The transformative impact of dialogue in relational conflict: the case of this is us
- Autores: Clare Elizabeth Cannon
- Directores de la Tesis: Antonio Sánchez Escalonilla García Rico (dir. tes.)
- Lectura: En la Universidad Rey Juan Carlos ( España ) en 2024
- Idioma: español
- Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Roberto Gelado Marcos (presid.), Araceli Rodríguez Mateos (secret.), Jorge Milán Fitera (voc.)
- Programa de doctorado: Programa de Doctorado en Humanidades: Lenguaje y Cultura por la Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
- Materias:
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- Resumen
Amidst growing social and political polarisation, there is an increasing awareness of the potential for dialogue to help bridge differences among diverse people. In addition to focusing on differences and the conflicts they can cause, recent psychology and communication research has identified behaviours which help to build dialogue, facilitate mutual understanding, and even encourage collaboration. When exploring how these themes are treated on screen, studies have tended to focus on thematic diversity research, qualifying the authenticity and quantity of the representation of difference. From a dramatic perspective, however, relational conflicts are known to be potential triggers for character development and transformation. Through contact with different characters, a character can discover needs and limitations which they are called to address. Relational conflicts are particularly relevant in complex television series, a mode of audiovisual storytelling which combines both serial and episodic television over several seasons. It allows for the development of multiple relationship subplots which may contribute to the transformation of a character. This present study is informed by the psychological science of dialogue and bridging differences synthesised in the work of Shigeoka et al. in the Bridging Differences Playbook (2020), and the research presented by UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center in the Bridging Differences Course (2021), to identify behaviours that facilitate transformation through the dialogic resolution of relational conflict. It then analyses how these behaviours may be identified in key relational conflicts depicted in the complex television series This is Us (NBC, 2016-2022), and assesses how they influence credible character transformation. The research allows us to explore two key aspects: firstly, how dialogic relational conflicts can facilitate realistic character transformation on screen, and secondly, how an artistic, mimetic representation of the science of dialogue and bridging differences can enhance our comprehension of dialogue in practice.
