| Abstract: | The aim of the thesis is to describe the ways of inscribing value judgements into
audiovisual texts, understood as language behaviour consisting in judging elements of reality
according to the good/bad criterion. The author assumes that facts subjected to such appraisals
are values or their symbols. Consequently, values are treated as a product of human judgements,
a derivative of interpreting reality and distinguishing in it what is prized and desirable. The
object of study is animated cartoons, understood for the sake of the investigation as a peculiar
audiovisual message of narrative character which is based on creating rather than registering
elements of reality and which follows a specific set of visual conventions. The study material
is a selection of Polish and Russian cartoons which, historically, belong to two epochs, the
socialist and the capitalist one. The analysis is a qualitative one, it is oriented at the global
meaning of the message and it accounts for value judgements expressed on various levels of
text and with diverse degree of explicitness. It is assumed that appraisal strategies result from
the cartoon’s ludic and educational function and are also dependent on the society’s
expectations.
The thesis is composed of three parts. The first one is devoted to the notions of value
and value judgement. It presents main tenets formulated in this respect in sociology, philosophy
and linguistics. Appraisal of values is discussed in relation to concepts such as linguistic image
of the world, categorisation, stereotype, connotations, as well as to phenomena characteristic of
language use in the media. In the second part, axiology is discussed in relation to film
conventions, contemporary pedagogical expectations, as well as to common beliefs about the
educational function of animated cartoons aimed at children. The third part presents the
language material against the background of a particular film’s plot and with respect to visual
signs, in such a way as to describe the interrelation between the way and the means of
expressing value judgements. The description of verbal utterances in films encompasses
dialogues, narrator’s utterances and songs - types of elements with varied potential for
conveying axiological meanings. Much space is devoted to analysing the dialogues. It is the
most complex part of the analysis in view of their interactive and situational character. Cues in
dialogues are discussed with reference to the communicative situation, understood twofold: as
a specific situation in the story, and as communicating certain pedagogical meanings to the
young audience by means of a cartoon. The analysis is oriented at determining a hierarchy of
means of appraisal when conveying the main message of the film. Value judgements are
analysed for the level of openness, for (un)ambiguity and for coherence. Coherence of the
appraisals is considered in relation to the visual layer as well as on the level of utterance itself
- it encompasses the issue of motivation, interpretation of appraisals from various points of
view, as well as value conflicts.
Final conclusions indicate the decisive role of indirect value judgements as a means of
persuasion. They also point to the dramaturgical function of those value judgements which are
characterised by a high level of explicitness, affectivity and expressiveness. The conclusion on
particular aspects taken together make it possible to reconstruct a contemporary model of
children’s animated cartoon as well as a hierarchy of values typical of it. |