INTERPRETATION OF SEMIOTIC ON SHAUN THE SHEEP STOP MOTION ANIMATED WORDLESS CARTOON.

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INTERPRETATION OF SEMIOTICS ON

“SHAUN THE SHEEP”

STOP MOTION ANIMATED WORDLESS CARTOON

A THESIS

Submitted to the English Applied Linguistics Study Program in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Magister Humaniora

YOHANI FITRI

Registration Number : 8116111023

ENGLISH APPLIED LINGUISTICS PROGRAM

POST GRADUATE SCHOOL

STATE UNIVERSITY OF MEDAN

2015

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ABSTRACT

Yohani Fitri, 8116111023, Interpretation of Semiotic on Shaun the Sheep Stop Motion Animated Wordless Cartoon. Thesis: English Applied Linguistics Study Program, Post Graduate School, State University of Medan. 2015

This thesis dealed with descriptive qualitative study to find out the interpretation of Semiotics on Shaun the Sheep on children. The objectives of this research were 1) to find out how well the children understand the contents of the story in the episode Loony Tic of Shaun the Sheep, 2) to find out what categories of gestures that children can interpret toward the story in the episode Loony Tic of Shaun the Sheep and 3) to find out the type of the children’s interpretation. The Population of this research were Sixth level of 126 primary students from Sultan Iskandar Muda Institution in Sunggal. The samples were 15 children or about 11.9% who were chosen randomly. The data were obtained by testing them through writing their interpretation on the story of the episode Loony Tic. The result showed that there were 13.33% students in the level of Skilled understanding, 46.67% students in the level of Developing understanding, and 40% students in the level of need work understanding. Then, their interpretations toward the gestures in the film were 100% emblems, 40% affect display, and 13.33 % adaptor. This research also found that the students had 2 types of interpretation in writing their interpretations namely Interpretation of Revealation and Interpretation of Art. There were 73,33% of the students who were categorized as Interpretation of Revealation and 26.67% of the students who were categorized as Interpretation of Art. There was 0% student who was categorized as Interpretation of Gift.

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ABSTRACT

Yohani Fitri, 8116111023, Interpretation of Semiotic on Shaun the sheep stop motion animated wordless cartoon. Thesis: English Applied Linguistics Study Program, Post Graduate School, State University of Medan. 2015 Thesis ini berhubungan dgn penelitian deskriptif kualitatif utk menemukan interpretasi anak terhadap semiotics (kajian tentang tanda) pada film Shaun the Sheep. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah utk 1) menemukan seberapa baik pemahaman anak-anak isi cerita di dalam episode Loony Tic film Shaun the Sheep, 2) untuk menemukan kategori gerakan tubuh apa yang anak-anak dapat interpretasikan dalam cerita episode Loony Tic film Shaun the Sheep dan 3) untuk menemukan type interpretasi anak-anak. Populasi penelitian ini adalah siswa-siswa kelas 6 SD yang berjumlah 126 orang di Yayasan Perguruan Sultan Iskandar Muda di Sunggal. Samplenya adalah 15 orang siswa atau sekitar 11.9% dari jumlah total keseluruhan yang dipilih secara acak. Data diperoleh dgn memberikan test melalui interpretasi siswa terhadap episode Loony Tic dalam film Shaun the Sheep. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa ada 13.33% siswa yang memiliki pemahaman Skilled, ada 46.67% siswa yang memiliki pemahaman developing dan 40% siswa yang memiliki pemahaman need work di dalam menginterpretasi film tersebut. Kemudian, pemahaman mereka terhadap gerakan-gearakan yang ada di film tersebut, 100% mereka dapat memahami gerakan tubuh emblems, 40% mereka memahami gerakan tubuh affect display, dan 13.33% mereka memahami gerakan tubuh adaptor. Penelitian ini juga menemukan bahwa siswa-siswa tersebut memiliki 2 tipe interpretasi dalam menuliskan interpretasi mereka yaitu interpretation of Revealation dan Interpretation of Art. Ada 73.33% siswa yang interpretasinya digolongkan sebagai Interpretation of Revealation dan 26.67% siswa yang interpretasinya digolongkan sebagai Interpretation of Art. Sedangkan Interpretation of Gift 0%.

