An Invisible Operational Mortar: The Essential Role of Speech Acts within Tri-Segregated Moviegoing

Autor/in	McKenna, Christopher J.
Titel	An Invisible Operational Mortar: The Essential Role of Speech Acts within Tri-Segregated Moviegoing
Quelle	In: AILA Review, 34 (2021) 1, S.102-121 (20 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1461-0213
Schlagwörter	Films; Speech Acts; Rural Areas; Ethnic Studies; Racial Segregation; History; Exhibits; Architecture; Social Status; Language Usage; Linguistic Theory; Business; African Americans; Whites; American Indians; Discourse Analysis; Power Structure; Building Design; North Carolina + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Film; Sprechakt; Rural area; Ländlicher Raum; Rassentrennung; Geschichte; Geschichtsdarstellung; Architektur; Sozialer Status; Sprachgebrauch; Linguistische Theorie; Business studies; Wirtschaft; Betriebswirtschaft; Afroamerikaner; White; Weißer; American Indian; Indianer; Diskursanalyse; Baugestaltung
Abstract	The contribution seeks to apply the principles of J. L. Austin's speech-act theories to the study of local business segregation in the Jim Crow South. In particular, it borrows the notions of illocutionary and perlocutionary force when examining the seemingly bland and prosaic statements that are often used to normalise segregation within the business of commercial entertainment. For purposes of expanding the complexity of typical Manichaean (i.e., Black vs White) ethnic studies, this analysis was developed within the context of tri-racial segregation as applied to rural moviegoing within Robeson County, North Carolina during the first half of the twentieth century. Notably, the development of Robeson's historical cinema-exhibition spaces eventually resulted in a highly unusual venue -- i.e., the three-entrance theatre -- whose physical architecture reflected tensions between local ethnic demographics and desired social hierarchies. Yet even in the face of these unusual physical constructs, this study contends that seemingly everyday objective/descriptive and non-demonising language remained an essential component in enforcing segregation. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	John Benjamins Publishing Company. Klaprozenweg 105 Postbus 36224, NL-1020 ME Amsterdam, Netherlands. Tel: +31-20-6304747; Fax: +31-20-6739773; e-mail: subscription@benjamins.nl; Web site: https://www.benjamins.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01