Theory of Ambiguity Review of Related Theories

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CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY

This chapter consists of three parts namely object of the study, approach of the study, and method of the study. Object of the study explains the song which is used in this study. Approach of the study describes the approach used in this study which is post-structuralism approach. The last part which tells the steps taken in conducting this study is called method of the study.

A. Object of the Study

The object of the study is the song lyrics of “M.I.A.” from American metalcore band, Avenged Sevenfold. The song was written by its vocalist, Matthew Sanders. It was released on the album City of Evil which was published by Warner Bros Music on June 7, 2005. The album was ranked 30 on the Billboard 200 and certified as a platinum record by Recording Industry Association of America RIAA in August 2009. Unlike Beast and the Harlot, Bat Country, Burn It Down, and Seize the Day, M.I.A was not released as an individual release or a single. Further, the band rarely performed the song on the live performance due to its long duration, which ran for eight minutes and forty-eight seconds. The nine-stanza song shares the theme of war in the modern era. Matthew Sanders, also known as M. Shadows, wrote the lyrics brilliantly. He succeeds in portraying the point of view of the soldier although he never joins the military. The lyrics begin with the fear about the war. Although the soldier fears about the war, he must be brave and fearless in order to survive through the war. The main character’s bravery can be seen in the lines of fifth stanza say “So many soldiers on the other side, I take their lives so they cant take mine” and “I have my weapons so theres nothing to fear”. In the end, the soldier returns to his country. However, he does not feel like a hero for fighting for the country. Instead, he is haunted by the war and the killing that he did.

B. Approach of the Study

The approach of this study is post-structuralism approach. The approach is employed since it is closely related to the deconstruction. Guerin, et al. 2011 state that “post-structuralism and deconstruction are virtually synonymous” p. 176. While, Barry 2009 defines deconstruction as applied post-structuralism. As for deconstruction itself, Klarer 1999 defines it as “the post-structuralist method of analysis” which “starts with the assumption that a text can be analyzed destructed and put together constructed” p. 89. Guerin, et al. 2011 add that deconstruction is a reading strategy which views texts as subversively undermining an apparent or surface meaning and it denies any final explication or statement of meaning. In this case, the text is the lyrics of the song “M.I.A.”. Further, Guerin, et al. 2011 state that “texts are found to deconstruct themselves rather than to provide a stable identifiable meaning” p. 176. This statement explains that meaning is not considered as a permanent thing. Thus, it may change. Bertens 2008 adds that before deconstructionists arrive at this point, it has first uncovered the structure that operates in a text and shown us how these structures can be dismantled by making use of elements of text itself. From the explanations about post-structuralism and deconstruction, it is clear that post-structuralism is applicable in this study. It sees a text from different perspective. Thus, it reveals hidden meaning within a text.

C. Method of the Study

The researcher used library study in conducting this study. The primary datum was the lyrics of the song “M.I.A.” written by Matthew Sanders, the vocalist of American heavy metal band, Avenged Sevenfold. The song lyrics were taken from Avenged Sevenfold’s titled “City of Evil”. The secondary data were theories about poetry, post-structuralism, deconstruction, and some data related to the song and theories used in this study. The data were collected from printed books and online sources. There were several steps applied by the researcher in conducting this study. First, the researcher read the lyrics of the song “M.I.A.” repeatedly many times without listening to the audio track of the song. Then, the researcher listened to the song and read its lyrics simultaneously to get into the song deeper. Second, the researcher began to search and collected related theories in order to support the researcher in answering the formulated problems. The researcher also looked for additional information regarding the song from online sources.