Through Dialogue to Documentary | An Exploration of Film Dialogue Analysis Methodology in the Classification of Genre in Creature Comforts

Abstract

This paper contributes to the emergence and propagation of film dialogue analysis in film studies by closely examining a previously proposed methodology for dialogue analysis and by testing the claim that film dialogue analysis provides new insights into the attributed genre of film. Continuing research conducted by Sarah Kozloff in Overhearing Film Dialogue and works published in the anthology Film Dialogue by Jeff Jaeckle, this paper indicates that dialogue analysis can provide beneficial insights for film studies. By conducting an analysis of dialogue usage in Aardman Animation's animated short film Creature Comforts (1989), this paper illustrates the specific features of its dialogue and how it affects the classification of its genre. The results suggest that while Creature Comforts does not contain an indexical link to reality or the representation of reality due to the visuals being animations, it does provide testimonies that make assertions about the real world and attempts to give insight into the opinions and experiences of people. In accordance with Paul Ward’s view that documentary is not defined by documentary devices such as camera work, but by the intention is has with its portrayal, this analysis suggests that Creature Comforts can be classified as a type of documentary. This study can be regarded as a starting point for further dialogue analysis and indicates how it can be operationalised with a case study. The results of the analysis relating to the case study can be taken as indications of what is possible within the documentary genre when taking a dialogue approach.