Understanding the Politeness Strategies of Mia Thermopolis in the Princess Diaries Movie

This study investigates the politeness strategies employed by Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries, aiming to understand how these strategies reflect identity, social norms, and role adaptation. Grounded in Goffman’s Face Theory and Brown and Levinson’s Politeness Theory, the research addresses the problem that communication involves more than information exchange; it sustains relationships and social harmony. Using a qualitative content research design, the sample comprised the full movie transcript (1 hour 51 minutes), analysed through purposive sampling of Mia’s interactions. Data were collected by reviewing the film and transcript, then coded using Brown and Levinson’s framework and examined through thematic analysis. Findings reveal that Mia uses all four politeness strategies, with a shift from directness to more nuanced strategies as her role evolves. Sociolinguistic variables such as power and distance strongly influence her choices, while her American upbringing initially favours bluntness before royal training introduces tact. These results suggest that identity development and context jointly shape pragmatic behaviour. The study implies that politeness theory is still useful for analysing media discourse and recommends future research to integrate multiple communication modes and cross-cultural comparisons for deeper insights.

Politeness strategies, facework, Brown & Levinson

1. Ahmad, M., & Wilkins, S. (2024). Purposive sampling in qualitative research: A framework for the entire journey. Quality & Quantity, 59, 1461–1479. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-024-02022-5 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Al Natour, M. M., BaniKlaef, A., & Al Bataineh, K. B. (2024). A sociolinguistic study on the addressed positive politeness strategies by English professors with their bachelor students. Pakistan Journal of Life and Social Sciences, 22(2), 5623–5632. https://doi.org/10.57239/PJLSS-2024-22.2.00419 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Asheva, A. J. (2022). A pragmatic analysis of politeness strategies and social context in the stages of Joker movie (Undergraduate thesis, Universitas Sebelas Maret). https://digilib.uns.ac.id/dokumen/detail/95576/A-Pragmatic-Analysis-of-Politeness-Strategies-and-Social-Context-in-the-Stages-of-Joker-Movie [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2024). Reporting guidelines for qualitative research: A values based approach. Qualitative Research in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2024.2382244 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Brown, P., & Levinson, S. C. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language usage. Cambridge University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Dewi, K. T., Artawa, K., Sutama, P., & Erawati, N. K. R. (2021). The analysis of relationship between politeness and face theory. International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Culture, 7(4), 327–334. https://doi.org/10.21744/ijllc.v7n4.1879 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Firda, Z. (2024). The analysis of positive politeness strategies used by the main characters of Luca movie script. Universitas Darma Persada Repository. http://repository.unsada.ac.id/8427/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Fitria, E. (2024). An analysis of politeness strategy used in Encanto movie. English Education Journal. https://repository.radenintan.ac.id/35137/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Goffman, E. (1955). On face work: An analysis of ritual elements in social interaction. Psychiatry: Journal for the Study of Interpersonal Processes, 18, 213–231. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1956-04343-001 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Halpin, S. N. (2024). Inter coder agreement in qualitative coding: Considerations for its use. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 8(3), 23–43. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/14487 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Himawati, U., Talenta, P. I., & Lamik, M. M. (2022). Analysis of politeness strategies used in The Princess Diaries movie. Jurnal Edukasi, 10(2), 45–55. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Hu, Y., & Zhou, Y. (2024). Analysis of politeness strategies from the perspective of the interpersonal function of language in Systemic Functional Grammar. Scholars International Journal of Linguistics and Literature, 7(3), 96–100. https://doi.org/10.36348/sijll.2024.v07i03.006 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Johnson, M. D., Lavner, J. A., Mund, M., Zemp, M., Stanley, S. M., Neyer, F. J., Impett, E. A., Rhoades, G. K., Bodenmann, G., Weidmann, R. J., Bühler, J. L., Burriss, R. P., Wünsche, J., & Grob, A. (2022). Within-couple associations between communication and relationship satisfaction over time. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 48(4), 534–549. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672211016920 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Julianti, S., & Rahmani, E. F. (2024). An analysis of politeness strategies used by the main character of Wonder movie. Journal of Scientific Research, Education, and Technology, 3(4), 608. https://doi.org/10.58526/jsret.v3i4.608 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Kalso, R. (2023). Politeness theory. EBSCO Research Starters. