This study aims to comprehensively examine the various expressive speech acts carried out by the protagonist and antagonist characters in The Batman movie.
Additionally, it seeks to explore the impact of different stages of the movie (orientation, complication, evaluation, resolution) on the utilization of expressive speech acts, as well as how the protagonist and antagonist characters differently select the expressive speech act. To identify expressive speech acts, a socio-pragmatics approach was employed, along with a theoretical framework proposed by Searle (1976) and Austin (1975).
The data in this research were subjected to analysis using a descriptive qualitative approach. The data source comprised the complete dialogue documents extracted from the transcript of the film The Batman. To select the documents, a purposive sampling technique was applied, ensuring a deliberate selection of relevant data sources. Content analysis was employed as the method of data collection for this study.
Based on the research findings, the movie contained a total of 67 instances of expressive speech acts. These speech acts were categorized as follows: mocking (13 data), swearing/cursing (13 data), complimenting (3 data), apologizing (1 data), sympathy (14 data), wishing bad luck (4 data), greeting (3 data), thanking (1 data), lamenting (14 data), and leave-taking (1 data). Moreover, it was found that the characteristics, context, as well as the circumstances of the protagonist and antagonist characters influenced the use of any types of expressive speech act by these characters, due to the context may differ in each character. Additionally, it was observed that each stage of the movie, including orientation, complication, evaluation, and resolution, influenced the occurrence of expressive speech acts by both the protagonist and antagonist characters, due to the events that happened during the stage.
