lvii Boxer 1989 ident ifies response of com plaint s and finds t hat t here are six t ypes
of responses, t hey are: 1 zero response or change t he t opic, 2 a request for an elaborat ion of t he com plaint , 3 joking or t easing, 4 a cont radict ion or explanat ion, 5
advice or lect ure, and 6 com m iserat ion.
K. The Film Theory
The st udy of film cannot be t aken apart from societ y. They have a t ight relat ionship. A m ovie can be a reflect ion of societ y. It m ay int erpret t he condit ion of a
societ y at one t im e. According t o Allen and Gom ery 1993: 154, m ovie reflect s t he desires, needs, fears, and aspirat ions of a societ y. Allen and Gom ery st at e t hat film
m akers are m em bers of societ y and no less subject t o social pressure and norm s t han anyone else and film m aking occurs w it hin som e social cont ext . Furt herm ore, in fict ional
film s, charact ers are given at t it udes, gest ures, sent im ent s, m ot ivat ions, and appearances based on social roles and on general not ions ibid: 158.
From t he definit ions above, it can be concluded t hat film is correlat ed w it h societ y. Bot h of t hem have a close relat ionship. Film can be t he represent at ion of a
societ y w hich has cert ain social cont ext . M oreover, it reflect s t he desires, and aspirat ions of a societ y. A m ovie Sex and t he Cit y for exam ple, represent s t he life of
Am erican w om en in m odern era. The charact ers and t he event s are not real, but t he exist ence of Am erican w om en wit h t heir life st yle, charact erist ics, and relat ionship is
real. In short , t his m ovie can be a represent at ion of t he life of Am erican w om en in m odern era w it h all of t heir problem s and m at t ers of life.
L. The Synopsis of the Film Sex and the City
lviii The m ovie “ Sex and t he Cit y” is a romance com edy t hat w as adapt ed from a
book having t he same t it le by a New York colum nist , Candace Bushnell. The film is produced by Alliance film s and direct ed by M ichael Pat rick King. The film is cent ered in
New York Cit y w here t here are four single w om en w ho have close relationship. They are looking for t heir happiness, love, sex, and fashion. The st ory begin w it h Carrie
Bradshaw - a successful aut hor w ho is t rying t o get int o her ow n dream , t o get m arried w it h her 10 years period boyfriend, Big. How ever, all t he effort s and t heir plans w ere
ruined right aft er t he rehearsal part y. M iranda, a perfect ionist law yer w ho w as upset w it h her husband t old som et hing bad t o Big t hat m arriage can ruin everyt hing. Thus,
t heir m arriage cancelled. The next is about t he four wom en w it h t heir ow n life t ry t o get t he best on t heir relat ionship, carrier, and love stories. Finally Carrie can find her
happiness aft er hiring an assist ant , Louise. Louise made her believe t o t he power of love. Thus, at t he end Carrie can m arried t o her t rue love, Big.
M . Review of Related Study
The first st udy about com plaint w as done by Ardianna Nuraeni in 2005 w hich ent it led “ St rat egies of Com plaining am ong Charact ers in t he M ovie 10 Things I Hat e
about You” . The aim s of t he st udy are t o find out t he kinds of com plaining st rat egy used by t he charact ers, t he speaker’s reason in using such st rat egy, and t o ident ify t he
responses of t he hearers t ow ards t he com plaint s. The result of t he st udy show s t hat t here are seven t ypes of com plaining
st rat egy w hich are used by t he charact ers in t he m ovie 10 Things I Hat e about You. They
lix are Hint st at egy HINT, annoyance st rat egy ANOY, direct accusat ion st rat egy DACC,
m odified blam e st rat egy M BLA, explicit condem nat ion of t he accused’s act ion st rat egy ECAA, and explicit condem nat ion of t he accused as a person st rat egy ECAP. The
result of t he st udy indicat es t hat m ost of t he charact ers in t he m ovie use blaming st rat egy, t hat is t he explicit condem nat ion of t he accussed’s act ion st rat egy ECAA,
w hile ill consequence st rat egy ICON does not appear in t he m ovie. In t he research, t here are som e reasons w hy t he speaker uses cert ain t ype of
com plaining st rat egy. The reasons are t o break t he relat ionship bet w een t he speaker and t he hearer, t o m aint ain t he relat ionship bet w een t he speaker and t he hearer, t o
repair t he relat ionship bet w een t he speaker and t he hearer, and t o show t he negative feeling only.
The second st udy about com plaint w as done by Widyasari in 2009 w hich ent it led “ Com plaint Expression used by t he Charact ers in t he Film Ent it led “ Runaw ay
Bride” . The aim s of t he st udy are t o describe t he st rat egies of com plaint found in t he film , t he funct ions of t he com plaining act ut t ered by t he speakers, and t he responses of
t he com plainees in t he film. The result of t he st udy show s t hat alm ost all of t he m ain st rat egies of
com plaining are used by t he charact ers in t he m ovie “ Runaw ay Bride” . They are no explicit reproach, expression of disapproval, accusat ion, and blam ing st rat egy. There are
seven st rat egies t hat are used nam ely Hint HINT, annoyance st rat egy ANOY, direct accusat ion st rat egy DACC, m odified blam e st rat egy M BLA, explicit condem nat ion of
t he accused’s act ion st rat egy ECAA, and explicit condem nat ion of t he accused as a
lx person st rat egy ECAP. In t he st udy, t he st rat egy that is used t he m ost is blam ing
st rat egy, t hat is t he Explicit Condem nat ion of t he accused’d Act ion st rat egy ECAA. While t he Ill Consequences st rat egy ICON does not em erge in t he m ovie.
In t he st udy, t here are som e reasons w hy t he speaker uses cert ain t ype of com plaining st rat egy in t he m ovie. The reasons are to break t he relat ionship or creat e
social dist ance bet w een t he int erlocut ors, t o repair t he relat ionship and im prove t he sit uat ion, and t o show t he negat ive feeling or specific negat ive evaluat ion.
Therefore, in t his research, ent it led t he “ Analysis of Com plaining Responses in t he Film Sex and t he Cit y” , t he researcher aim s t o find out t he kinds of com plaining
st rat egies used by t he charact ers in t he film , t he t ypes of responses em ployed by t he hearers, and t he reasons of t he hearers in using such kinds of responses. The
differences bet w een t his research and bot h of previous st udies are on t he analysis of responses and t he source of dat a w hich com es from different film. The furt her analysis
and discussion w ill be present ed in t he fourt h chapt er of t his st udy.
lxi
CHAPTER III M ETHODOLOGY
A. Research M ethodology
The research is a descript ive qualit at ive research since it em ploys t he analysis of descript ive and qualit at ive m et hods. The st eps of t he research w ere collect ing dat a,
analyzing t he dat a, and draw ing a conclusion. M eanwhile, qualit at ive research aim s t o describe a non- st at ist ical or descript ive dat a. It refers t o t he research procedure, w hich
brings about descript ive dat a bot h in w rit t en or spoken form s available t o be examined Bogdan and Taylor in M oleong 2007.
