Provoking Laughter in Silence

1. Provoking Laughter in
Silence: A Pragmatic
Analysis of the Anime
Naruto
Presented by: Falak Touqeer (01)
Presented for: Dr. Fatima Zafar Baig

2. Can you
name any
cartoon
you grew
up
watching?

3. You may
have come
across
animes
like:

5. This study examines the nonverbal
cues that provoke laughter within the
audience of “Naruto under the lense
of Relevance Theory.

6. What is an anime?
Anime according to Oxford Dictionary is an animated TV Series or a film
originating from Japan.
● Anime originated in 1980s
● It plays a major role in understanding Japanese Culture Narrative
● It is not only aimed for children, but also for adults.

7. Purpose
:
This study aims to examine
silent cues that provoke
laughter in Naruto.
Analyzing it through Relevance
Theory, this study gives a
deeper understanding of
Japanese cultural narrative.

8. Significa
nce:
● Can add value to humour
studies
● Can add value to anime studies
● Insights from this research can
benefit the Pakistani animation
industry in creating their own
unique and culturally
influenced animated content.

9. OBJECTIVE
S:
● To examine the role of nonverbal cues to better
understand humour in "Naruto".
● To investigate the contribution of silent features
that provoke laughter in the cultural narrative of
Japan.
● To highlight such findings that can benefit the
Pakistani animation industry for a unique
production of animated content.

10. Questions:
1. What are the nonverbal features that contribute to the portrayal of humour in "Naruto"?
2. How do the silent cues work within the cultural narrative of Japan to provoke laughter
within the audience?
3. What are the specific insights that can be understood from the analysis of nonverbal
gestures in "Naruto" that may be beneficial for the Pakistani animation industry?

11. aims to explain
the well-
recognized fact
that
communicators
usually convey
much more
information with
their utterances
than what is
contained in their

12. set out from the start
to look for a set of
pragmatic principles
and mechanisms that
can deal with the full
range of overtly
intentional
communicative acts:
verbal and non-verbal,
showing and telling,
determinate and
indeterminate, literal
and figurative,
propositional and non-

13. Methodology
● Qualitative in nature.
● Exploratory design
● Data is limited to external
factors like subjectivity,
Cultural differences and
one's own expression of
each instance.
● Data is delimited to random
episodes and some
characters.

14. One instance:

15. Analysis:
Under the lense of Relevance Theory we can clearly examine this scene emphasizing the concept of
optimal relevance between the communicator hinata and the audience.
Non verbal cues like red face, shy demeanor convey Hinata's embarrassment. This aligns with RT
suggesting that communication is only successful when it maximizes relevance between the sender and
the receiver.
Contextual implication: hinatas shyness is related to her feelings of affection for Naruto who suddenly
appears in front of her.
Cultural dimension: RT helps viewers to navigate the cultural and contextual dynamics of Japanese
anime. Hinata's shyness is a cultural expression.

16. Conclusion:
Naruto TV Series is filled with auch
Comical Tropes. By analyzing the Anime
Naruto for its nonverbal and humorous
cues under the lense if Relevance
Theory, the researcher aims to elicit
such instances for the betterment of
Pakistani animation industry.