“Subtle Asian Traits”: Multimodal Construction of Dialogue and Identity on Facebook

Abstract

This study examines multimodal constructed dialogue in “subtle asian traits”, a Facebook group for ethnic Asian young adults living in Anglophone countries to share their experiences of the Asian diaspora. In this study, I draw on Tannen’s (2007) concept of “constructed dialogue” and Och’s (1993) theory of stance and identity to analyze four Facebook posts that use memes, screenshots, video, and text to construct dialogue portraying recognizable “figures of personhood” (Agha 2005). My analysis of these posts demonstrates that posters draw on the audio and visual cues afforded through multimodal materials to portray the recognizable figures of the emotionally inexpressive father and the critical mother, and to display their stances of humor and criticism toward those figures. I also examine some of the comments responding to the four Facebook posts to illustrate how commenters engage with multimodal constructed dialogue. I show that commenters respond to multimodal constructed dialogue by demonstrating their recognition of the depicted figures of personhood and taking up similar stances as the poster in relation to those figures. My analysis illustrates that the engagement inspired by multimodal constructed dialogue allows group members to affirm their knowledge of and stances toward these figures of personhood as culturally shared, and thereby collaboratively construct their cultural identity. This study thus adds to research on constructed dialogue and multimodality in CMD by exploring the incorporation of multimodality into constructed dialogue as well as the significance of the engagement it inspires in “subtle asian traits.”