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Ideology and power dynamics frequently influence how media depict immigrants. Van Dijk (2008, pp. 105–106) observes that media often emphasise negative representations of immigrants while the dominant group is portrayed positively – negative other-representation and positive self-presentation. In public discourse, the powerless are often denied sufficient opportunity to challenge or respond to the dominant group. In contrast, private, face-to-face interactions are more likely to highlight power struggles by allowing space for the powerless to assert themselves. One approach of analysing power dynamics in discourse is through speech act theory. Van Dijk (2008, p. 106) notes that, for example, speech acts such as accusations can function to demean the powerless, whereas defensive speech acts may legitimise discrimination by the dominant group. However, limited research has examined how immigrants are portrayed in face-to-face interactions in satirical TV shows, particularly how satire uses language to depict immigrants as powerless while presenting the dominant group as superior, and how these immigrants resist and fight back as an expression of counter power. In my presentation, I will focus on speech act analysis to explore these dynamics. Specifically, I will examine four episodes of the satirical series South Park, which is the topic of my dissertation. Each selected episode satirises people’s attitudes, the powerful, towards a different group of immigrants, the powerless. The analysis will employ the taxonomy of speech acts developed by Bach and Harnish (1979, pp. 39–55) and Guiraud et al. (2011, pp. 1037–1038). Bach and Harnish provide a detailed framework of specific illocutionary forces, which is generally based on the five main speech act categories identified by Searle (1979, pp. 12–20): assertives, directives, commissives, expressives and declarations. Guiraud et al. outline detailed categories of expressive speech acts, capturing a wider range of basic and complex psychological states, which are also related to power dynamics. My aim is to investigate how different categories of speech acts are used by both the dominant group and the powerless in each episode. Through this analysis, I wish to reveal how South Park uses speech acts to satirise societal power structures and attitudes toward immigration.
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