FEMINISM SPIRIT’S REFLECTIONS ON ‘JORDAN O’NEIL’ IN G.I JANE MOVIE.
FEMINISM SPIRIT’S REFLECTIONS ON ‘JORDAN O’NEIL’
IN G.I JANE MOVIE
A THESIS
Submitted as the Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
BY:
JULI YOHANA ZEBUA
Registration Number 2113220021
ENGLISH AND LITERATURE DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS
STATE UNIVERSITY OF MEDAN
2015
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The writer owes her gratitude to The Lord Father who art in Heaven for
His blessing, grace, and kindness in her life. This thesis is aimed to fulfill the
requirements for S-1 degree of Sarjana Sastra at English and Literature
Department Faculty of Languages and Arts UNIMED.
The writer also owes many thanks to all people who have helped and
accompanied her in completing her requirements for being a Sarjana Sastra.
Owing to her limited knowledge and the sources of knowledge, the writer
would give her gratitude and respect to:
Prof. Dr. Syawal Gultom, M.Pd., the Rector of State University of
Medan (UNIMED).
Dr. Isda Pramuniati, M.Hum., the Dean of Faculty Languages and
Arts.
Prof. Dr. Hj. Sumarsih, M.Pd., the Head of English and Literature
Department and Syamsul Bahri, S.S, M.Hum., the Head of English
Literature.
Prof. Dr. Lince Sihombing, M.Pd., her Academic Consultant.
Dr. Sri Minda Murni, M.S., her Thesis Consultant.
Dra. Meisuri, M.A., and Drs. Elia Masa Gintings, M.Hum., her
Thesis Examiners.
All the lecturers in English and Literature Department, who
willingly taught the writer not only about English but also about life
and soft skill required to be a decent human living in beautiful
country, Indonesia.
Mom, Ibu S. Zebua, who never misses any single thing about the
writer in her prayer. Mom is the writer’s true feminist, beautiful
woman who deserves all good things in her life.
ii
Brothers, Sisters, Brothers in Law, Sisters in Law, Nieces, and
Nephews. Zebua’s family is the cutest and the most inspiring family
all around the world.
Om Ikin in Jakarta, who spreads his spirit toward his positive
thought. The man whom somebody will call her ‘home’.
FRIENDS, who never lie about any single thing about the weakness
and the beauty within the writer. Those who will call her Ante Uwik.
SSC, a beautiful place where the writer gets her real pocket money,
even more, the real teammates of nurturing seeds of life.
For all people who directly and indirectly help the writer during her
her journey of being a Sarjanawati.
Humbly, the writer realizes how near the mistakes are in completing this
thesis. Further suggestion and advice would be great tools to help this study
become helpful and useful. Blessed be the Lord.
Medan,
Juli 2015
Juli Yohana Zebua
Reg No. 2113220021
iii
ABSTRACT
Zebua, Juli Yohana. 2015. Feminism Spirit’s Reflections on ‘Jordan O’Neil’
in G.I Jane Movie. Faculty of languanges and Arts. State University of
Medan.
This study dealt with feminism Spirit’s reflections on ‘Jordan O’Neil’ in G.I Jane
movie. The study was conducted by using descriptive qualitative approach. The
objectives of the study were to find out kinds of oppression faced by O’Neil and
her feminism spirit’s reflections in term of oppression that she had faced. The data
were collected from dialogues and scenes in the movie. The object of the study
was Jordan O’Neil as the female main character. The study revealed that there
were three major oppressions faced by O’Neil according to Young’s theory: being
marginalized, exploited and experiencing powerlessness. Feminism Spirit’s
reflection on Jordan O’Neil in term of oppression that she had already faced were
three major parts: being persistent, independent, and courageous.
Keywords: feminism spirit’s reflections, Oppression, Jordan O’Neil, G.I Jane
Movie.
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
A.
B.
C.
D.
