POSTMODERN SUPERHERO AS A VIGILANTE IN THE CONTEXT OF MICHAEL FOUCAULT’S SUBJECT AND POWER RELATIONS FROM JON FAVREAU‘S IRON MAN 2 - UNS Institutional Repository
POSTMODERN SUPERHERO AS A VIGILANTE IN THE CONTEXT OF
MICHAEL FOUCAULT’S SUBJECT AND POWER RELATIONS FROM
JON FAVREAU‘S IRON MAN 2
THESIS Submitted as a Partial Fulfilment of Requirement for the Sarjana Sastra Degree of the English Department
Faculty of Cultural Sciences Sebelas Maret University
by
Jadi Arif Dermawan
C0313028
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF CULTURAL SCIENCES
SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY
SURAKARTA
2017
POSTMODERN SUPERHERO AS A VIGILANTE IN THE CONTEXT OF
MICHAEL FOUCAULT’S SUBJECT AND POWER RELATIONS FROM
JON FAVREAU‘S IRON MAN 2
THESIS
by
Jadi Arif Dermawan
C0313028
Approved to be examined before the Board of Examiners Faculty of Cultural Sciences
Sebelas Maret University Thesis Consultant Drs. Hendarto Rahardjo, M.A.
NIP 196303281992011001 Head of English Department Drs. Agus Hari Wibowo, M.A., Ph.D.
NIP 196708301993021001
POSTMODERN SUPERHERO AS A VIGILANTE IN THE CONTEXT OF
MICHAEL FOUCAULT’S SUBJECT AND POWER RELATIONS FROM
JON FAVREAU‘S IRON MAN 2
THESIS
by
Jadi Arif Dermawan
C0313028
Accepted and Approved by the Board of Examiners On …………………, 2017
Faculty of Cultural Sciences Sebelas Maret University
The Board of Examiners
Position Name Signature
Chairman Dra. Sri Kusumo Habsari, M. Hum., Ph.D NIP 196703231995122001 ( ) Secretary Karunia Purna Kusciati, S.S., M.Si.
NIP 198211242009122002 ( ) First Examiner Drs. Hendarto Rahardjo, M.A. NIP 195207211979031004 ( ) Second Examiner Muh. Taufiq Al Makmun, S.S., M.A. NIP 197806272005011003 ( )
Surakarta,
…………………, 2017
Dean of Faculty of Cultural Sciences Sebelas Maret University
Prof. Riyadi Santosa, M.Ed, Ph.D NIP 196003281986011001
PRONOUNCEMENT
Name : Jadi Arif Dermawan NIM : C0313028 I certify that the thesis entitled
“Postmodern Superhero as a Vigilante in the Context of Michael Foucault’s Subject and Power Relations from Jon
Favreau’s Iron Man 2” is neither plagiarism nor written by others. All theories
and materials taken from other sources are written in direct quotation or in paraphrase. I am fully responsible for the pronouncement. If it is proven to be wrong, I am willing to take any responsible actions given by the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Sebelas Maret University, including the withdrawal of the degree.
Surakarta, ………., 2017
The researcher Jadi Arif Dermawan
MOTTOES
“Take advantage of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before your work, and your life before your death”
(Prophet Muhammad) “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness trust upon them”
(William Shakespeare)
DEDICATION
To my Mom, Suyamti, My beloved family,
My best friends, And to American Studies scholars.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Praise be to the Lord of the Universe, Allah SWT, for the peace, mercy, and blessings. Greet for the Prophet of Muhammad SAW. May Allah SWT bless him, his family, and his companions.
I would like to say
Alhamdulillahirrobil‟alamin to express my feeling. I
was so grateful for my thesis accomplishment. And, I would like give special thank for them who have supported me for my thesis.
I would like to say thank you very much for Prof. Riyadi Santosa, M.Ed, Ph.D, Dean of Faculty of Cultural Sciences, for approving my thesis. For Drs.
