An Analysis of Deixis through the Characters in the Film Elemental: Forces of Nature

Abstract

This study explains the use of deixis in the animated film Elemental: Forces of Nature (2023), directed by Peter Sohn and produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios. Elemental is an American romantic comedy-drama animated film released in 2023. Using Fillmore (1997) theory, which divides deixis into five types, namely person deixis, place deixis, time deixis, discourse deixis, and social deixis. The purpose of this study is to systematically identify and classify deixis based on Fillmore's (1997) framework, analyse the frequency of occurrence to determine which type is most dominant, and analyse how these deixis expressions function pragmatically to support the film's theme, character interactions, and narrative cohesion. The research method used is descriptive qualitative, with data in the form of character dialogue in the film. The results of the study show that the researcher found 437 data from all the types of deixis. Person deixis is the most dominant type with 287 data. Then the second is place deixis with 63 data, followed by time deixis with 41 data, discourse deixis with 28 data, and finally social deixis with 18 data. In this film, deixis plays an important role in shaping interactions, driving the story's flow, and strengthening cultural representation. Deixis helps establish location and social identity through spatial deixis, controls the timing and urgency of events through temporal deixis, maintains coherence in conversation through discourse deixis, and reflects social relationships and politeness between characters through social deixis. Overall, the use of deixis in the film is crucial for creating meaningful communication, advancing the plot, and reinforcing cultural expressions. These findings contribute not only to pragmatic studies but also aid language learning, especially in improving pragmatic competence by understanding how language is used in popular media contexts.