Let me start by saying I can’t believe this is my last blog post. This semester has flown by quicker than I could have ever imagined.
In today’s blog I’m going to discuss something that always interests me in television (and all types of writing): the manipulation of dialogue/dialect. I’m going to look at the different ways the characters on the show talk and how that impacts what the writers are trying to say about each character. Let’s start with Schmidt.
One thing I have noticed about Schmidt’s dialogue is that when he talks to talks continuously. In the most recent episode, when he is running from the shower to his room he stammers “Nobody look. Nobody look, yo. Nobody look. Seriously, no body is looking?” This line makes it very obvious that Schmidt is super needy and always looking for attention. I believe that’s why the authors always have him talking and yelling, ALOT, they’re making his (attention hungry) personality evident.
Nick is actually very different from Schmidt in this regard. When Nick talks he somewhat rambles and trails off in his sentences. What he says is usually pretty witty but it happens just fast enough for the audience to recognize it as funny but not long enough to gain attention. For example, when Julia wants to go to his room he quickly says “Julia is about to be very disappointed.” This line is witty and funny but the other characters brush it off and so does the audience. I think this is done by the authors to shape Nick’s persona, funny but unnoticed.
Finally, let’s talk about Jess. Anyone who has watched the show for more than 5 minutes will know that Jess speaks in a very high pitched voice and often does her own weird sing songy voices. For example, when sitting in court Jess starts saying random lawyer jargon in her sophisticated voice. I think the reason the author sets Jess up with this high pitched soft voice is because Jess really is a nice person but also because her voice can sound child like and a lot of the time in the show she comes across and innocent and naive, like a child. The reason she uses so many impersonations is because most of the time she has a hard time expressing her emotions, like the awkward courtroom scene, so she resorts to her own humor.
I love how these different dialogues all fit together so seamlessly to create a well flowing show but they also have specific purposes to guide the audience to a specific idea.
Clever writing and great characters, ingredients for an amazing show.
