Stereotypes In Purchasing Amy

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Not to be confused with the slang common to the characters in the 1990s comedy for young people, the swearing as “…disapproved, aversive activity” (Winters & Duck, 2001, p. 60) can be identified as either ejaculatory or asseverate, serving a function of mere emphasis or serving a as serious declarative function. On the first instance, the swearing in the film “…attracts the listener’s attention and is intended to enhance the speaker’s credibility as the swearing offers a social emphasis or a firm claim to speak the truth that adds credence to a statement and strength to an assertion” (Winters & Duck, 2001, p. 61). This is especially the case in several places in Chasing Amy for the major characters who are trying to get their point across …show more content…
Some of the teasing is a combination of “…humor, aggression, and ambiguity” (Kowalski, 2007, p. 172). Some of the swearing discussed above is used to convey teasing attitudes between the male friends, such as when they jokingly say “fuck you” (Mosier & Smith, 1997) or when they tease each other that one’s manhood is in question—such as when Jay teases Silent Bob, saying, “Snootchie Bootchies. Who the fuck talks like that? That is fucking baby talk” (Mosier & Smith, 1997). And according to Kowalski (2007), this kind of teasing is “pro-social”; and as might interpreted for the characters as children, something they experienced more at home and at school than antisocial teasing, aka …show more content…
That is, it may be that Banky is doing what he does to prevent Holden from making a mistake that will cause him [Holden] great pain. But it may also be that Banky is jealous or even envious. First, it is important to distinguish between the definition of envy and the definition of jealousy, regardless of how they each manifest in the characters doing the bullying, teasing, and/or ostracizing. In the context of Chasing Amy and in the context of what Guerrero and Anderson (1998) call “relationship possession” (p. 36), jealousy is fearing that what one has will be taken away, while envy is wanting what one does not have but what another does have (Guerrero & Anderson, 1998). In the case of Banky, before he completely acts out and ruins everything, he might fear that he will lose Holden to Alyssa; and/or, he may be pissed because he also hit on Alyssa and was rejected. Second, it is notable that jealousy and envy are both directly and indirectly communicated several times throughout the film. Envy is suggested as Banky wants Alyssa too, at the start; and envy is directly commented on/pointed out, such as when Alyssa teases that Holden is complaining when he is creative and doing well selling his creativity but Holden misunderstands her “Oh, poor Holden” sarcasm and says, “I'm sorry - did I detect a note of