“You talking to me?” The viewer as a ratified listener to film discourse

The paramount objective of this article is to propose an extension of the dyadic model of communication in the context of film discourse and to present the film viewer as a hearer type. Contrary to the prevalent claim that viewers of films (and TV programmes) are overhearers, a thesis will be expounded that the film viewer is a ratified hearer, i.e. the “recipient”. This postulate is premised on the conceptualisation of the overhearer in ordinary interactions, as well as twofold layering (fictional and collective sender's) and two communicative levels (characters’ and the recipient's) peculiar to film discourse. Thanks to the recipient design implemented by the film crew (the collective sender) with recourse to discursive and cinematographic strategies, the recipient gleans meanings conveyed on the inter-character level. To illustrate the workings of the recipient design, the paper closes with a discussion of a few excerpts from a famous TV series entitled “House, MD”.