Modern media and entertainment industry: interpersonal relations

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Modern media and entertainment industry: interpersonal relations

G.V. Klimova

Современная индустрия развлечений: межличностные отношения

Г.В. Климова

кандидат филологических наук, доцент

доцент кафедры лексикологии факультета английского языка Московского государственного лингвистического университета

В статье рассматривается проблема межличностных отношений, проанализированных на материале продукции индустрии развлечений, таких как современные англоязычные сериалы и видеоигры. Языковым материалом для анализа послужили фразеологические единицы, которые, являя собой «сгусток» национального ми- ровидения, помогают выявить и лучше понять актуальные настроения и отношения между людьми в процессе общения в современном обществе, что может служить основой эффективной межкультурной коммуникации.

Ключевые слова: межличностные отношения; индустрия развлечений; ТВ-сериал; видеоигра; положительная коннотация; негативная коннотация.

G.V. Klimova

PhD (Philology), Associate Professor

Associate Professor at the Department of English Lexicology

Faculty of the English language

Moscow State Linguistic Unoversity

Modern media and entertainment industry: interpersonal relations

M&E Industry

The M&E (media and entertainment) industry consists of film, print, radio, and television. These segments include movies, TV shows, radio shows, news, music, newspapers, magazines, and books. For example, the U.S. media and entertainment industry contributes more than $ 717 billion to the economy and represents a third of the global M&E industry.

We can still access our media and entertainment the old-fashioned way, if we choose, by publications on paper and watching TV shows on our televisions. However, thanks to the internet and growth of digital content, 78 media and entertainment is now available 24/7 through computers, smartphones, tablets, and eBook readers.

Along with more traditional entertainment segments, such as TV and movies, video games are becoming massively popular (https://www.vauh. com/industries-professions/ industries/media-and-entertainment).

Table 1 M&E industry revenue

As shown on the graph above, in 2018 the gaming industry produced an estimated revenue of $116 billion, beating TV and TV streaming services' $105 billion, and that is as close as the industry wars got. The movie industry only made $41 billion while music only made $17 billion. In 2018 the gaming industry grew considerably, seeing a 10.7 percent growth over the previous period, which though cannot compare with soaring figures of 2020. This accelerated trend of growing popularity of the gaming sector results from the ongoing measures around the Covid-19 pandemic. As the population is being encouraged to stay home and limit social interaction, people turn to gaming en masse. According to the forecast, the games market will continue to grow to $174,9 billion in 2021, and is likely to generate $217,9 billion in 2023 (https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/ game-engagement-during-covid-pandemic-adds-15-billion-to-global- games-market-revenue-forecast).

The above figures are given with good reason because the level of revenue of a certain sector of M&E industry directly correlates with its popularity among the customers. Thus, the study of the given sectors and their products can give a relevant picture about modern customers, their attitudes and interactions.

Interpersonal relations specifics in the context of M&E industry

That skyrocketing popularity of video games and the steadily high interest in TV series determined the choice of the sources of the linguistic material for our study of interpersonal relations. First of all, these two entertainment media are trying to tell a story. In order to make the story believable and interesting, authors create characters with an intent to make them thoroughly realistic. To achieve this goal, they make the characters interact with each other, simulating the process of human relations, which naturally involves communication, and, therefore, language. Besides, these two genres are characterized by a long duration, which involves numerous communication situations and a considerable number of dialogues. What is more, both of them can be regarded as one of the most current `slices' of our reality and modern human relations. Taking the above-mentioned factors into account, we limited our choice by several TV series including `Breaking Bad', `Mayans MC' and `The Punisher' and story-oriented videogames such as `Star Wars: The Old Republic' and the `Mass Effect' series, as the sources of the linguistic material for studying interpersonal relations.

The choice of phraseological units, as the linguistic material for studying interpersonal relations, was determined by the fact that such set expressions, being a container of authentic national mindset, will definitely contribute to a better understanding of the English-speaking culture and clarify certain peculiarities of the modern interpersonal relations presented via entertainment media.

The analysis of the sources mentioned above resulted in fifty-four examples of phraseological units relevant for this research, which were classified according to their functional areas. The selected clusters such as competition, conflict resolution, causing harm, helping somebody out, indifference, on bad terms, on good terms are presented in the graph below.