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................ i
ACKNOWLEDGMENT .................................................................... ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................... v
LIST OF APPENDIXES ................................................................... vi
CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION
E. The Background of The Study.............................................................. 1
F. The Problem of the Study..................................................................... 7
G. The Objective of the Study ................................................................... 7
H. The Scope of the Study ........................................................................ 7
I. The Significance of the Study ............................................................. 8
CHAPTER II – REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A. Review of Literature ............................................................................ 9
B. Theoretical Framework ....................................................................... 12
1. Movie
...................................................................................... 12
2. Opression ............................ ............................................................13
a. Exploitation ................................................................................. 15
b. Marginalization .......................................................................... 15
c. Powerlessness ............................................................................ 16
d. Cultural Dominance .................................................................. 17
e. Violance .................................................................................. 18
3. Women’s Oppression ................................................................... 18
4. Feminism ..................................................................................... 20
5. Feminism Spirit ............................................................................ 25
CHAPTER III – RESEARCH METHODHOLOGY
A. Research Design ................................................................................. 27
B. Data and The Source of Data............................................................... 27
C. Technique of Collecting Data ............................................................. 27
D. Technique of Analyzing Data ............................................................. 28
CHAPTER IV – THE DATA AND THE DATA ANALYSIS
A. The Data
...................................................................................... 29
B. The Data Analysis ............................................................................... 29
1. Analysis of Oppression faced by Jordan O’Neil ............................. 30
a. Being Exploited ........................................................................... 30
b. Being Marginalized .................................................................... 32
c. Experiencing Powerlessness ....................................................... 34
2. Feminism Spirit’s Reflection on Jordan O’Neil ............................. 36
a. Being Persistent ........................................................................... 36
iv
b. Being Independent ...................................................................... 40
c. Being Courageous ...................................................................... 42
C. Research Findings ............................................................................... 46
CHAPTER V – CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
A. Conclusions ...................................................................................... 48
B. Suggestions ...................................................................................... 48
REFERENCES ...................................................................................... 49
APPENDIXES ..................................................................................... 51
v
LIST OF APPENDIXES
Page
Appendix A. Table of Oppression Faced by Jordan O’Neil The ............... 51
Appendix B. Table of Feminism Spirit’s Reflections on Jordan O’Neil .... 54
Appendix C. G.I Jane’s Movie Script ..................................................... 62
Appendix D. Synopsis of G.I Jane Movie .............................................. 126
vi
1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. The Background of the Study
Movie is a kind of literary work which has widely been linked as a modern
literary work. Bannet and Royle (2004: 142) state that over recent decades cinema
is increasingly come to be incorporated into university literature courses and
literature professors have been pronouncing on films, as well as on novels, poems
and plays. It can be restated that movie, as a product of literary work, can be
examined into literary critics, since it depicts not only reality in the society but
also idea about current issue mushrooming all around this world.
Movie, as a literary work, is deeply rooted with this world and its social
issues. One of those social issues is feminism. Feminism, which stands with legal
and equal right between men and women in every aspect of their lives, has been
being put as object of working by film makers. They believe that feminism as
social movement needs to be diffused to the audiences in order that people
become aware of gender’s issues. Their working is one of many faces of
feminism, women oppression and women spirit standing against patriarchal
world.
G.I Jane, was a movie released in 1997 which was written by screenwriter
Danielle Alexandra and directed by Ridley Scott. The movie is about a woman,
Jordan O’Neil (Demi Moore), who becomes the first woman to undergo training
in U.S Navy Special Warfare Group. She is chosen by Senator Lilian DeHaven
(Anna Bancroft) from Texas, who criticizes the Navy for not being gender-neutral
2
and urges them to allow woman to follow the program. It is actually DeHaven’s
personal business behind that decision, something that is going to be revealed in
the last minute ending.
As Lieutenant Jordan O’Neil is more feminine than the other candidates, she is
chosen by DeHaven. After undergoing hard training, she shows her spirit of
feminism over demanding the same treatment and standard as the male trainees.
She wants to convince that a woman, as well as a man, has the same opportunity
to be equally treated.
In pursuing equal status, Jordan O’Neil experiences how it is called as
oppression. Hinson and Bradley (2008: 1) state that a person lives within
structures of domination and oppression, if other groups have the power to
determine his/her actions. Individuals experience oppressive conditions because
they are part of a group that is defined on the basis of shared characteristics such
as race, class, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, nationality, age, ability, or interest.
