Everybody lies

threats to Positive and Negative Faces in the Construction of Impoliteness in House M.D.

Abstract

This article investigates the mobilization of discursive impoliteness strategies in the construction of the protagonist of the American television series House M.D.. The aim of the study is to analyze how Dr. Gregory House engages in unmitigated face-threatening acts (FTAs) during his interactions, describing the pragmatic and inferential functioning of such utterances within context. The theoretical framework is grounded in Pragmatics, combining Brown and Levinson’s (1987) Politeness Theory with Jonathan Culpeper’s (2011) Impoliteness Theory. The methodology is qualitative, descriptive, and micro-analytical, focusing on a purposive sample of five scenes drawn from the 1st, 4th, and 8th seasons. The analyses reveal the presence of direct strategies without redressive action (bald on record) and the use of sarcasm in both interpersonal and institutional contexts. The findings suggest that the utterances under examination fulfill varied pragmatic functions in terms of power alignment and relational management within the hospital environment, and that the interpretation of their effects must be understood in direct connection with the sequential dynamics of conversational turns and the conventions of dramatic fiction.