Flouted Maxims in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Movie

Abstract

This study investigates the flouted conversational maxims in the film Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire using Grice’s Cooperative Principle (1975). The research aims to identify the types of flouted maxims and to describe the intended meanings behind the utterances. This study applies a qualitative descriptive method, and the data consist of sixteen utterances that show breaking the cooperative principles. The data were analyzed using Brown and Yule’s (1983) context theory, focusing on speaker, hearer, place, time, and what part of each utterance carries the intended meaning. The findings reveal that the characters flout three types of conversational maxims: the maxim of relation, the maxim of quality, and the maxim of quantity. The maxim of relation is the most commonly flouted (nine instances), followed by the maxim of quality (five instances) and the maxim of quantity (two instances). No cases of the maxim of manner were found in the film. Most flouted maxims occur when characters give irrelevant responses, contradict a prior statement, or give unnecessary information. These patterns show that the characters use indirect communication to shift topics, avoid direct answers, or subtly express their attitudes. The analysis also indicates that hearers are able to understand the intended meanings because contextual factors support interpretation. Overall, flouted maxims in the film are not random; they serve to enrich character interaction, shape personality traits, and support the narrative style. This study is expected to contribute to further research on pragmatics and film dialogue analysis.