These major social groups have specific attributes, stereotypes and norms
associated with them. Individual membership in these groups is neither
necessarily voluntary nor necessarily acknowledged.
Jordan O’Neil, who was born as a woman in the male-dominated society,
finds herself in difficulties to stand against male domination. O’Neil not only
experiences male’s domination but also endures physical and mental oppression
during her time.
1
3
Young (1990: 37) states that injustice creates oppression and domination. In
G.I Jane movie, oppression and domination faced by Jordan O’Neil is the product
of injustice commited by those who disparage her. Young (1990) further defines
oppression into five faces of oppression. They are exploitation, marginalization,
powerlessness, cultural dominance, and violence.
Exploitation is situation when someone’s effort is controlled to benefit others
by manipulating them. Exploitation can be happened not only in the relation of
owners-workers but also in the relation of men-women. Women, who are linked
as ‘weaker’ creatures, are easily to be exploited. ‘women jobs’, for instance taking
care of sick people or babysitting are classified as lower paid jobs since they seem
‘easy’ and do not need any skill to do it.
Marginalization, in another hand, is situation when someone who is not or
cannot be used by society due to their race or disability. Some people are lack of
knowledge and skills, something that employers will not seek. One part of society
is involuntary unemployment who has given up on finding job, the elders, and
disabled persons who are treated as second class members. Women, for instance,
also experience marginalization when they are stigmatized as non-productive
members of society. Owing to their inabilities, it becomes easy for some classes to
marginalize and shut them out of real life.
Powerlessness, in general speaking, deals with status. When someone has no
status, they will be shut out of making decisions to the conditions of their
employment, and, beyond that, the basic conditions of their lives.
4
Cultural dominance refers to some group who claim that their culture and
history are more superior to any other groups. This belief drives them to rule and
force others groups to follow their system. They also claim that anything beyond
theirs is not acceptable. The last one is violence which is linked with situation
when someone suffers or humiliates owing to their status or class.
The way Jordan O’Neil pursues equality upon men-dominated society despite
being oppressed relates to feminism. Feminist Perspective seeks to evaluate
literary work from the standpoint of women as second gender and examines about
women’s oppression and struggles against patriarchal culture, a culture organized
in the favor of men (Guerin, Labor, Morgan, Reesman, and Willingham, 2005:
223).
Brooker, Selden, and Widdowson (2005: 115) claim that feminism has sought
to disturb the complacent certainties of such a patriarchal culture, to assert a belief
in sexual equality, and to eradicate sexist domination in transforming society.
Further, feminism movement is not only about equality in treating women but also
about contribution in enpowering women all around the world.
Based on the explanation above, it is clear that feminism deals about women’s
standpoints as second gender in patriarchal culture; why they struggle, in what
aspects they are oppressed by male domination, and what acts they do to fight
their rights as human beings that should be equally treated.
Women’s oppression and struggles against male-dominated culture had been
widely conducted by some researchers. Even though the study about G.I Jane
5
movie had not been conducted yet by previous researchers, there were three
writers who brought up feminism as their central issues. Their published works
simply influenced this research.
Gao (2013) Reflection on Feminism in Jane Ayre examined about spirit of
feminism in Jane Ayre character, a famous work written by Charlotte Bronte. Jane
Ayre cast a sharp contrast to the man-society. She lived in Victorian Period of
which society was man-controlled and man-dominated. Despite being lived in the
unfriendly society, Jane Ayre fought in pursuing her independence, equality,
esteem, and true love.
Wang (2010) in the research entitling A Representative of the New Female
Image Analyzing Prynne’s Feminist consciousness in The Scarlet Letter examined
about Hester Pryne’s character. This novel was a masterpiece of Nathaniel
Hawthrone which depicted Hester Prynne. Hester Prynne was the heroine of the
novel living in the Puritan society where colonial rule was combined by church
and state domination. Her feminist consciousness was carefully depicted and
reflected at the respect of her rebellious spirit, self-reliance and strong mind.
Ying (2010) in The Path to Jo’s Self-Realization in Little Women and Good
Wives examined about Jo’s self-realization as a woman living during American
Civil War. Jo was one of four girls in March’s family who appearred with innate
qualities featuring tomboyish nature and female independence and freedom in the
realization of her ambition as a writer. Historically speaking, in the mid-
6
nineteenth century, writing was a male dominated occupation, making it difficult
for her to become writer.
