Maneuvering Strategically at Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s Legal Case: Analyzing Confrontation Stag

Abstract

This study utilizes strategic maneuvering at the confrontation stage of the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp legal case in a pragma-dialectical framework. Finding a balance between dialectical and rhetorical goals is the main objective. The goal is to satisfy the audience's expectations and adhere to the principles of critical discussion in order to achieve effectiveness and reasonableness during the confrontation stage. An eclectic model is used, incorporating ideas from McQuarrie and Mick (1996) and van Eemeren (2010), as well as van Eemeren and Houttosser's (2006) fair trial, which should be based on critical discourse. In the confrontation stage, the analysis finds a balance between reasonableness and effectiveness; in the argumentation stage, it finds recurrent violations of reasonableness. Limited use of presentational devices is also noted, and audience requests are consistently met at every level except the argumentation stage.