Types and Functions of Impoliteness Strategies Used by Lee Chandler in Manchester by the Sea (2016) Movie

Abstract

This study investigates the types and frequencies of impoliteness strategies used by Lee Chandler, the protagonist of Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester by the Sea (2016), and the communicative functions these strategies serve. Using Culpeper's (1996, 2011) impoliteness framework, this qualitative descriptive study examines 28 impolite utterances drawn from the original screenplay. Data were classified according to Culpeper's five impoliteness super-strategies: bald on record, positive impoliteness, negative impoliteness, sarcasm or mock impoliteness, and withhold politeness – and each instance was further analyzed for its communicative function: affective, coercive, or entertaining (Bousfield, 2009; Culpeper, 2011). The findings reveal that bald on record impoliteness is the most frequent strategy (9 occurrences; 32.1%), followed by positive impoliteness (8; 28.6%), negative impoliteness (6; 21.4%), sarcasm or mock impoliteness (3; 10.7%), and withhold politeness (2; 7.1%). Functionally, the affective function predominates across all five types, reflecting suppressed grief and emotional withdrawal, while the coercive function appears as a secondary effect. No instance serves a primarily entertaining function. These findings demonstrate that impoliteness type and function are related but analytically distinct dimensions of Lee Chandler's characterization.