As can be seen from the graph `Functional areas' the most numerous groups are on bad terms and on good terms, 24 % and 21 % respectively. A relatively small number of expressions comprise the competition 80 group (to lose ground to someone, to go toe-to-toe with someone, to bring someone to their knees) (6 %) and helping somebody out (to lend a hand, to give someone a pat on the back, to put in a good word for someone, to throw someone a bone) (8 %), while the groups of indifference (to leave smb in a ditch, in cold blood, to turn one's back on someone, Ice queen, to leave smb high and dry, to turn a blind eye to), conflict resolution (to get out of one's hair, to mend fences, change of heart, to take the high road, in good faith, to clear the air, to cry on smb's shoulder) and hurting somebody (an eye for an eye, to burst smb's bubble, to make smb's life hell, to drive smb up a wall, to stab someone in the back, to put smb in a bind, to give smb a taste of their own medicine, to step on someone's toes) on average have gained 13,6 % each.

The two most numerous groups determined as on good terms and on bad terms are illustrated in greater detail further.

It goes without saying that, regardless of our ideology and mindset, relationships between people are important. They exist on numerous levels, meet different needs, and provide meaning to our ambitions. We depend on them, as they determine who we can trust and who we can rely on in dire circumstances. It is for this reason why poor relations can ruin a person's life: having no one to support you might have a catastrophic effect on your physical and mental well-being or, if it involves spiteful feelings such as perfectly obvious hatred and fury, even put an end to the entire life. Examples from literature, movies and other types of entertainment media show that protagonists generally have various friends and supporters, while antagonists tend to surround themselves with people capable of betraying them at any moment. As a result, protagonists normally win. The following series of phraseological units, possessing a heavily negative connotation, illustrate certain cases of unhealthy relations, which can be generally called "being on bad terms'.

to breathe down one's neck (to pursue someone closely; pose a threat to someone)

e.g. Agent Schrader, you need to be calling me back ASAP. Clear? I've got Texas breathing down my neck, and I'm not about... (BreakingBadS03E04).

bad blood (hostility between people)

e.g. But the militant “Big Tim” soon began to oust Enright. Bad blood brewed between them (Misleaders of Labor by W. Foster).

cats and dogs (not on friendly terms; disagreeing)

e.g. - What I hear, he and Walter are splitsville. - Really? - That's what Goodman says.

Cats and dogs (Breaking Bad S03E04)

a chip on one's shoulder (aggressiveness, pugnacity)

e.g. He was aggressive and irascible, nothing satisfied him. He was a man with a chip on his shoulder (The Gentleman in the Parlour by W S. Maugham).

to keep an eye on someone (to watch or to monitor someone or something closely)

e.g. I'll work with you, Bareesh - but I'll keep a close eye on your activities (Star Wars: The Old Republic).

to get under one's skin (to become a source of irritation for someone) e.g. It was simple. We'd hit their shipments, disrupt their activities. Get under their skin. Make them angry (Mass Effect 2).

to hate someone's guts (to utterly despise one; to feel nothing but hatred for one)

e.g. Let me tell you, that kid hates my guts. Despises me, okay? (Breaking Bad S05E10)

¹ Here and further the definitions are taken from the Free Dictionary. URL: https:// www.thefreedictionary.com.

to have it out for someone (to persistently try or desire to criticize, cause harm to, or harass someone, especially due to a grudge)

e.g. Hey, cousin, that jerk Selim just fired me for no reason! I swear the guy has it out for me (Mass Effect 2).

to be on the outs (to no longer be on speaking or friendly terms)

e.g. Nem'ro and Faathra have been sort of on the outs lately (Star Wars: The Old Republic).

a pain in the neck (a person or a thing of extreme annoyance)

e.g. These mercenaries are a pain in the neck (Star Wars: The Old Republic).

a piece of work (a remarkably difficult or unpleasant person)

e.g. - I don't care about the children. - Aren't you a piece of work? (Star Wars: The Old Republic).

shots fired (a phrase used to acknowledge that someone has said or done something insulting or argumentative)

Резко, жестко, тяжело

e.g. - How bad were the circumstances you and your father parted on? - Shots were fired (Mass Effect 2).

Along with poor relations, which might seem dominating in modern society, there is a good deal of situations where people show their good will, well-meaning intentions, support and sympathy.

Interpersonal relations, being a vital part of a person's life, in fact, can describe the entire life through relationships with other people, as for nearly the whole living cycle they communicate and exchange thoughts, feelings, actions, either at work, school or university, in free time and so on. Examples of good relations including friendship, love, devotion, alliance, partnership have been united into another group entitled `on good terms'.

to be held in high regard (to be regarded with a large amount of respect or admiration)

e.g. No one does a thing about the poisonings. Humans aren't exactly held in high regard around here (Mass Effect 2).

two peas in a pod (twopeople similar in interests, beliefs etc.)

e.g. I knew Hammerlock would come around eventually. Me and him are like two peas in a pod! Two bullets in a mag! (Borderlands 2).