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APPROVAL

This Thesis was examined on 15th April 2015 by The Board of Examiners

The Board of Examiners

Adviser 1 : Prof. Dr. Sumarsih, M.Pd NIP. 19581021 198303 2 002

Adviser 2 : Dr. I Wy Dirgeyasa Tangkas, M.Hum NIP. 19640422 199203 1 001

Examiner 1 : Prof. Amrin Saragih, M.A., Ph.D NIP. 19550113 198203 1 002

Examiner 2 : Prof. Dr. Busmin Gurning, M.Pd NIP. 19590713 198601 1 001

Examiner 3 : Dr. Anni Holila Pulungan, M.Hum NIP. 19700522 200112 2 001

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Pages

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT………. i

ABSTRACT……… iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS……… v

LIST OF FIGURES……… vii

LIST OF TABLES………..… viii

LIST OF EMOTICONS………..… ix

LIST OF APPENDICES……… x

CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Background of the Study ……….. 1

1.2 The Problems of the Study………. 5

1.3 The Objectives of the Study………... 5

1.4 The Scope of the Study ………... 5

1.5 The Significances of the Study ………... 6

CHAPTER II : REVIEW OF LITERATURE 2.1 Semiotics... 7

2.1.1. Sausurrian semiotics...…………... 8

2.1.2 Pierecian semiotics... 10

2.2 Social Semiotics…...………... 13

2.2.1 Facial Expression……….……... 13

2.2.2 Eye contact... 15

2.2.3 Body language... 17

2.2.4 Touch……….……… 18

2.2.5 Gesture……… 19

2.3 The Nature of Interpretation... 25

2.3.1 Interpretation as Revelation…... 26

2.3.2 Interpretation as an Art... 27

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2.4 Some Factors Affecting Interpretation……… 28

2.5 Cartoon Film………... 30

2.6 Television………. 33

2.7 Relevant Studies... 35

2.8 Conceptual Framework... 37

CHAPTER III : RESEARCH METHOD 3.1 Research Design……… ... 40

3.2 The Source of Data…..…..……. ... 40

3.3 Technique of Data Collection……… 41

3.4 The Instrument of Assessment……… 41

3.5 Trustworthiness ………. 41

3.6 Technique of Data Analysis... 43

CHAPTER IV : DATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS, AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Data Analysis……… ... 45

4.1.1 The Students’ Interpretations…. ... 45

4.1.2 Students’ Interpretations in Gestulant categories……… 56

4.1.3 Types of Students’ Interpretation ………... 61

4.2 Findings………... 66

4.3 Discussion……… 67

CHAPTER V : CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 5.1 Conclusion……… ... 68

5.2 Suggestion…………. ... 68

REFERENCES……… 70

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LIST OF TABLES

Pages Table 1. Three Aspects of Signs in Peirce’s Semiotics………. 12

Table 2. Students’ Points Understanding………….……… 41 Table 3 The Students’ Indicators in interpreting the film…… ………. 42

Table 4. The students’ Interpretation Point Totals………. 42 Table 5. The Students’ point Totals……….……… 54 Table 6. The Category of Gesture in the Students’ Interpretation… ……. 61 Table 7. The Types of the students’ Interpretation………... 66

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LIST OF FIGURES

Pages Figure 1. The relationship between the signifier

and the signified in Sausurean’s Semiotics……….. 9

Figure 2. The object and the concept in Sausurean’s Semiotics…………. 9 Figure 3. Peirce’s model of sign ……… 11 Figure 4. The processing of understanding language item

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LIST OF EMOTICONS

Pages Emoticon 1. Facial Expression:Amusement….……… 14 Emoticon 2. Facial Expression:Sadness……….. 14 Emoticon 3. Facial Expression: Anger………. 14

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Pages

Appendix A. The Episode of Loony Tic….……… 73

Appendix B. The Story of Loony Tic……….. 92

Appendix C. Students’ Interpretation on Loony Tic………. 94

Appendix D. Students’ Scores in Interpreting The Film……..………….. 110

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Background of the Study

We know that language is a source of human life. Human expresses communication in the world of language and signs. Sign takes the form of words, images, gestures or objects. Language is the system of sign to communicate. The system of a sign in a language has arbitrary relation and meaning of a language object. Human uses the sign or symbol to communicate to other people who have the same feeling, idea, or desire (Cobley, 2001:5).