The study was designed to examine about feminism spirit’s reflections on
Jordan O’Neil in G.I Jane movie in term of oppression that she had already faced.
Even though there were many newly launched movies depicting women and idea
about feminism, G.I Jane was the one which had powerful messages that lead this
research to be done.
7
B. The Problems of the Study
In analyzing a literary work, it is important to make the problem of the study
in order to help the writer in analyzing the data. The problems of the study in this
research were formulated as following:
1) What kinds of oppression were faced by Jordan O’Neil in G.I Jane
movie?
2) What kinds of feminism spirit’s reflection were shown by Jordan
O’Neil in G.I Jane movie in term of oppression that she had faced?
C. The Objectives of the Study
The objective of the study is used to answer the questions or the problems of
the study. It will be useless if an analysis does not have its aim to be achieved.
The objectives of this study were:
1) To find out kinds of oppression faced by Jordan O’Neil in G.I Jane
Movie.
2) To find out kinds of feminism spirit’s reflection shown by Jordan
O’Neil in G.I Jane movie in term of oppression that she had faced.
D. The Scopes of the Study
In order to avoid a very wide and unfocused analysis, it is necessary to make
the limitation of the problem. This study were limited to the analysis of kinds of
8
oppression faced by Jordan O’Neil in G.I Jane movie and analysis kinds of
feminism spirit’s reflection shown by her in term of oppression that she had faced.
E. The Significances of the Study
The result of this study is intended to be useful, either theoretically or
practically. Theoretically, the result of this study can enrich readers’ knowledge
about analyzing literary work, especially analyzing movie combined with theory
of oppression and feminism.
Practically, the results of this research can be used as a reference in analysing
literary works especially from feminism’s and oppressions stand point, lecturing
about feminism’s movement and in conducting research about G.I Jane movie
from different perspectives.
47
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
A. Conclusions
After analyzing feminism spirit’s reflection on Jordan O’Neil in term of
oppression that she had faced, it could be concluded some important points of
analysis. The points were listed below:
1. O’Neil sufferred from three major oppression during her involvement in
SEAL training; being exploited, marginalized, and experiencing
powerlessness.
2. O’Neil showed three kinds of feminism spirit’s reflection in term of
oppression that she had faced; being persistent, independent, and
courageous.
B. Suggestions
Considering the conclusion above, there are some important suggestions
needed to be examined. They are listed below:
1. The result of this study is suggested to be used as the reference for
researchers who will conduct the same researches using feminism’s theory
or combinational theories to enrich the heterogeneities and variances of
literary works.
2. The movie, G.I Jane is suggested to be used as tool and material in
literature class that examines about feminism theory.
47
48
REFERENCES
Abrams, M.H. 1999. A Glossary of Literary Terms. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
Bennet, Andrew and Royle, Nicholas. 2004. An Introduction to Literature,
Criticism, and Theory. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.
Gao, Haiyan. 2013. Reflection on Feminism in Jane Ayre. Theory and Practice in
Language Studies, Vol. 3, No. 6, pp. 926-931, June 2013.
Guerin, Wilfred L. et al. 2005. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Hinson, Sandra and Bradley, Alexa. 2008. A Structural Analysis of Oppression.
Cambridge: Grassroot’s Policy Project.
Krolokke, Charlotte and Sorensen, Anne Scout. 2006. Gender Communication
Theories and Analyses: From Silence to Performance. California: SAGE
Publications, Inc.
Putri, Widya Ivani. 2010. The Spirit of Feminism Reflected in The Main
Character of Monalisa Smile Movie: A study of Feminism in A Patriarchal
Society. Thesis. Semarang: Universitas Diponegoro.
Rahayuni, Annisa. 2013. Semangat Feminis dalam Novel Saman Karya Ayu
Utami dan Novel Nayla Karya Djnar Maesa Ayu: Kajian Intersektual.
Thesis. Semarang: Universitas Negeri Semarang.
Scott, Ridley. (Producer), Scott, Ridley. (Director). (1997). G.I Jane
[Motion Picture]. United States: Largo Entertainment.
