الدلالة الآيديولوجية للصراع الداخلي في أفلام مختارة من الرسوم المتحركة الإنجليزية: تحليل نقدي متعدد الوسائط للإسلوب

RP-The Ideological Implication of Inner Conflict in Selected English Animation Movies: A Multimodal Critical Stylistic Analysis.pdf

This study investigates the ideological implication of inner conflict in animation movies through a multimodal critical stylistic lens. Inner conflict is a universal human experience that occurs when a person experiences contradictory thoughts, beliefs, or feelings. It often occurs when there is a clash between thoughts and emotions in situations involving difficult decisions, choices or conflicting desires. Noticing that this concept of inner conflict and how it is represented through the integration between the stylistic tools and visual modes in American animation movies have not been examined, this study is conducted to fill the gap. The study aims to identify the stylistic tools and visual elements that the filmmakers employ to represent inner conflict in American animated movies, examine how linguistics and visual modes integrate to construct a cohesive narrative of inner conflict, classify the different categories of inner conflict portrayed in the selected movies, and finally uncover the directors’ ideological implications regarding the concept of inner conflict. The study hypothesized that visual elements such as facial expressions work together with stylistic tools like negating for revealing the characters’ inner conflict in animation movies; linguistics and visual elements cooperate in describing character’s inner conflict; various types of inner conflict are offered in animation movies; and the portrayal of inner conflict involves specific ideological implications that reflect the directors’ cultural and social background. Based on Jeffries’ (2010) textual-conceptual tools of critical stylistic analysis alongside Kress and Van Leeuwen’s (2006) visual metafunctions, the three movies: Inside Out 1 (2015), Inside Out 2 (2024), and Soul (2020) are analysed. Adopting a qualitative methodology, the study reveals that inner conflict in the three movies is shaped and intensified through almost all of Jeffries’ tools beside the visual metafunctions. In addition, the visual metafunctions are applied to reflect characters’ inner conflicts and further materialize emotional conflict, through gaze, positioning, colour, framing, and spatial design, making abstract feelings tangible. Another conclusion is that both linguistics and visual modes are deeply intertwined in expressing emotional, moral, and existential conflicts. The directors, particularly Pete Docter, Kelsey Mann, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley, Dave Holstein, Mike Jones, and Kemp Powers, promote a humanistic and empathetic ideology. Rather than depicting inner conflict as a flaw, they present it as a natural, necessary, and transformative part of personal growth. By portraying characters at different life stages, the directors highlight that conflict is universal and essential for identity formation, challenging ideologies of perfectionism and performance-based values systems.
Keywords: Inner Conflict, Multimodality, Animation Movies, Critical Stylistics.