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/social-sciences-and-humanities/politeness-theory [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Keith, B. (2025). Speech acts in intercultural communication: A cross-cultural comparison of politeness strategies. International Journal of Linguistics, 6(2), 1–16. IPRJB. https://ideas.repec.org/a/bdu/ojtijl/v6y2025i2p1-16id3292.html [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Kulsawang, P., & Ambele, E. A. (2024). A systematic literature review of apology and request strategies in the EFL context. Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 9(1), 33–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.21093/ijeltal.v9i1.1601 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. McLeod, S. (2024). Peer debriefing in qualitative research. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/peer-debriefing-in-qualitative-research.html [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Mulyono, K., Laksono, K., Wuryaningrum, R., & Cahyo, A. A. R. (2025). The application of politeness principles in speech acts in the 2024 presidential election debate. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 12(1), 2495479. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2025.2495479 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Narayana, I. G. P. P., Wilian, S., Amrullah, Mahyuni, & Nuriadi. (2024). A socio-pragmatic analysis on politeness strategies in directive speech acts used in the characters’ dialogues in an English television series. Seybold Report Journal, 19(7), 96–114. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Ngondombo, L. M. (2021). Sociolinguistic study of politeness principles and socialization in Lingɔmbe. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 23(9), 19–25. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Nyimbili, F., & Nyimbili, L. (2024). Types of purposive sampling techniques with their examples and application in qualitative research studies. British Journal of Multidisciplinary and Advanced Studies, 5(1), 90–99. https://doi.org/10.37745/bjmas.2022.0419 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Ogolsky, B. G., & Stafford, L. (2023). A systematic review of relationship maintenance: Reflecting back and looking to the future. Personal Relationships, 30(1), 19–43. https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12429 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Omar, F. R., & Razi, Ö. (2022). Impact of instruction based on movie and TV series clips on EFL learners’ pragmatic competence: Speech acts in focus. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 974757. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.974757 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Putri, S. (2022). An analysis of politeness strategies used in Yes Day (2021) movie. English Language and Literature Journal, 11(4), 114210. https://doi.org/10.24036/ell.v11i4.114210 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Rucks-Ahidiana, Z. (2024). Content analysis. In Doing Good Qualitative Research (pp. 361–372). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197633137.003.0031 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Teibowei, M. T. (2024). Sociolinguistic variations and gender differences in language usage. International Journal of English Language and Communication Studies, 9(1), 95–101. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Umeh, A. I., Nuhu, O., Nimram, M. D., Lagan, B. S., Azi, N. J., & Nimram, D. N. (2024). Historical overview of pragmatics: The interface between pragmatics, semantics and discourse analysis. Greener Journal of Languages and Literature Research, 9(1), 1–7. https://gjournals.org/GJLLR/Publication/2024/1/PDF/010924003%20Umeh%20et%20al.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Valdellon, I. G. R., & Cuarte, R. R. (2024). A pragmatic analysis on politeness strategies used in online class. International Journal of Flexible and Mobile Research, 6(2), 30878 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Williams, B. (2024). A qualitative research design: Best practices for 2024. Insight7. https://insight7.io/a-qualitative-research-design-best-practices-for-2024/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. Yuwono, M. J., & Santoso, W. (2024). Address forms, politeness, and framing among multicultural students in an Indonesian university. In Proceedings of PACLIC 38 (pp. 1008–1019). https://aclanthology.org/2024.paclic-1.106.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. Zahro, F., & Candraloka, O. R. (2025). The pragmatic analysis of politeness strategies used by the character in Turning Red movie script. Jambura Journal of English Teaching and Literature, 6(1), 45–58. https://ejurnal.ung.ac.id/index.php/jetl/article/view/31066/pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Assessment of the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Repositioning TVET for Economic Development in Nigeria
• Teachers’ Use of Assure Model Instructional Design on Learners’ Problem Solving Efficacy in Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya
• “E-Booksan Ang Kaalaman”: Development, Validation, and Utilization of Electronic Book in Academic Performance of Grade 9 Students in Social Studies
• Analyzing EFL University Students’ Academic Speaking Skills Through Self-Recorded Video Presentation
• Major Findings of The Study on Total Quality Management in Teachers’ Education Institutions (TEIs) In Assam – An Evaluative Study