POWER RELATIONS THROUGH SFL INTERPERSONAL METAFUNCTION IN CHERNOBYL SERIES DIALOGUE

Abstrak

This study aims to analyze how power relations are constructed through spoken language in the television miniseries Chernobyl (2019). Utilizing the Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) approach developed by M.A.K. Halliday, with a particular focus on Interpersonal Metafunction, this study examines the systems of Mood and Modality in the characters’ dialogues. The main issue addressed is how characters with bureaucratic and military authority use specific grammatical choices to dominate conversations and exert pressure on their subordinates during the crisis. This descriptive qualitative study found that figures in power consistently used the imperative mood and high value modality to eliminate room for negotiation, which linguistically represented the hierarchical power structure of the Soviet Union at that time.