than making it last longer 27 exp add exp contr and other than 28. the movie doesn’t do much to sell this story as deserving of special treatment. 28 imp add 29. The sprawling supporting cast gets little to do, 29 (in addition) 30. and the Simpson family spends much of the movie isolated from the world that has captivated viewers of the TV show for so long. 30 exp add and (1) 31. Eleven writers (including many from the show’s earlier days) spent years crafting a script 31 32. that seems like the victim of way too much second-guessing, 32 exp simil like exp conseq 33. and with all that work still doesn’t come close to the brilliance of the show at its peak. 33 exp add and still imp simil 34. Not every TV show needs to be a movie, 34 (indeed) 35. but that’s not to say that TV shows can’t make the big-screen leap successfully: 35 exp caus but imp simil 36. Back in 1999, the creators of South Park made a film that felt in every way grander 36 (for example) 37. and more carefully crafted than the episodes of the TV series— 37 exp add and 38. and it was also side-splittingly hilarious. 38 exp add and 39. Perhaps the secret was that they didn’t spend 18 years hoping for the perfect opportunity that never quite presented itself. 39 imp caus (because) Ideation analysis (Negative review) Movie field: Things slow a little as soon as the story kicks into gear, with Simpson patriarch Homer inadvertently sparking an environmental disaster that causes the government to lower a giant dome over Springfield. Ostracized by their neighbors because of Homer’s idiocy, the Simpsons find their way to Alaska, only to return to save their town from destruction. Lexically-rendered movie field: The family patriarch inadvertently sparks an environmental disaster. The environmental disaster causes the government to lower a giant dome over the town. The family is ostracized by the family’s neighbors because of the father’s idiocy. The family finds their way to other state. The family returns to save the family’s town from destruction. the family part the patriarch class an environmental disaster5 part the government6 class a giant dome7 part the town8 part the family9 co-part (R)10 the neighbors part (S) the father’s idiocy11 class (R) the family12 co-class other state13 class (R) the family part the town class destruction14 R: Repetition S: Synonym Classification Composition [actions on environmental disaster] [family actions] [The Simpsons] the government class a giant dome co-class destruction of the town an environmental disaster co-class finding the way to other state co-class return co-class saving the town from destruction the family part the patriarch part (S) the father’s idiocy part an environmental disaster part the town part a giant dome part the neighbors co-part (R) the family Identification analysis (Negative review) Table 1. Presented and presumed participants in The Simpsons movie: A mixed blessing Presenting Presuming Reference items Type of phora Referent a movie The Simpsons a TV show genuine cultural institution its quality anaphora The Simpsons TV show it anaphora The Simpsons TV show half-hour increments homophora Retrievable from the cultural context of The Simpsons TV show the occasional extra-long episode homophora Retrievable from the cultural context of The Simpsons TV show The adventures of the titular family and the dozens of eccentric characters who inhabit Springfield esphora anaphora esphora esphora homophora the titular family The Simpson family the dozens of eccentric characters who inhabit Springfield Springfield, retrievable from The Simpsons TV show jokes absurd plots sitcom length bridging Inferred from “half-hour increments” and “the occasional extra-long episode” That anaphora Mentioned features of The Simpsons adventures a flaw it anaphora Mentioned features of The Simpsons adventures a perfect recipe a good TV show we exophora The author of the review and the public The Simpsons Movie a feature-length version of the show esphora anaphora The show The Simpsons TV show some snazzier animation comparative reference Comparative tie with The Simpsons show a decent oversized episode bridging Inferred from The Simpsons TV show dedicated fans those who remain regular viewers anaphora esphora The fans of The Simpsons TV show who remain regular viewers the show’s later years esphora anaphora comparative reference The show The Simpsons TV show Comparative tie with the years of The Simpsons TV show this anaphora Mentioned features of The Simpsons Movie laughs the beginning of the film esphora anaphora The film The Simpsons Movie typical Simpsons fashion homophora Retrievable from the cultural context of The Simpsons TV show a circuitous route the actual plot cataphora The plot of The Simpsons Movie, in the next paragraph the movie anaphora The Simpsons Movie the show’s best features anaphora esphora comparative reference The Simpsons TV show The show Comparative tie with the qualities of The Simpsons TV show clever voice cameos Green Day, Tom Hanks anaphora Voice cameos incisive political satire hilariously oddball references to obscure bits of culture esphora homophora esphora obscure bits of culture Retrievable from the cultural context of The Simpsons TV show culture Things bridging The actions in the plot of The Simpsons Movie the story cataphora The plot of The Simpsons Movie, described next Simpson patriarch Homer an environmental disaster the government homophora Retrievable from The Simpsons TV show a giant dome Springfield homophora Retrievable from The Simpsons TV show their neighbors cataphora The Simpson family Homer’s idiocy esphora bridging Homer The environmental disaster caused by Homer Simpson the Simpsons anaphora The Simpson family Alaska homophora Retrievable from the cultural context their town anaphora Springfield destruction It anaphora The plot of The Simpsons Movie a plot a regular episode anaphora The Simpsons TV show it anaphora The Simpsons episode the movie anaphora The Simpsons Movie this story anaphora The plot of The Simpsons Movie special treatment bridging Becoming a film, inferred from the author’s argument The sprawling supporting cast bridging The supporting cast of The Simpsons Movie, inferred. the Simpson family anaphora The Simpson family in the movie much of the movie comparative reference esphora