A discourse-pragmatic analysis was conducted on film dialogue manipulation, integrating semantic-pragmatic and multimodal perspectives. Verbal tactics (euphemism, framing labels), prosodic cues (intonation, timing), bodily signals (gesture, gaze), and figurative tropes (metaphor, hyperbole) were annotated in four English-language films involving power asymmetries. Manipulative influence was found to arise from coordinated device clusters rather than single markers. In particular, lexical reframing was anchored by spatial–kinetic cues, and persuasive prosody was used to make assertions “non-negotiable.” The analysis yielded a comparative device–function typology table and an analytical flowchart, contributing tools for studying discourse-based manipulation in multimedia contexts.

Film discourse, manipulation, pragmatics

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