Rhetorical analysis of a scene from Airplane!

For my first paper in Dramatic & Cinematic Theory, I am writing an essay about the nature of comedy in film. Specifically, I argue that in comedy film, narrative voice, style, tone, and rhetoric dominates reception response far more than plot construction. As my case study example of this paper, I’ve cited one of my all-time favorite comedies, Airplane! (1980), Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker. I will post the final paper to the blog in the weeks ahead.

The thrust of my argument is that comedy is less about plot (a literary device) and more about defiance of expectation through voice, tone, and style (rhetorical devices). To illustrate this argument (and also just for fun), I’m engaging in a brief diversion to identify the comedic moments of ~1 min. of the film (all of which are various forms of rhetoric).

The scene I’m analyzing occurs about a third of the way through the movie. While aboard the plane, the protagonist, Ted Stryker, is having a flashback to his time in a mental institution after the war. Taken simply as a matter of plot, this should be a solemn, somber reflection, as many flashbacks and manipulations of time are intended in film. Knowing this expectation, the writers trigger comedic reception through brilliant, rapid-fire use of defiant rhetoric.

I’ve divided my assessment of the comedic moments of this scene into two categories - visual (imagery & sight gags) and auditory (dialogue & sound effects). I’ve attempted to be as thorough as possible in documenting these moments. I welcome feedback on any items I may have missed. Taken chronologically:

Visual
A large sign outside the the hospital reads “U.S. Army Psychiatric Hospital - Pentathol Available.”  “Pentathol” is an intentional misspelling of “Pentathal” a barbiturate. Logos of Visa and MasterCard on the sign.

Visual
A doctor in lab coat turns around and his jacket has an STP logo on it.

Audio
Doctor says to patient, “Ok, Robert, slip ‘em down this won’t hurt much!”

Audio/Dialogue
Elaine says to Ted - “You’ve got a telegram from headquarters today.” Ted replies - “Headquarters - what is it?!” Elaine explains - “It’s a big building where generals meet but that’s not important right now.” 

Visual
Ted is painting an absurdly violent picture of an infantryman standing in a contorted posture holding a machine gun and a baby in front of an exploding car.

Audio/Dialogue
Elaine tells Ted “they’ve cleared you of any blame for what happened on the raid. Isn’t that good news?” Ted replies, “Is it? Because of my mistake, six men didn’t return from that raid.” Elaine explains, “Seven. Lieutenant Zip died this morning.” 

Visual
Ted spits out his water at the revelation of Zip’s death.

Audio/Dialogue
Off camera, someone says: “Hey, Stryker, how about a break? I’m gettin’ tired!” Ted replies, “Yeah, all right. Take five.”

Visual (reveal)
We see that Stryker’s graphic war painting was being staged before him by a male model holding a baby doll.