AN ANALYSIS OF OPPRESSION FACED BY SOLOMON
NORTHUP AS A BLACK SLAVE IN STEVE MCQUEEN’S FILM
“12 YEARS A SLAVE”
THESIS
By:
LISTI PUJI ASTUTI 201010100311266
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG
NOVEMBER 2014
AN ANALYSIS OF OPPRESSION FACED BY SOLOMON
NORTHUP AS A BLACK SLAVE IN STEVE MCQUEEN’S FILM
“12 YEARS A SLAVE”
THESIS
This thesis is submitted to meet one of the requirements to achieve
Sarjana Degree in English Education Department
By:
LISTI PUJI ASTUTI 201010100311266
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG
NOVEMBER 2014
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MOTTO AND DEDICATION
No amount of guilt can change the past and no amount of worrying can change the future.
(Umar ibn al-Khattab r.a)
”Cukuplah Allah bagiku; tidak ada tuhan selain Dia.” (QS. At-Taubah: 129)
When one of you prays and make du’a, make your hope great as there is nothing
greater than Allah. (Al Ghazali)
DEDICATION:
I dedicate this thesis to:
My beloved father (Alm.) and little sister (Almh.),
My beloved mother and little sister,
and my awesome friends.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Alhamdulillah, all praise is to the Almighty Allah, the Merciful and
Charitable. Because of His guidance, blessing and affection, the writer is able to
accomplish this thesis as a partial of fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Sarjana in English Education at faculty of Teacher Training and Education,
University of Muhammadiyah Malang. Shalawat and Salam also expressed to the
Prophet Muhammad.
In this very special occasion, the writer would like to express her deepest
gratitude and appreciation to Dr. Sri Hartiningsih, MM, as the first advisor and
Nurakhfini Septiany, M.A., M.Ed, as the second advisor, who have given their
valuable time, suggestion, criticism and correction to this thesis from the beginning
up to the end of the writing during the consultation period.
In this very special moment, the writer would also like to express her special
thanks to her beloved parents Alm.Saiful Huda and Puji Hartini for their love,
encouragement and supports both financially and mentally that made her possible to
finish her study. Her special thanks are also addressed to her little sisters, Almh.
Alivia and Revana for their love, encouragement, care and pray. Finally, the writer
would like to thank for her tremendous friends (Wiwik, Manda, Tacik, Rina, Fistri,
Firda, Mbak Dea, Mbak Nirma, Surya, Mas Robby, and all the friends in E2) who
provided invaluable support and suggestions throughout this writing process. The
writer hopes that all of them will be given a thousand kindnesses from Allah SWT.
Malang, 28 October 2014
The Writer,
Listi Puji Astuti
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AN ANALYSIS OF OPPRESSION FACED BY SOLOMON NORTHUP AS A
BLACK SLAVE IN STEVE MCQUEEN’S FILM “12 YEARS A SLAVE”
ABSTRACT
As one of the kind of literary works, film portrays its story and carries the filmmaker’s message through depictions, including oppression toward black slave. Black slave with oppression is the fact of social phenomena and problem that occurred in human social life. Oppression is explained as the condition of individual which gets exercise or treatment in a harsh, cruel, bad or unjust manner from another which has more power. In this study, “12 Years a Slave” film is analyzed since it reflects the real condition of black slaves that get oppression during slavery period. Moreover, the film also has an interesting story which is filled with courage and desires of the main character to extricate from the forms of oppression.
In this study, the oppression toward black slave focused on those experienced by the main character, Solomon Northup. Related to this case, the purpose of the study is to describe (1) the forms of oppression (2) The causes of oppression forms, and (3) the efforts done by Solomon Northup to be liberated from oppression forms.
The research design of this study was a descriptive qualitative research because this study focused on social phenomena of oppression toward black slave. Moreover, the data of this study were not presented in numerical analysis. In this study, liberal humanism approach was applied since the central concern was a universal truth about humanity. Furthermore, the object of the study was the actions and dialogues which related to the term of oppression case which faced by Solomon Northup as the main character in the “12 Years a Slave” film.
