STYLISTIC PECULIARITES OF BLACK HUMOUR (CASE STUDY OF ANIMATED BLACK COMEDY FILM “THE ADDAMS FAMILY”)

Abstract

This paper will review the research conducted on stylistic features of black humour in comedy animated films as a product of media discourse. The authors give an account of the most significant current discussions on humour as a multifaceted phenomenon as well as an object of study in modern linguistics. Particular attention is given to revealing the essence of the phenomenon of black humour as a special kind of comic. The relevance of the research is substantiated, and theoretical works describing various aspects of manifestation and functioning of black humour in literature, art, linguistics, translation studies, film production, etc. are analysed. The set of characteristic features that distinguish black humour among other types of the comic is established. The results of this study indicate that linguistic expressive means, such as tropes and figures of speech, play a significant role in achieving a black-humorous effect, which is stylistically reflected in the comedy animated film titled The Addams Family. The analysis of stylistic figures, the use of which contributes to creating a comic effect within the specified media product, has identified the following their types: metaphor, personification, simile, hyperbole, litotes, pun, syllepsis, zeugma, antithesis, periphrasis. The research has established that the above-mentioned means of speech expressiveness are used with diverse purposes, i.e., pun and polysemy create the effect of ambiguity and inconsistency, which further reinforces the comic nature of the situation. The study suggests that the essence of creating a comic effect lies in violating the laws of logic, a contradiction between the expectations and the reality, which brings contrast into the story, thus shaping additional meanings based on the phenomenon of implicitness. Consequently, humour mirrors breaking the stereotypes and transforming ideas about the surrounding reality and language models, which creates contradictions between the images and the meanings. The conclusions include a discussion of the implication of the findings to future research into this area, which anticipates an in-depth study of humour as a constituent of the media space, as well as its impact on the recipient, and the study of the linguistic features of black humour as a special form of comic.