Selden, Raman., Widdowson, Peter., Brooker, Peter. 2005. A Reader’s Guide to
Contemporary Literary Theory. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.
Suryana. 2010. Metodologi Penelitian: Model Praktis Penelitian Kuantitatif dan
Kualitatif (Unpublished).
Swanson, Richard A. and Chermack, Thomas J. 2013. Theory Building in Applied
Disciplines. San Francisco, C.A.: Berret-Koehler Publisher, Inc.
Wang, Yamin. 2010. A Representative of the New Female Image Analyzing
Prynne’s Feminist consciousness in The Scarlet Letter. Journal of
Language Teaching and Research, Vol. 1, No. 6, pp. 893-897.
49
Ying, Zhou. 2010. The Path to Jo’s Self-Realization in Little Women and Good
Wives. Thesis. Kristianstad: Kristianstad University.
Young, Iris M. 1990. Justice and the Politics of Difference. Princeton, N.J.:
Princeton University Press.
https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/uk.hightide/basis.htm/ Accessed on March
24, 2015.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/exploitation/ Accessed on January 24, 2015.
http://www.wikipedia.com/index.php?term=femme/ Accessed on December
January 7, 2015.
http://www.etymononline.com/index.php?term=femme/ Accessed on December
29, 2014.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I._Jane/ Accessed on January 12, 2015.
http://www.imsdb.com/Movie%20Scripts/G.I.%20Jane%20Script.html/ Accessed
on June 8, 2015.
http://i.word.com/spirit/ Accessed on January 11, 2015.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/out-the-darkness/201208/why-menoppress-women/ Accessed on March 24, 2015.
IN G.I JANE MOVIE
A THESIS
Submitted as the Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
BY:
JULI YOHANA ZEBUA
Registration Number 2113220021
ENGLISH AND LITERATURE DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS
STATE UNIVERSITY OF MEDAN
2015
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The writer owes her gratitude to The Lord Father who art in Heaven for
His blessing, grace, and kindness in her life. This thesis is aimed to fulfill the
requirements for S-1 degree of Sarjana Sastra at English and Literature
Department Faculty of Languages and Arts UNIMED.
The writer also owes many thanks to all people who have helped and
accompanied her in completing her requirements for being a Sarjana Sastra.
Owing to her limited knowledge and the sources of knowledge, the writer
would give her gratitude and respect to:
Prof. Dr. Syawal Gultom, M.Pd., the Rector of State University of
Medan (UNIMED).
Dr. Isda Pramuniati, M.Hum., the Dean of Faculty Languages and
Arts.
Prof. Dr. Hj. Sumarsih, M.Pd., the Head of English and Literature
Department and Syamsul Bahri, S.S, M.Hum., the Head of English
Literature.
Prof. Dr. Lince Sihombing, M.Pd., her Academic Consultant.
Dr. Sri Minda Murni, M.S., her Thesis Consultant.
Dra. Meisuri, M.A., and Drs. Elia Masa Gintings, M.Hum., her
Thesis Examiners.
All the lecturers in English and Literature Department, who
willingly taught the writer not only about English but also about life
and soft skill required to be a decent human living in beautiful
country, Indonesia.
Mom, Ibu S. Zebua, who never misses any single thing about the
writer in her prayer. Mom is the writer’s true feminist, beautiful
woman who deserves all good things in her life.
ii
Brothers, Sisters, Brothers in Law, Sisters in Law, Nieces, and
Nephews. Zebua’s family is the cutest and the most inspiring family
all around the world.
Om Ikin in Jakarta, who spreads his spirit toward his positive
thought. The man whom somebody will call her ‘home’.
FRIENDS, who never lie about any single thing about the weakness
and the beauty within the writer. Those who will call her Ante Uwik.
SSC, a beautiful place where the writer gets her real pocket money,
even more, the real teammates of nurturing seeds of life.
For all people who directly and indirectly help the writer during her
her journey of being a Sarjanawati.
Humbly, the writer realizes how near the mistakes are in completing this
thesis. Further suggestion and advice would be great tools to help this study
become helpful and useful. Blessed be the Lord.
