BREAKING THE STEREOTYPES OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION OF A BLACK HEROIC CHARACTER IN THE FILM I AM LEGEND (2007).

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BREAKING THE STEREOTYPES OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION OF A BLACK HEROIC

CHARACTER IN THE FILM I AM LEGEND (2007)

THESIS

Submitted as a Partial Fulfillment of Requirement for

Sarjana Sastra Degree of the English Department Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts

Sebelas Maret University

By:

Rizkianingtyas Tiarasari C0309055

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF LETTERS AND FINE ARTS SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY

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PRONOUNCEMENT

Name : Rizkianingtyas Tiarasari

Number : C0309055

Hereby, I certify that this thesis entitled BREAKING THE STEREOTYPES OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION OF A BLACK HEROIC CHARACTER IN THE FILM I AM LEGEND (2007) is not plagiarism

nor written by others. Any materials and theories used as references in this thesis are written in direct quotations and/or in paraphrase and contained in

bibliography. I am fully responsible for this pronouncement. If this is proven to be wrong, I am willing to take any consequences given by Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts, Sebelas Maret University, including the withdrawal of the degree.

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v MOTTOS

“Karena sesungguhnya sesudah kesulitan itu ada kemudahan.”

(QS. Al Insyirah: 5)

“Di mana kau berada sekarang, di situlah Tuhan menandai peta

untukmu.”– Hafiz (in Life Lessons, 2007: p.135)

“Things don’t always work out at the first time, but keep trying.”

“If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then

crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

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DEDICATION

This thesis is wholeheartedly dedicated to:

My dearly loved family

Myself,

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vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. In this part of thesis, the very first of all, my highest

praise for Allah SWT, the most Gracious and Merciful. It is through His blessing,

health, and gifts given to me, this thesis is finally done. Afterward, I would like to thank those who have contributed in finishing this thesis. My gratitude goes to:

The Dean of Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts, Mr. Drs. Riyadi Santosa,

M.Ed., Ph.D, and the Head of English Department, Mr. Drs. Agus Hari Wibowo, M.A., Ph.D, thanks for giving me permission to conduct this research.

Mr. Muhammad Taufiq Al Makmun, S.S., M.A. as my thesis consultant. I deeply thank him for his time, patience, encouragement, knowledge, and inspiration during the process of finishing this thesis. I am also highly grateful for

being supervised by him, as I would probably get lost without his valuable advices and suggestion in developing the ideas in this research.

The Board of Examiners; Mr. Muhammad Taufiq Al Makmun, S.S., M.A., Mrs. Dra. Susilorini, M.A., Ms. Karunia Purna Kusciati, S.S., M.Si., and Mrs. Dra. Sri Kusumo Habsari, M.Hum., Ph.D. I thank them for their advanced and

critical suggestions in directing and expanding the path of this research.

All the lecturers in English Department, and especially American Studies

lecturers; Mr. Drs. Bathoro Moh. Sardjana, M.A., Mrs. Dra. Susilorini, M.A., Mrs. Fitria Akhmerti Primasita, S.S., M.A., Ms. Karunia Purna Kusciati, S.S., M.Si, and Mrs. Dra. Sri Kusumo Habsari, M.Hum., Ph.D. I express thanks for all

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study in English Department. Learning in English Department and particularly in American Studies class becomes unforgettable moments of experience filling in

the pages of my book of lifetime that I may not ever get in another place.

My parents, Bapak and Ibuk, there are uncountable millions of thankfulness

for their love, affection, understanding, prayers, and support which keep strengthening me in my every condition. My older brother, mas Purwoko Priyo S. (Coco), thanks for supporting, cheering me up and being a big brother who is

always ready to listen to me. Living in the middle of them as my family is definitely such a great gift that God gives to me. Thanks also to my uncles and my

aunts, and my cousins. Although they have not directly contributed in the process of this thesis, they give high support for me and used to keep asking me ‘kapan

lulus?’ and keep reminding me ‘lebih cepat lebih baik’. I always remember their

messages as it is such an additional motivating encouragement to finish this thesis.