A symbol or a sign of a language is manifested by everyone in many forms. It is used such as in logo, slogan in advertisement, billboard, even in film. All of symbols or signs in that forms design meaning. The symbol or sign of the design gives a message or meaning to their viewers, readers, or users itself.

When we talk about film, so, it has a closer relationship with television as one of media environments, which offers people opportunities to select their entertainment. Therefore, television viewers are motivated to watch television in order to satisfy their various wants, needs and desires at the time. This does not mean that viewing behavior is always pushed by strong psychological drives but, for most of the time, that people watch television and, this applies to some extent even to the young or children, they do so for a reason. This reason may be as simple as to pass the time.

When children watch television, it can‟t be denied that cartoon is mostly watched by them since the earlier channel TVRI. The first cartoon which is viewed on TVRI for example is Si Unyil. Si Unyil is a kind of traditional cartoon,

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which is firstly viewed on TVRI and it becomes the favourite children cartoon in 1990s.

Due to the development of technology, cartoons are also having progress. From traditional cartoon until animated cartoon which are viewed by many television channels nowadays and Shaun the sheep, an animated cartoon, is one of the top ten cartoons mostly waited and watched by children in most all over the world today. It is viewed everyday in the afternoon on MNC TV.

Not like other cartoon, Shaun the Sheep is a British stop motion animated children‟s television series produced by Aardman Animations and commissioned by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The episodes have many combination of slapstick in Aardman‟s recognizable animation style. There is no spoken dialogue, even by human characters. In this way, it is reminiscent of silent comedy cartoon. Moreover, simple grunts, bleats, and signs are all used to add subtle expression to each character‟s moods and feelings.

Interpretation towards the film is not always the same for individuals. That‟s why people may have different interpretation toward the same object. It can be influenced by the different level of education, economical status, family background, and many more. When the cartoon “Shaun the Sheep” is then watched by children, we cannot deny that misinterpretation of various signs acted by all characters can be happened. It happened by the children around the age of 10, or at the 4th level of primary students in the Institution of Sultan Iskandar Muda. They had misinterpretation of understanding signs in the episodes of Bull Vs Wool” and “The Coconut.”

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In the episode “Bull Vs Wool”, most children did not understand why Bitzer and Timmy are chased by the Bull and the rest of them had interpreted to the colour of “Red” which made the Bull angry and chased Bitzer and Timmy. Actually, in the story, Bitzer plays the Red wool by shaking it to Timmy and the Bull watches them. It is not true that because of the Red wool played by Bitzer makes the Bull angry but it is because of the Bitzer‟s action in shaking the wool.

In the episode of “The Coconut”, most children did not understand why the two characters, the farmer and Bitzer tossed their glasses together after they succeed in cutting the coconuts. They did not understand why the characters do so. It actually relates to the western culture when they have succeeded in doing something and they will celebrate it by tossing their glasses and drinking together. What makes children interpret the meaning of signs in the story “Shaun the Sheep” in such a way encourages the researcher to make a deep research on it. The researcher is interested in finding the children‟s interpretation toward the film and find the factors of the children interpret the story in such a way.

In analyzing such kinds of facts above, the writer refers to semiotics as a study of sign. Semiotic stresses the idea that images are collection of signs that are linked together in some way by the viewer (Langrerhr, 2003). Besides, semiotics provides us with a conceptual framework and a set of methods and terms for use across the full range of signifying practices, which include gesture, posture, dress, speech, photography, film, television and radio. It can help to make us aware of what we take for granted in representing the world, reminding us that we are always dealing with signs, not with an unmediated objective reality, and that sign systems are involved in the construction of meaning (Chandler, 2002)

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Signs can take the form of words, images, sounds, odours, flavours, acts or object (Peirce,1931). (Saussure, 1966) divides a sign into two components – the signifier (the sound, image, or word) and the signified, which is the concept the signifier represents, or the meaning. In other words, signs can mean anything and they can mean different things to different people.