Medan,
Juli 2015
Juli Yohana Zebua
Reg No. 2113220021
iii
ABSTRACT
Zebua, Juli Yohana. 2015. Feminism Spirit’s Reflections on ‘Jordan O’Neil’
in G.I Jane Movie. Faculty of languanges and Arts. State University of
Medan.
This study dealt with feminism Spirit’s reflections on ‘Jordan O’Neil’ in G.I Jane
movie. The study was conducted by using descriptive qualitative approach. The
objectives of the study were to find out kinds of oppression faced by O’Neil and
her feminism spirit’s reflections in term of oppression that she had faced. The data
were collected from dialogues and scenes in the movie. The object of the study
was Jordan O’Neil as the female main character. The study revealed that there
were three major oppressions faced by O’Neil according to Young’s theory: being
marginalized, exploited and experiencing powerlessness. Feminism Spirit’s
reflection on Jordan O’Neil in term of oppression that she had already faced were
three major parts: being persistent, independent, and courageous.
Keywords: feminism spirit’s reflections, Oppression, Jordan O’Neil, G.I Jane
Movie.
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
A.
B.
C.
D.
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................ i
ACKNOWLEDGMENT .................................................................... ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................... v
LIST OF APPENDIXES ................................................................... vi
CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION
E. The Background of The Study.............................................................. 1
F. The Problem of the Study..................................................................... 7
G. The Objective of the Study ................................................................... 7
H. The Scope of the Study ........................................................................ 7
I. The Significance of the Study ............................................................. 8
CHAPTER II – REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A. Review of Literature ............................................................................ 9
B. Theoretical Framework ....................................................................... 12
1. Movie
...................................................................................... 12
2. Opression ............................ ............................................................13
a. Exploitation ................................................................................. 15
b. Marginalization .......................................................................... 15
c. Powerlessness ............................................................................ 16
d. Cultural Dominance .................................................................. 17
e. Violance .................................................................................. 18
3. Women’s Oppression ................................................................... 18
4. Feminism ..................................................................................... 20
5. Feminism Spirit ............................................................................ 25
CHAPTER III – RESEARCH METHODHOLOGY
A. Research Design ................................................................................. 27
B. Data and The Source of Data............................................................... 27
C. Technique of Collecting Data ............................................................. 27
D. Technique of Analyzing Data ............................................................. 28
CHAPTER IV – THE DATA AND THE DATA ANALYSIS
A. The Data
...................................................................................... 29
B. The Data Analysis ............................................................................... 29
1. Analysis of Oppression faced by Jordan O’Neil ............................. 30
a. Being Exploited ........................................................................... 30
b. Being Marginalized .................................................................... 32
c. Experiencing Powerlessness ....................................................... 34
2. Feminism Spirit’s Reflection on Jordan O’Neil ............................. 36
a. Being Persistent ........................................................................... 36
iv
b. Being Independent ...................................................................... 40
c. Being Courageous ...................................................................... 42
C. Research Findings ............................................................................... 46
CHAPTER V – CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
A. Conclusions ...................................................................................... 48
B. Suggestions ...................................................................................... 48
REFERENCES ...................................................................................... 49
APPENDIXES ..................................................................................... 51
v
LIST OF APPENDIXES
Page
Appendix A. Table of Oppression Faced by Jordan O’Neil The ............... 51
Appendix B. Table of Feminism Spirit’s Reflections on Jordan O’Neil .... 54
Appendix C. G.I Jane’s Movie Script ..................................................... 62
Appendix D. Synopsis of G.I Jane Movie .............................................. 126
vi
1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. The Background of the Study
Movie is a kind of literary work which has widely been linked as a modern
literary work. Bannet and Royle (2004: 142) state that over recent decades cinema
is increasingly come to be incorporated into university literature courses and
literature professors have been pronouncing on films, as well as on novels, poems
and plays. It can be restated that movie, as a product of literary work, can be
examined into literary critics, since it depicts not only reality in the society but
also idea about current issue mushrooming all around this world.
Movie, as a literary work, is deeply rooted with this world and its social
issues. One of those social issues is feminism. Feminism, which stands with legal
and equal right between men and women in every aspect of their lives, has been
being put as object of working by film makers. They believe that feminism as
social movement needs to be diffused to the audiences in order that people
become aware of gender’s issues. Their working is one of many faces of
feminism, women oppression and women spirit standing against patriarchal
world.