Agus Hari Wibowo, M.A, Ph.D, Head of the English Department, I say thank you for the approval and support. And, for all the lectures of the English Department, I would like to thank for all knowledge, advices, and experiences during my study.
My special thank would be for Dra. Rara Sugiarti, M. Tourism, my Academic Advisor. Your advices were so helpful during my study. For Drs.
Hendarto Rahardjo, M.A, my Thesis Consultant, I say thank you for helping me finish my thesis. And, for Dra. Sri Kusumo Habsari, M.Hum, Ph.D, I would like to say thank you for your help and your advice for the development of my thesis.
And, for my beloved Mom, I say thank you so much for supporting me. For my family and my best friends that I could not write one by one on this piece of paper, I would like to say thank for your support. I am so grateful to have you all.
Surakarta, ………., 2017 Jadi Arif Dermawan
TABLE OF CONTENTS
COVER ....................................................................................................................................... i
APPROVAL OF THESIS CONSULTANTCHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
............................................................................. 20 A. Postmodern Superhero .................................................................................................. 20 1.
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW
Theoretical Approaches ................................................................................................ 13 H. Thesis Organization ...................................................................................................... 19
Research Objective.......................................................................................................... 9 E. Research Benefits .......................................................................................................... 10 F. Research Methodology.................................................................................................. 11 G.
Scope of Research ........................................................................................................... 9 C. Research Question ........................................................................................................... 9 D.
............................................................................................ 1 A. Research Background...................................................................................................... 1 B.
............................................................................................................................ xiii
........................................................................... iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................... x
ABSTRACT..................................................................................................... viii
DEDICATION ......................................................................................................................... vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT............................................................................................................................... vi
MOTTOES
............................................................................................................... v
APPROVAL OF THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS .............................................................. iv
PRONOUNCEMENTPostmodern .............................................................................................................. 20 2. Superhero ................................................................................................................ 22
B.
Vigilante ........................................................................................................................ 27 C. Discourse, Subject and Power Relations ....................................................................... 30 1.
Discourse ................................................................................................................. 30 2. Subject and Power Relations ................................................................................... 35 D. Semiotic for Movie ....................................................................................................... 41
CHAPTER III: ANALYSIS ................................................................................................... 54
A. Discourses in Iron Man 2 Movie .................................................................................. 54 1. Government Management for The Common Good ................................................ 56 2. The World Peace Privatization................................................................................ 58 3. Public Interest over Individual Liberty ................................................................... 63 4. Tony Stark’s Individual Liberty .............................................................................. 67 B. The Postmodern Superhero ........................................................................................... 70 1. Iron Man’s Open Identity ........................................................................................ 71 2. Superhero with No Mask ........................................................................................ 74 3. An Inconsistent Superhero ...................................................................................... 76 C. The Vigilante ................................................................................................................. 80 1. An Ambiguous Vigilante ........................................................................................ 80 D. Iron Man’s Status in relation to the Discourses ............................................................ 84CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ......................................... 92
1. Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 92 2. Recommendation..................................................................................................... 94REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................ 96
“POSTMODERN SUPERHERO AS A VIGILANTE IN THE CONTEXT
OF MICHAEL FOUCAULT’S SUBJECT AND POWER RELATIONS
FROM JON FAVREAU‘S IRON MAN 2”
1 Jadi Arif Dermawan
ABSTRACT
Superhero has become an important consideration about concepts of heroism in American society. As a popular culture product, the superhero has spread beyond comic books and appeared in movies. It also becomes interesting discussions academic study. One of the discussions among the scholars is about vigilantism. To move the discussion further, this research examines examine a postmodern superhero as a vigilante in the context of Michael Foucault’s subject and power relations. By taking into account what Foucault advocates in his theory of the subject and power relations, the status of Iron Mas as a superhero or a vigilante is revealed by examining the discourse. As a result, Iron Man who presents an ambiguous status
- – whether he is a superhero or a vigilante – is a superhero from the discourse perspective. He can be considered as a superhero due to following the discourse of superhero that is promoted by the society.
Keywords: postmodern, superhero, American society, vigilante, subject and
power relations