POWER AND CLASS IN SORRY WE MISSED YOU: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

Abstract

This study examines representations of power and social class in Ken Loach’s film Sorry We Missed You through the discourse of the gig economy. Using Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional Critical Discourse Analysis combined with Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of symbolic power, this qualitative research analyzes selected film dialogues at the textual, discursive, and social practice levels. The findings reveal that gig workers are depicted as independent and self-employed, yet this apparent autonomy conceals structural dependence, economic precarity, and managerial control. Power relations are reproduced through linguistic choices that normalize gig-economy ideology and shift exploitation into personal responsibility. The study demonstrates how film discourse exposes hidden ideological structures within flexible labor systems and highlights the need for critical awareness of gig work realities.