anaphora Comparative tie with the length of The Simpsons Movie The movie The Simpsons Movie the world homophora Retrievable from the cultural context of The Simpsons TV show viewers of the TV show esphora anaphora The TV show The Simpsons TV show Eleven writers many from the show’s earlier days anaphora esphora esphora anaphora comparative reference homophora writers the show’s earlier days the show The Simpsons TV show Comparative tie with the years of The Simpsons TV show Retrievable from the cultural context of The Simpsons TV show a script the victim of way too much second-guessing esphora comparative reference way too much second-guessing Comparative tie with the writers’ work all that work bridging Work of making a script, inferred from the previous sentence the brilliance of the show homophora esphora anaphora Retrievable from the cultural context of The Simpsons TV show The show The Simpsons TV show its peak anaphora The Simpsons TV show every TV show a movie that anaphora Idea expressed in the previous sentence TV shows the big-screen leap bridging Becoming a film, inferred from the author’s argument the creators of South Park esphora homophora South Park Retrievable from the cultural context of sitcoms a film the episodes of the TV series esphora anaphora the TV series South Park TV series it anaphora South Park movie the secret bridging Success of the South Park movie, inferred from the previous sentence they anaphora The creators of South Park the perfect opportunity bridging The opportunity of making a film, inferred from the previous sentence itself anaphora the perfect opportunity Table 2. Participant chains in The Simpsons movie: A mixed blessing The Simpsons TV show The Simpsons Movie The Simpson family Homer Simpson The creators of South Park South Park movie Overview of the show its, it the titular family Introducing the movie the show (3)15 a feature-length version of the show, a decent oversized episode, the film, the movie Plot of the movie a regular episode, it, the TV show, the show (2), its the story, the movie (2), this story their (3), the Simpsons16, the Simpson family Simpson patriarch Homer17, Homer Example of a successful movie from a TV show they a film, it Appraisal analysis (Negative review) Table 1. Inscriptions of appraisal in The Simpsons movie: A mixed blessing appraiser inscription appraised attitude writer genuine cultural institution The Simpsons TV show appreciation writer dipped the quality of The Simpsons TV show appreciation writer ideally consumed The Simpsons TV show appreciation writer extra-long The Simpsons episode appreciation writer eccentric the characters who inhabit Springfield judgement writer fast-paced the adventures of the Simpson family and the other characters appreciation writer densely packed with jokes the adventures of The Simpson family and the other characters appreciation writer absurd plots of The Simpsons TV show appreciation writer not a flaw features of The Simpsons TV show appreciation writer perfect recipe features of The Simpsons TV show appreciation writer good The Simpsons TV show appreciation writer snazzier animation of The Simpsons film appreciation writer decent oversized The Simpsons episode appreciation writer regular viewers fans of The Simpsons TV show judgement writer laughs the beginning of the film affect writer typical Simpsons fashion the beginning of the film appreciation writer circuitous route to the actual plot the beginning of the film appreciation writer best features of The Simpsons TV show appreciation writer clever voice cameos appreciation writer incisive political satire appreciation writer hilariously oddball references appreciation writer obscure bits of culture appreciation writer slow a little The Simpsons film appreciation writer environmental disaster Action by Homer Simpson appreciation writer giant dome appreciation writer easy to imagine plot of The Simpsons film appreciation writer regular The Simpsons episode appreciation writer longer The Simpsons episode appreciation writer doesn’t do much to sell this story The Simpsons film appreciation writer special treatment of the episode appreciation writer sprawling the supporting cast of The Simpsons film judgement writer gets little to do the supporting cast of The Simpsons film judgement writer isolated The Simpson family appreciation18 writer victim of way too much second-guessing script of The Simpsons film appreciation writer doesn’t come close to the brilliance The Simpsons film appreciation writer brilliance The Simpsons TV show appreciation writer peak The Simpsons TV show appreciation writer grander and more carefully crafted South Park film appreciation writer side-splittingly hilarious South Park film appreciation writer (not) hoping for the perfect opportunity the creators of South Park judgement X40 fans dedicated The Simpsons TV show affect fans enough The Simpsons film appreciation x2 The neighbors ostracize the Simpson family judgement The neighbors idiocy Homer judgement x2 viewers of the TV show captivated world of The Simpsons TV show affect x1 Table 2. Invocations of appraisal overtly signalled by force intensifiers the last few years the occasional extra-long episode the dozens of eccentric characters densely packed with jokes some snazzier animation the show’s later years this will probably be enough There are plenty of laughs many of the show’s best features Things slow a little as soon as the story kicks into gear other than making it last longer the movie doesn’t do much to sell this story The sprawling supporting cast gets little to do the Simpson family spends much of the movie for so long including many from the show’s earlier days too much second-guessing with all that work a film that felt in every way grander and more carefully crafted than the episodes of the TV series attitudinal lexis For dedicated fans clever voice cameos incisive political satire hilariously oddball references an environmental disaster a giant dome Homer’s idiocy special treatment The sprawling supporting cast the world that has captivated viewers the brilliance of the show at its peak it was also side-splittingly hilarious metaphors densely packed with jokes a perfect recipe for a good TV show with all that work still doesn’t come close to the brilliance of the show at its peak Read More