As well as Peirce (1931:24), one of the American Philosophers, also ever argued that interpreters have to supply part of the meanings of signs. He wrote that “a sign is something which stands to somebody for something in some respect or capacity”. It means that Peirce considered semiotics important because whatever we do, can be seen as a message.

Pierce categorized the patterns of meaning in signs as iconic, symbolic, and indexical. An iconic sign is one which is, in one or more respects, the same as the object signified; a symbol, as Pierce reminds us, originally meant something „thrown together‟ making a contact or convention; in a contemporary setting, a symbol refers to conventional signs used, for instance, in speaking and writing (Lechte, 2000). An index is a sign physically linked to, or affected by, its object. For example, a cry for help may indicate someone in need. Similarly, a knock on the door may indicate that there is someone at the door.

As sign system are involved in the construction of meaning and film makes use of signs to convey its message, therefore this study attempt to investigate how well the children‟s understanding in interpreting the signs or gestures from the cartoon film ”Shaun the Sheep.” The cartoon film “Shaun the Sheep” is chosen because it is one of the children favorite cartoons, which is always watched by them although there are no spoken dialogues in it.

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1.2 The Problems of the Study

In relation to the background of the study, there are some problems to be identified by the researcher:

1. How do the children interpret the “Shaun the Sheep” film in the Episode of Loony Tic?

2. What gestures do the children interpret well in the episode of Loony Tic? 3. What types of the children‟s interpretation do have in the Episode of

Loony Tic?

1.3 The Objectives of the Study

The researcher intends to find out the understanding of “Shaun the Sheep” stop motion animated cartoon. The objectives of the research are:

1. To find out how the children interpret the film “Shaun the Sheep” in the episode of “Loony Tic”.

2. To find out the gestures that the children interpret well toward the Episode of Loony Tic.

3. To find out types of interpretations that the children have in the Episode of Loony Tic.

1.4.The Scope of the Study

There are so many wordless cartoons which are shown on many television programs such as Bernard Bear, Oasis, and many more. But in this research, the scope of the study is limited on the story of “Shaun the Sheep” in the episode of “Loony Tic” because this cartoon had won Oscar Award because of the character of Shaun as a clever and a creative sheep with also full of comedy and it had been

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being played in more than 170 countries since 2007. It was based on BBC Network on April 25, 2013.

1.5 The Significances of the Study

The findings of the research are expected to be useful for the readers both theoretically and practically in some aspects.

Theoretically the finding can be useful for enriching the theories on semiotics particularly for:

 Improving and widening the knowledge about semiotics and interpretation.

Practically the finding can be useful for those who have focus on semiotics. Moreover, the ideas and the point of views of the finding can significantly be useful to be used for:

 Researchers as their review of literature in analyzing semiotics and interpretation with different object.

 Students as their material references in understanding semiotics and interpretation.

 Movie Audiences as materials for helping people especially children in comprehending the messages in the cartoon.

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

5.1 Conclusion

Based on the discussion on chapter IV, the conclusions are drawn as the following:

1. There were 13.33% students could interpret the episode Loony Tic of Shaun the Sheep Film in the category of Skilled, 46.67% students were in the category of Developing and 40% students were in the category of need work.

2. From the students’ interpretations, there were 100% students could understand emblems, 40% students could understand affect display, 13.33% students could understand adaptor and 0% students could understand illustrator and regulator.

3. In writing the story, there were 73.33% students were included of Revelation Interpretation, and 26.67% students included of Art Interpretation for they interpreted based on the movements they understood or used in their social life.

5.2 Suggestion

Related to the conclusion, suggestions are stages as follow:

1. Although the film of Shaun the Sheep is good to be watched because actually there are some moral lessons that can be applied for students especially children and no children dislike it. It is suggested that the film

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maker increase the verbal language so that the children in general are avoided from misinterpretation and they enjoy not only the funny things but also the lessons from the stories.

2. The body language without the verbal language in the film shouldn’t be applied because it can make the viewers especially children in doubt or misinterpretation in understanding the meanings of the story. By including the verbal language, facial expression, touch, eye contact, and other gestures can be clearer through the conversation in the film.

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