Linguistics Construction of Generational Conflict in Pakistani Television Drama: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Parwarish Drama

Abstract

Domestic dramas not only serve the purpose of entertainment, but they also mirror society. Pakistani drama Parwarish highlights societal tension and the generational and understanding gap between parents and Gen Z through dialogue and storytelling techniques. The present study of the drama serial Parwarish demonstrates a generational understanding gap through a close examination of parent-child interaction. Moreover, it pays attention to narrative techniques, especially to dialogue composition, which reflects cultural values, power, and conflict within the fabric of Pakistani society. This study uses Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework using purposive sampling on selected episodes. This research analyse dialogues to differentiate authority marker, imperatives, pronouns, and rhetorical questions. On the other hand, the discursive level of analysis is to connect drama discourse to the immanent ideological and sociolect-cultural background. Conversely, parental discourse highlights the authority, respect, and obedience. These narrative techniques highlight the contrast of two different thought processes and portray how the clash between two generations is linguistically framed. The investigation illustrates that Parwarish reflects the Pakistani family’s everyday problems where usually modern generational values often disputes with conventional expectations, dramas such as Parwarish, not only reflect but constructs the societal reality perceptions and challenges the traditional norms. The findings of the study uncovers that Genz’s discourse focuses on individualism cooperation, vulnerability Conversely, parental discourse highlights the authority, respect, and obedience. It also point out media’s discourse role in building national identity and generational self-perception.