G.I Jane, was a movie released in 1997 which was written by screenwriter
Danielle Alexandra and directed by Ridley Scott. The movie is about a woman,
Jordan O’Neil (Demi Moore), who becomes the first woman to undergo training
in U.S Navy Special Warfare Group. She is chosen by Senator Lilian DeHaven
(Anna Bancroft) from Texas, who criticizes the Navy for not being gender-neutral
2
and urges them to allow woman to follow the program. It is actually DeHaven’s
personal business behind that decision, something that is going to be revealed in
the last minute ending.
As Lieutenant Jordan O’Neil is more feminine than the other candidates, she is
chosen by DeHaven. After undergoing hard training, she shows her spirit of
feminism over demanding the same treatment and standard as the male trainees.
She wants to convince that a woman, as well as a man, has the same opportunity
to be equally treated.
In pursuing equal status, Jordan O’Neil experiences how it is called as
oppression. Hinson and Bradley (2008: 1) state that a person lives within
structures of domination and oppression, if other groups have the power to
determine his/her actions. Individuals experience oppressive conditions because
they are part of a group that is defined on the basis of shared characteristics such
as race, class, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, nationality, age, ability, or interest.
These major social groups have specific attributes, stereotypes and norms
associated with them. Individual membership in these groups is neither
necessarily voluntary nor necessarily acknowledged.
Jordan O’Neil, who was born as a woman in the male-dominated society,
finds herself in difficulties to stand against male domination. O’Neil not only
experiences male’s domination but also endures physical and mental oppression
during her time.
1
3
Young (1990: 37) states that injustice creates oppression and domination. In
G.I Jane movie, oppression and domination faced by Jordan O’Neil is the product
of injustice commited by those who disparage her. Young (1990) further defines
oppression into five faces of oppression. They are exploitation, marginalization,
powerlessness, cultural dominance, and violence.
Exploitation is situation when someone’s effort is controlled to benefit others
by manipulating them. Exploitation can be happened not only in the relation of
owners-workers but also in the relation of men-women. Women, who are linked
as ‘weaker’ creatures, are easily to be exploited. ‘women jobs’, for instance taking
care of sick people or babysitting are classified as lower paid jobs since they seem
‘easy’ and do not need any skill to do it.
Marginalization, in another hand, is situation when someone who is not or
cannot be used by society due to their race or disability. Some people are lack of
knowledge and skills, something that employers will not seek. One part of society
is involuntary unemployment who has given up on finding job, the elders, and
disabled persons who are treated as second class members. Women, for instance,
also experience marginalization when they are stigmatized as non-productive
members of society. Owing to their inabilities, it becomes easy for some classes to
marginalize and shut them out of real life.
Powerlessness, in general speaking, deals with status. When someone has no
status, they will be shut out of making decisions to the conditions of their
employment, and, beyond that, the basic conditions of their lives.
4
Cultural dominance refers to some group who claim that their culture and
history are more superior to any other groups. This belief drives them to rule and
force others groups to follow their system. They also claim that anything beyond
theirs is not acceptable. The last one is violence which is linked with situation
when someone suffers or humiliates owing to their status or class.
The way Jordan O’Neil pursues equality upon men-dominated society despite
being oppressed relates to feminism. Feminist Perspective seeks to evaluate
literary work from the standpoint of women as second gender and examines about
women’s oppression and struggles against patriarchal culture, a culture organized
in the favor of men (Guerin, Labor, Morgan, Reesman, and Willingham, 2005:
223).
Brooker, Selden, and Widdowson (2005: 115) claim that feminism has sought
to disturb the complacent certainties of such a patriarchal culture, to assert a belief
in sexual equality, and to eradicate sexist domination in transforming society.
Further, feminism movement is not only about equality in treating women but also
about contribution in enpowering women all around the world.
Based on the explanation above, it is clear that feminism deals about women’s
standpoints as second gender in patriarchal culture; why they struggle, in what
aspects they are oppressed by male domination, and what acts they do to fight
their rights as human beings that should be equally treated.