The result showed that (1) there are four kinds of oppression forms that were found in the film, namely exploitation, powerlessness, cultural imperialism and violence; (2) there are four causes of oppression forms which experienced by Solomon Northup; and (3) there are some efforts to overcome oppression forms which done by Solomon, such as explaining his truly identity, offering his talents to his master, and asking for help to another slaves, and revealing his true identity to another White American who against to oppression forms.
Key words: Oppression, Black Slave, Film, 12 Years a Slave
Advisor I, The Writer,
Dr. Sri Hartiningsih, M.M Listi Puji Astuti
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
APPROVAL ..................................................................................................... iii
LEGALISATION............................................................................................. iv
ORIGINALITY DECLARATION ................................................................... v
MOTTO AND DEDICATION ........................................................................ vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................ vii
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................... viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................. ix
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study ......................................................................... 1
1.2 Statement of Problems ............................................................................. 4
1.3 Purpose of the Study................................................................................ 4
1.4 Significance of Study .............................................................................. 5
1.5 Scope and Limitations ............................................................................. 5
1.6 Definition of Key Terms.......................................................................... 6
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Film ........................................................................................................ 7
2.2 Type of Films .......................................................................................... 8
2.2.1 Action Film ................................................................................. 8
2.2.2 Adventure Film ............................................................................ 9
2.2.3 Comedy Film ............................................................................... 9
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2.2.4 Crime Film .................................................................................. 9
2.2.5 Epic Film ................................................................................... 10
2.2.6 Horror Film ............................................................................... 10
2.2.7 Musical Film.............................................................................. 10
2.2.8 Science Fiction Film .................................................................. 11
2.2.9 War Film ................................................................................... 11
2.2.10 Western Film ............................................................................. 11
2.2.11 Drama Film ............................................................................... 12
2.3 Elements of Film ................................................................................... 12
2.3.1 Narrative .................................................................................... 12
2.3.1.1 Plot and Story ................................................................. 13
2.3.1.2 Cause and Effect ............................................................ 13
2.3.1.3 Setting ............................................................................ 14
2.3.1.4 Theme ............................................................................ 15
2.3.1.5 Conflict .......................................................................... 16
2.3.2 Mise-en-scene ............................................................................ 16
2.3.3 Cinematography......................................................................... 17
2.3.4 Editing ....................................................................................... 17
2.3.5 Sound ........................................................................................ 18
2.4 Slavery .................................................................................................. 18
2.5 Oppression ............................................................................................ 20
2.5.1 Forms of Oppression .................................................................. 22
2.5.1.1 Exploitation .................................................................... 22
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2.5.1.2 Marginalization .............................................................. 23
2.5.1.3 Powerlessness ................................................................ 24
2.5.1.4 Cultural Imperialism ...................................................... 25
2.5.1.5 Violence ......................................................................... 26
2.5.2 Effects of Oppression ................................................................. 27
2.5.3 The Strategies for Overcoming Oppression ................................ 28
CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design .................................................................................... 30
3.2 Approach............................................................................................... 31
3.3 Object of the Study ................................................................................ 32
3.4 Data Collection ..................................................................................... 32
3.5 Data Analysis ........................................................................................ 33
CHAPTER IV: RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Research Findings ................................................................................. 34
4.1.1 Forms of oppression faced by Solomon Northup ........................ 34
4.1.1.1 Exploitation .................................................................... 35
4.1.1.2 Powerlessness ................................................................ 38
4.1.1.3 Cultural Imperialism ...................................................... 40
4.1.1.4 Violence ......................................................................... 41
4.1.2 The causes of violence ............................................................... 44
4.1.2.1 The cause of exploitation ................................................ 44
4.1.2.2 The cause of powerlessness............................................. 45
4.1.2.3 The cause of cultural imperialism ................................... 46
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4.1.2.4 The cause of violence...................................................... 46
4.1.3 Solomon’s Efforts to overcome oppression................................. 48
4.1.3.1 Explaining the fact of his identity ................................... 48
4.1.3.2 Offering his talent for the freedom.................................. 49
4.1.3.3 Asking for aid for another slave ...................................... 50
4.1.3.4 Revealing his true identity to another White
American ....................................................................... 51
4.2 Discussion ............................................................................................. 53
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
5.1 Conclusion ............................................................................................ 57
5.2 Suggestion ............................................................................................. 58
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APPENDIXES
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