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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Study
Literature comes from the word littera Latin which is the smallest element of alphabetical writing Klarer, 2004:1. This definition looks simple in describing
what literature is all about, because not all written works can be considered as literature. In Additional, Klarer 2004:1 states:
“The definitions, therefore, usually include additional such as ‘aesthetic’ or ‘artistic’ to distinguish literary works from text of
everyday use such as newspaper, legal documents or even scholarly writing.”
Based on the brief description above, being a form of written works of recognized artistic value is known as one of literature characteristic. Wellek and
Warren 1956: 94-95 states that literature represents life. Life is, in large measure, a social reality, even though the natural world and the inner or subjective world of the
individual have also been objects of the literary imitation. Literature is an expression of society. It means that in literary works, we can find phenomena of life in the
society because literary work is the reflection of life. Literature has been widely known and used by many people all around the
world. The term literature refers more to imaginative works. Literature is the expression of feeling, passion and emotion caused by a sensation of the
interestingness of life. It also has a direct relation of actual life. It reflects an actual experience such as social, philosophical and moral concern. Literary works are the
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result of thought and a reflection of a culture, therefore in many literary work narrate about the human interaction with human beings and their environment. Basically, the
kind of literature are only prose fiction, poetry, and novel but recently in the 21
th
century the film is accepted as one of literature. According to Klarer 2004:53 states:
“At the beginning of the twenty-first century, it impossible to neglect film as a semitextual genre both influenced by and exerting
influence on literature and literary criticism.”
Film, like literature, can employ the dimension of time in a variety of way. The terms plot, time, character, setting, narrative perspective, and style emerge not
only in the definitions and characterizations of the genre of novel, but also function as the most important areas of inquiring in film Klarer, 2004:14. Literary works in
the form of a film genre of fiction was eventually revealed as a category of literary works based on the resulting effect for the audience. A literary work has an elements
of entertaining. When the movie was produced to meet the needs of community in the filed of entertainment, literature has undergone a similar development. In the life
media, a merge between two distinct creativity even considered new shades in the field of entertainment. It can be seen with the advent of films based on the story in a
literary work. Review of the research literature on it is own in the film can be discussed through film or text scenarios, which can be focused on the analysis of the
character figures, character, plot elements and setting the time and place, and that the issue of who wants to be appointed by an author through the film.
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary states that film is a series of moving picture recorded with sound thet tells a story, shown on television or at the cinema.
Film is one of the human creations. Some films are fictitious and some are based on
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true stories. It only offers entertainment but also gives message to the watchers. Most films concern much with the ordinary people and their problems in society. Film also
concern much with characters. Besides that, watching a film very influential, because we can understand as well as realize the real condition and life of the society
described in the film. This is what makes the author using the film as an object of research. The film used is a film by John Lee Hancock titled “The Blind Side”.
According in Film Art by Bordwell and Thopson 2012: 57 states: “Many meaning of films are ultimately ideological; that is, the
spring from systems of culturally specific beliefs about the world. Religious beliefs, political opinions, conceptions of race or sex or
social class, even our most deeply seated nations of life-all these constitute our ideological frame of reference.”
From the explanation above it can be summarized that the film portrayed a systems of culturally specific beliefs. This beliefs is embodied in anti-racism in
social life as expressed in John Lee Hancock The Blind Side. The term anti-racism is commonly defined as the policy of challenging racism and promoting racial
tolerance. Racial discrimination is one of the worst social problems that still exist up to
this very moment in every part of the world. It can be defined as the mistreatment of a group of people on the basic of race, color, and religion. Racial discrimination is
also the belief that race accounts for differences in human character and that a particular race is superior to other. This problem is very serious because it always
leads to destruction, not only to certain human being but also to the society. According to Schaefer 2012:269 states:
“The term racial group is used to describe a group that is set apart from other because of obvious physical different. White, African
Americans, and Asian Americans are all considered racial group in
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the United State. While race does turn on physical differences, it is the culture of particular society that constructs and attaches social
significance to these differences.”
Racism in the past was really bad. Especially in southern parts of the US like Mississippi and Georgia. Blacks were discriminated and enslaved in the early 20th
century. Some were brutally beaten by their master or over seers for not working hard enough, for disobedience, or for insubordination. They were, however, almost
never imprisoned for any length of time or hanged the lynching came later Persell,1987:238. During this time the underlying economic, legal, and political
contexts of race relations were changing, resulting in a different moral and ideological climate. The tension between equal rights and segregation grew
intolerable. In 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, lead the March on Washington, where he proclaimed to more than 200,000 blacks and white assembled at the
Lincoln Memorial,”I have a dream….of an America where blacks and white can walk together as equals” Persell,1987:239.
In this movement, the anti-racisms attitude is clearly visible. The attitude of anti-racism grows as the development era. In the 20
th
century, racism is opposed. But in fact racist views was still held by number of communities in America. Such a state
is reflected in the Film “The Blind Side”. Some of the American community in the film there’s a pro against racism and there is also an anti-racism. The movie shows a
lot of anti racism. It shows how a woman from an all white family could take in this poor, big, troubled black teenager. It talks about how the students changed from
being scared around Mike, to accepting and embracing him in the community. Despite a few nasty conversations with her friends, her and her family let Michael
stay with them and end up adopting him. His life changed from being a homeless
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teen with no future to having a new home, family, and education. All because of Leigh Anne breaking all racial barriers.
In The Blind Side there are many scenes to hint at the concept of racism. From The Blind Side I learned that helping one another is an important part of life.
1.2 Problem of the Study
Kategori