Women’s oppression and struggles against male-dominated culture had been
widely conducted by some researchers. Even though the study about G.I Jane
5
movie had not been conducted yet by previous researchers, there were three
writers who brought up feminism as their central issues. Their published works
simply influenced this research.
Gao (2013) Reflection on Feminism in Jane Ayre examined about spirit of
feminism in Jane Ayre character, a famous work written by Charlotte Bronte. Jane
Ayre cast a sharp contrast to the man-society. She lived in Victorian Period of
which society was man-controlled and man-dominated. Despite being lived in the
unfriendly society, Jane Ayre fought in pursuing her independence, equality,
esteem, and true love.
Wang (2010) in the research entitling A Representative of the New Female
Image Analyzing Prynne’s Feminist consciousness in The Scarlet Letter examined
about Hester Pryne’s character. This novel was a masterpiece of Nathaniel
Hawthrone which depicted Hester Prynne. Hester Prynne was the heroine of the
novel living in the Puritan society where colonial rule was combined by church
and state domination. Her feminist consciousness was carefully depicted and
reflected at the respect of her rebellious spirit, self-reliance and strong mind.
Ying (2010) in The Path to Jo’s Self-Realization in Little Women and Good
Wives examined about Jo’s self-realization as a woman living during American
Civil War. Jo was one of four girls in March’s family who appearred with innate
qualities featuring tomboyish nature and female independence and freedom in the
realization of her ambition as a writer. Historically speaking, in the mid-
6
nineteenth century, writing was a male dominated occupation, making it difficult
for her to become writer.
The study was designed to examine about feminism spirit’s reflections on
Jordan O’Neil in G.I Jane movie in term of oppression that she had already faced.
Even though there were many newly launched movies depicting women and idea
about feminism, G.I Jane was the one which had powerful messages that lead this
research to be done.
7
B. The Problems of the Study
In analyzing a literary work, it is important to make the problem of the study
in order to help the writer in analyzing the data. The problems of the study in this
research were formulated as following:
1) What kinds of oppression were faced by Jordan O’Neil in G.I Jane
movie?
2) What kinds of feminism spirit’s reflection were shown by Jordan
O’Neil in G.I Jane movie in term of oppression that she had faced?
C. The Objectives of the Study
The objective of the study is used to answer the questions or the problems of
the study. It will be useless if an analysis does not have its aim to be achieved.
The objectives of this study were:
1) To find out kinds of oppression faced by Jordan O’Neil in G.I Jane
Movie.
2) To find out kinds of feminism spirit’s reflection shown by Jordan
O’Neil in G.I Jane movie in term of oppression that she had faced.
D. The Scopes of the Study
In order to avoid a very wide and unfocused analysis, it is necessary to make
the limitation of the problem. This study were limited to the analysis of kinds of
8
oppression faced by Jordan O’Neil in G.I Jane movie and analysis kinds of
feminism spirit’s reflection shown by her in term of oppression that she had faced.
E. The Significances of the Study
The result of this study is intended to be useful, either theoretically or
practically. Theoretically, the result of this study can enrich readers’ knowledge
about analyzing literary work, especially analyzing movie combined with theory
of oppression and feminism.
Practically, the results of this research can be used as a reference in analysing
literary works especially from feminism’s and oppressions stand point, lecturing
about feminism’s movement and in conducting research about G.I Jane movie
from different perspectives.
47
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
A. Conclusions
After analyzing feminism spirit’s reflection on Jordan O’Neil in term of
oppression that she had faced, it could be concluded some important points of
analysis. The points were listed below:
1. O’Neil sufferred from three major oppression during her involvement in
SEAL training; being exploited, marginalized, and experiencing
powerlessness.
2. O’Neil showed three kinds of feminism spirit’s reflection in term of
oppression that she had faced; being persistent, independent, and
courageous.
B. Suggestions
Considering the conclusion above, there are some important suggestions
needed to be examined. They are listed below:
1. The result of this study is suggested to be used as the reference for
researchers who will conduct the same researches using feminism’s theory
or combinational theories to enrich the heterogeneities and variances of
literary works.
2. The movie, G.I Jane is suggested to be used as tool and material in
literature class that examines about feminism theory.
47
48
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