Gender, Language, and Power: A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Fury Road and The Lightning Thief

Abstract

This study examines masculine and feminine speech styles and their relationship to gender and power in the dialogues of *Mad Max: Fury Road* (2015) and *Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief* (2010), drawing on Wood's (2008) gender-based communication theory. It aims to identify the types and functions of masculine and feminine speech styles and examine how language reflects social interaction, power relations, and gender as a social construct. This study employs a qualitative descriptive method using content analysis. The data were collected from the dialogues of the two films and supported by film transcripts. The findings reveal that both masculine and feminine speech styles are represented in the dialogues. Masculine speech features include establishing status and control, instrumentality, conversational command, directness and assertiveness, abstract language, and lower emotional responsiveness. Feminine speech features include establishing and maintaining relationships, promoting equality, supporting others, maintenance work, responsiveness, personal and concrete language, and tentativeness. Among these features, maintenance work is the most dominant, indicating that characters frequently use language to sustain interaction, maintain relationships, and encourage participation in conversation. In contrast, tentativeness is the least frequent feature, suggesting that expressions of uncertainty are relatively uncommon. The findings further indicate that masculine and feminine speech styles are not determined solely by the characters' biological gender. Instead, their use varies according to communicative context, situation, interpersonal relationships, and purpose. Thus, language functions not only as a means of communication but also as a resource for negotiating power, constructing identities, maintaining relationships, and expressing gendered patterns of interaction. Overall, the study demonstrates that gendered speech styles are flexible and context-dependent, reflecting gender as a socially constructed aspect of communication