CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Chapter I provides an introduction to the study which consists of background of the study, reasons for choosing the topic, statements of the problem, objectives of
the study, significance and outline of the study. The descriptions of each sub chapter are presented as follows.
1.1 Background of the Study
War is an everyday reality for millions of children. They are killed, disabled or orphaned by civil war, guerrilla insurgency, or ethnic cleansing. They become
refugees or displaced persons, often separated from their families. Many die or suffer from starvation, malnutrition, or lack of medical care. Many children are
traumatized by witnessing brutal murder, violence, fear and hardship. It really gives bad impacts for their psychological development. Lewis A. Nathan in The
Psychological Effects of War and Violence on Children states that Millions of children are exposed to traumatic experiences each year. Over thirty percent of
these traumatized children develop a clinical syndrome with significant emotional, behavioral, cognitive, social and physical symptoms called post-traumatic stress
disorder in George A. Cornish, 2005: 123 Most people who experience a traumatic event will have reaction that may
include shock, anger, nervousness, fear, and even guilt. These reactions are common and for most people they go away over time. Sometimes, however these
feeling continue and even increase, becoming so strong that they keep the person 1
2
from living a normal life. The example of traumatic behavior is shown in Peter Webber’s movie
entitled Hannibal Rising. In the movie I focus to the main character having Psychological trauma because of war crime when he was young. He has seen the
all of the war violence that cause his suffer of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In this final project, I would like to analyze traumatic behaviors or Post
Traumatic Stress behavior by applying psychological approach in Peter Webber’s Hannibal Rising. The movie itself is loosely based on a novel by Thomas Harris
with the same title. The novel is also loosely adapted by the screenwriter Thomas Harris. A movie can be considered as a work of literature for it is based on a
narrative story and develops characterization and mood as stated by David T. Holland in Encyclopedia Americana 2004:505
Like painting, motion pictures present a two-dimensional image within the configuration of a frame. Like music,
things manipulated their material within the dimension of time. Like dance, films are choreographed to utilize space
for esthetic effects. Like literature, films are based on a narrative or story and develop characterizations and
mood. Like theater, films for the most part use human actors who are engaged in performance. Like poetry,
films can convey several levels of meaning at the same time.
In Hannibal Rising, psychological phenomenon here means traumatic behaviors, shown by the character of Hannibal Lecter.
1.2 Reasons for Choosing the Topic
