Flouting of Manner Maxim
characters give too little information, they cut intentionally the amount of information to create exaggeration.
The example will be Phil’s utterances in the interview scene. Phil sits at the dining room while looking at the camera. He describes himself as a cool dad.
Phil :I’m a cool dad. That’s my thang. I surf the web, I text LOL
Laugh Out Loud, OMG, Oh My God, WTF, Why The Face. You know, I know all the dances to High School Musical,
so. 04QnBo10
His statement is to respond to the previous scene. The scene presents Haley who asks Phil and Claire to invite her boyfriend to their house. Phil teases Haley that
he would record her and her boyfriend. Back to the interview scene, Phil explains that he teases Haley because he wants to be close to his daughter. Hence, one of
the ways to get closer is by being a cool dad. Phil flouts quantity maxim because he says too much information which is
unneccessary. Phil wants to shape an image that he is a cool dad. His efforts can be seen from the way he texts messages and the TV series that he currently
watches, which seems young. Phil creates humor by presenting language incongruity. Instead of
describing himself as a respectful father, he would rather think that he is a cool
dad. In fact, he thinks he is cooler than he is. When he states that he knows all the dances in High School Musical TV series, it turns out that he dances awkwardly.
Another example of flouting of quantity maxim is by cutting the information to create exaggeration. The setting is at Phil’s house. Claire, Manny,
Gloria and Alex are having conversation in the dining room when suddenly Jay
comes in while helping Phil whose nose is bleeding. Jay departs Phil on the couch. Phil is screaming as if he is suffering too much painful.
Jay : Youll be all right.
Claire : Oh, my God What happened? Jay
: Little accident. Nothing big. Phil
: I was in a plane crash.
53QnEx23 Claire is shocked seeing Phil with bloods on his nose. Claire asks Jay what
happens. Jay says that Phil has a little accident. Phil rebuts by saying he is in a plane crash.
Phil’s utterances flout quantity maxim because he deliberately says too little information by cutting off the information. He says the truth by saying a
plane crash however the plane is only a toy. Moreover, everyone in the room knows that the plane is a toy because Jay also brings the toy airplane with him.
In the situation, Phil creates humor because he is saying out of the box. To get more attention to the family, his expression shows as if he is just being hit by a
real plane.