My fellows in American Studies 2009. Suhu Nurlita Hapsari, thanks for our nice discussion, her suggestions often help me in understanding subjects during study and also to mbak Desi Nursita Ratnasari, Ekarista Rahmawati, and Debora

Tambunan. I thank them for those old good times, laugh, and discussions that we had both inside and outside our class. I cherish every moment that we had in the

class of American Studies 2009.

Ratih Dewi Sulastri, thanks for our ‘escapes’ and ‘wandering’. Thanks also for the discussion and curhat. Desilia Kusuma Wardani, Dewi Ikke, and Shefield

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everytime I need a shelter around campus and it is too far for me to go home and go back to campus again. For my classmates in English Department 2009 who

also often hang out and play together with me. I thank them as well for the fun that we had together. And my other friends in ED 09 class that I cannot mention

one by one, thanks for all of the stories and experiences that we have been through during our study in this department.

And the last but not least, to Pak Dju and Mbak Lesti, thanks for their

warmness and friendliness every time I enter ILC.

In the end part of this acknowledgement, I do also realize that this thesis is still far

from perfect, but I hope that this thesis will be useful for everyone who reads it.

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BREAKING THE STEREOTYPES OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION OF A BLACK HEROIC

CHARACTER IN THE FILM I AM LEGEND (2007)

Rizkianingtyas Tiarasari1

Muhammad Taufiq Al Makmun, S.S., M.A2

ABSTRACT

2014. Hero is one of important elements in popular culture. However, regarding racial issues, the representation of American heroes has been criticized as it is predominated by white male figures. Meanwhile, the representation of African-American men in American films has been mostly depicted in negative stereotypes and postmodernism is aware of this unequal representation between black and white people. This research is conducted to explain how the significance of the representation of a black man as heroic character is given emphasis in I Am Legend film and how the black heroic character in this film breaks the stereotypes of African-American.

This is a descriptive qualitative research. The source of data in this research is a film entitled I Am Legend (2007) which is directed by Francis Lawrence. This

research has two kinds of data. The primary data encompass film’s mise en scene,

cinematography elements, and intrinsic elements, such as character, film’s title, dialogues, scenes, and plot. The secondary data are acquired from books, journal, websites, and previous works from other researchers related to the research topic.

As the research is conducted under the framework of American Studies, it employs interdisciplinary approach to analyze the representation of black hero in the film. The research applies several theories and studies concerning postmodernism, the general concept of American hero, the stereotypes of African-American man, and semiotics film theory. Then, socio-cultural approach is also used in order to see the social condition underlying the representation of black hero in the film.

After the analysis is done, the research argues that I Am Legend film emphasizes the significance of the representation of a black man as hero. The research also suggests that through postmodern perspective, the black hero in the film breaks and deconstructs the stereotypes of African-American as narrative and conception of white people regarding the black people are declined. Further, postmodern celebration of pluralism and equality encourages the inclusiveness of the representation of American hero. Hence, the representation of American hero is no longer predominated by white male figures only, but it also includes a black male figure, as presented in the I Am Legend film. However, the construction of

his heroic action is somehow still delicately fitted with white’s expectation toward

black people.

Keywords: postmodern, stereotypes, representation, African-American, hero, film

1

Student of English Department/NIM: C0309055

2

BREAKING THE STEREOTYPES OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION OF A BLACK HEROIC CHARACTER IN THE FILM I AM LEGEND (2007).

BREAKING THE STEREOTYPES OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION OF A BLACK HEROIC

Submitted as a Partial Fulfillment of Requirement for

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

Name : Rizkianingtyas Tiarasari

DEDICATION

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ... 1

CHAPTER III: ANALYSIS ... 42

BREAKING THE STEREOTYPES OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION OF A BLACK HEROIC

Rizkianingtyas Tiarasari1