BREMEN MASTERCLASSES ON MULTIMODALITY
07 December 2016 | 12.15-13.45 | GW2 B3010
Alcohol Consumption in Contemporary Swedish Comic Strips
Kristy Beers Fägersten
Professor of English Linguistics
School of Culture and Education
Södertörn University, Sweden
kristy.beers.fagersten@sh.se
Abstract
In contemporary Swedish comic strips, alcohol seems to have been awarded a noteworthy role, to the extent that it constitutes a theme. Even cursory readings of Sweden’s most popular comic strips, which tend to depict meticulously the social habits of various recurring characters, give the impression that alcohol is an essential component to socializing regardless of age, gender, or social status. In many cases, alcohol even constitutes topics of conversation. The main aim of this work in process is therefore to investigate the role of alcohol in Swedish comic strips by acknowledging alcohol as meaningful to the narrative. To this end, the project focuses on how the depiction and consumption of alcohol can be understood as contextual cues, whether these can be mapped onto patterns of social variables, and how they correlate with discursive features of interaction. Previous research on the semiotic meaning and significance of different beverages (Manning 2012) emphasizes the status of alcohol as an “alibi” (Laurier 2008) for social interaction, and it is precisely this interactive aspect that comprises the central focus of the analysis proposed in the current project. The investigation focuses on the comics Rocky (Martin Kellermann) and Fucking Sofo (Lena Ackebo), and explores the depiction of alcohol and alcohol consumption within the panel framework and the integration of drinking into the overall turn-taking structure. The project thus aims to go beyond examining the social factors and messages surrounding one’s choice of beverage, to examine how the relationship between socially contextualized talk-in-interaction and the consumption of alcoholic beverages is depicted in the comic strip medium.
References
Ackebo, Lena. 2010. Fucking Sofo. Stockholm: Kartago.
Kellerman, Martin. 2009. Rocky 10 år. Stockholm: Kartago.
Laurier, E. 2008. Drinking up endings: conversational resources of the café. Language and Communication, 28, 165-181.
Manning, P. 2012. The Semiotics of Drink and Drinking. London: Continuum International Publishing.
BREMEN MASTERCLASSES ON MULTIMODALITY
07 December 2016 | 12.15-13.45 | GW2 B3010
Alcohol Consumption in Contemporary Swedish Comic Strips
Kristy Beers Fägersten
Professor of English Linguistics
School of Culture and Education
Södertörn University, Sweden
kristy.beers.fagersten@sh.se
Abstract
In contemporary Swedish comic strips, alcohol seems to have been awarded a noteworthy role, to the extent that it constitutes a theme. Even cursory readings of Sweden’s most popular comic strips, which tend to depict meticulously the social habits of various recurring characters, give the impression that alcohol is an essential component to socializing regardless of age, gender, or social status. In many cases, alcohol even constitutes topics of conversation. The main aim of this work in process is therefore to investigate the role of alcohol in Swedish comic strips by acknowledging alcohol as meaningful to the narrative. To this end, the project focuses on how the depiction and consumption of alcohol can be understood as contextual cues, whether these can be mapped onto patterns of social variables, and how they correlate with discursive features of interaction. Previous research on the semiotic meaning and significance of different beverages (Manning 2012) emphasizes the status of alcohol as an “alibi” (Laurier 2008) for social interaction, and it is precisely this interactive aspect that comprises the central focus of the analysis proposed in the current project. The investigation focuses on the comics Rocky (Martin Kellermann) and Fucking Sofo (Lena Ackebo), and explores the depiction of alcohol and alcohol consumption within the panel framework and the integration of drinking into the overall turn-taking structure. The project thus aims to go beyond examining the social factors and messages surrounding one’s choice of beverage, to examine how the relationship between socially contextualized talk-in-interaction and the consumption of alcoholic beverages is depicted in the comic strip medium.
References
Ackebo, Lena. 2010. Fucking Sofo. Stockholm: Kartago.
Kellerman, Martin. 2009. Rocky 10 år. Stockholm: Kartago.
Laurier, E. 2008. Drinking up endings: conversational resources of the café. Language and Communication, 28, 165-181.
Manning, P. 2012. The Semiotics of Drink and Drinking. London: Continuum International Publishing.