to get in one's good graces (to earn one's approval or regard)

e.g. Taking out that guy on the bridge, and now this. You trying to get back in my good graces, Agent Madani?(The Punisher S02E13).

to go way back (to have known someone for a long time)

e.g. I know you're not who you claim you are. The Blade and I go way back (Star Wars: The Old Republic).

to be in the same boat (to be in the same difficult position or situation as somebody else)

e.g. - Mike, do I have to come right out and say this? You and I, we're in the same boat. - Drink your drink. - If it happened to Victor, it could happen to you (Breaking Bad S04E02).

hand in glove (on intimate terms, in close association)

e.g. Hand in glove. That's what we strive for. You know, this might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship (Breaking Bad S03E07).

partner in crime (someone's close friend or confidant)

e.g. Kenneth and I have been partners in crime since we graduated from tech academy (Mass Effect 2).

thick as thieves (having a close, intimate friendship or alliance)

e.g. Well, it looks like Torch and Margok were thick as thieves for a while, then something happened (Star Wars: The Old Republic).

to have one's back (to be prepared to help or support someone)

e.g. Just know - you had my back out there. And now I've got yours (Star Wars: The Old Republic).

one hand washes the other (all parties involved will benefit from helping each other and / or working together toward the same goal)

e.g. My guys are keeping their mouths shut. We make them whole. One hand washes the other. It's as simple as that (Breaking Bad S05E03).

to have smth at heart (to be greatly concerned about)

e.g. Whatever else people might say about him, I can assure you he's got humanity's best interests at heart. That includes you and me (Mass Effect 2).

to be in bed with smb (to have a close relationship with smb)

e.g. - I could tell her the truth. - Yeah, tell her you're in bed with the crew that kidnapped her son. That'll win her back (Mayans MC S01E05)

to have a way with someone (to have success in dealing with someone)

e.g. - One day at a time. All we can do. - I know. It's just you've got a real way with him. It's - You want to go full-time? We've got a spare bedroom (Breaking Bad S04E02).

In entertainment media good relations are often used to promote moral values and instill the right ideas, they require people to be sensitive towards others and take their views, feelings and thoughts into consideration. As a result, good relations raise a person's self-esteem, generally make people stronger and capable of achieving incredible results, provided that they are confident that they are properly supported. This thematic cluster of phraseological units deals with beneficial relationships and thus has a strong positive connotation.

Conclusions

The undertaken analysis enables us to draw several conclusions about interpersonal relations studied by means of the phraseological units selected from media and entertainment sources, such as video games and TV series:

a) almost 50 % of the analyzed lexical units contain a noun denoting a part of the human body, which implies the self-centered behaviour of humans, who, consciously or subconsciously, try to connect everything they create with their own nature;

b) the proper names used in the examined entertainment media vocabulary are non-existent, which proves that people try to become and make their stories less reliant on history and relevant at all times, however, they reveal their inherent religious nature using idioms with the `heaven' and `hell' component;

c) as the vast majority of the analyzed expressions (about 70 %) are verb phrases, this can indicate that human relations presuppose plenty of actions people aim at each other, and their state is continuously shifting;

d) despite the fact that a good deal of the selected examples have a negative connotation, it does not necessarily imply that humans are drawn to negativity, rather, it can be explained by the fact that positive stories with happy endings have become trite, and people try to raise the stakes and create something original in order to stand out.

The study and better understanding of human relations can help us in different areas of living environment, be it workplace or family, and as a result, assist us in achieving success in life. The better our human relations, the more likely we are to grow both professionally and personally. Knowing how to get along with others, resolve workplace conflicts, manage relationships, communicate well, and make decisions are the skills modern life requires.

Список литературы / references

1Бессонова В. Л., Доценко Е. Л. Обыденные представления о структуре общения // Вестник Московского ун-та. Сер. Психология. 1999.№ 2.С. 23-33. [Bessonova, V L., Dotsenko, E. L. (1999). Common understanding of the communication structure.Vestnik Moscovskogo universiteta. Seriya Psyhologiya, 2, 23-33. (In Russ.)].

2Куницына В. Н., Панферов В. Н. Проблема отношений личности в трудах В. Н. Мясищева // Психологический журнал / ред. А. В. Брушлин- ский, И. О. Александров, И. И. Чеснокова. 1992. № 3.Т 13.С. 140-149. [Kunitsina, V. N., Panferov, V. N. (1992). Problema otnosheniy lichnosti v trudach V. N. Myasishcheva (Problem of relations of an individual in the works of V. N. Myasishchev).Psichologicheskiy zhurnal, 3, 140-149.Vol. 13.(In Russ.)].

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