DISCRIMINATIONS AGAINST BLACK-AMERICAN MINORITY IN THE HELP MOVIE

  DISCRIMINATIONS AGAINST BLACK-AMERICAN MINORITY IN THE HELP MOVIE A THESIS by Dina Ayu Fathania Student Number: 12.80.0040 FACULTY OF ENGLISH DEPARTMENT SOEGIJAPRANATA CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY SEMARANG 2016

  

DISCRIMINATIONS AGAINST BLACK-AMERICAN

MINORITY IN THE HELP MOVIE

  A Thesis presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Sastra Degree in the Faculty of Language and Arts

  

by

Dina Ayu Fathania

Student Number: 12.80.0040

FACULTY OF ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

  

SOEGIJAPRANATA CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY

SEMARANG

2016

A Thesis Approval THE DISCRIMINATIONS AGAINST BLACK-AMERICAN MINORITY IN THE HELP MOVIE

  By:

  12.80.0040

  Approved by, Dr. Ekawati Marhaenny Dukut, M.Hum, Dra, June 27, 2016 Major Sponsor

  

B. Retang Wohangara, SS., M.Hum June 27, 2016

Co-Sponsor

  

A thesis defended in front of the Board of Examiners

On June 27, 2016 and declared acceptable

BOARD OF EXAMINERS

Chair Person : Dr. Ekawati Marhaenny Dukut, M.Hum, Dra.

  ………… Secretary : B. Retang Wohangara, SS., M.Hum ………… Member : Angelika Riyandari, PhD ………… Semarang, June 27, 2016 Faculty of Language and Arts Soegijapranata Catholic Univercity Dean, Angelika Riyandari, PhD NPP: 058.1,1996.201

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I would like to thank Jesus Christ, who gives me blessing all the

  time. Without Him, I will not be able to finish my thesis. I also want to express my gratitude to all people who helped me in completing my thesis. I will never finish writing this thesis without their great help, sincere support, and advice.

  First, I really want to say thank you to my beloved family who always support and encourage me to finish my thesis. They are my mother, Retno Sri Murtini, my brother, Redityo Arif Fathan, and my partner, Radiyan.

  Second, I also want to thank my major sponsor who guided and gave me suggestions, ideas and advices. She is Dr. Ekawati Marhaenny Dukut, M.Hum, Dra..

  In addition, I also want to thank my co-major sponsor who corrected my grammar carefully. He is Retang Wongahara, SS., M.Hum. Without them, my thesis will not be done. Thank you, Mrs. Eka and Mr. Retang.

  Last, I want to express my gratitude toward my 2012 friends at the Faculty of Language and Arts. I especially want to thank my friends, Rani and Dian who always supported and encouraged me to finish my thesis. Thank you for your support and for being my friends.

  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  PAGE OF TITLE ......................................................................................................i PAGE OF APPROVAL ......................................................................................... ii BOARD OF EXAMINERS ................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................ v LIST OF FIGURES ..............................................................................................vii ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................... viii ABSTRAK ............................................................................................................ ix

  CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1

  1.1 Background................................................................................................ 1

  1.2 Field of the Study ..................................................................................... 4

  1.3 Scope of the Study ................................................................................... 4

  1.4 Problem Formulation ............................................................................... 4

  1.5 Objective of the Study .............................................................................. 4

  1.6 Significance of the Study .......................................................................... 5

  1.7 Definition of Terms .................................................................................. 5

  CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................. 6

  2.1 History of Afro-American Discrimination ................................................. 6

  2.1.1 From American Negroes to the Blacks Era ............................. 6

  2.1.2 From Blacks to the African-American Era ............................ 11

  2.2 Theories of Discrimination ...................................................................... 12

  2.3 Socio-Historical Approach ...................................................................... 16

  CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .................................................. 17

  3.1 Data Source ............................................................................................ 17

  3.2 Method of Data Analysis and Interpretation .......................................... 17

  CHAPTER IV: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS ......................... 20

  4.1 Analysis from Social Aspect ................................................................. 20

  4.1.1 Superiority ........................................................................ 20

  4.1.2 Genetic Discrimination ....................................................... 24

  4.1.3 Prejudice ............................................................................ 27

  4.1.4 Ethnocentrism .................................................................... 31

  4.1.5 Behavioral Confirmation Effect .......................................... 33

  4.1.6 Over Generalization ........................................................... 36

  4.2 Analysis from Historical Aspect ............................................................ 39

  CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ............................................................................. 52 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................. 55

  

LIST OF FIGURES

  Figure 1 Hilly refuses to use the guest bathroom .......................................... 20 Figure 2 Hilly is making dots in her tissue paper .......................................... 22 Figure 3 Introduction of Aibileen as a maid .................................................. 24 Figure 4 Movie theater entrance for colored people ........................................ 25 Figure 5 Skeeter persuades Aibileen to help her ........................................... 29 Figure 6 Yule Male was arrested and the whites ignore it ............................. 30 Figure 7

  Aibileen’s reaction to Skeeter’s offer................................................ 32 Figure 8 When Charlotte fires Constantine .................................................... 35 Figure 9

  Aibileen’s reaction to Skeeter’s offer ............................................... 39

  

ABSTRACT

The Help is a movie that portrays how Black maids view their employers

  during the application of Jim Crow ’s law in the 1960s. There are some discrimination phenomena that are interesting to be analyze in this movie. That is why the writer interested to find out the tragic phenomena in the movie and compare it with the US history in the 1960s. The writer describes the kinds of social discriminations the Blacks people experience in the movie and explains how the movie The Help reflects the American Blacks history using the socio-historical approach. Sociological approach is used to analyze the society

  ’s behavior which deals with six factors that influence discrimination of the Whites toward the Black American. The six factors are superiority, genetic discrimination, prejudice, ethnocentrism, behavioral confirmation effect, and over generalization. Meanwhile, historical approach is used to analyze the historical aspects shown in the movie. Because it is set in the 1960s, the writer uses the historical events of the Ku Klux Klan, Rosa Parks, and Jim Crow to analyze and interpret the movie. This study shows that factors of six discriminations shown in the movie is similar to what happened in the past, for example segregation in seat passenger in the bus, theater entrance, and bathroom. There is also riot in the movie that is similar to what happened in the history of Blacks in US. The riots done by the Blacks after the arrest of Rosa Parks in 1955 is similar to the riots done by the Blacks after the arrest of Yule Male. Rosa Parks was a Black woman who did not give her seat to White passenger in the buss. . The movie also shows how Ku Klux Klan’s terror haunts many Blacks when Medgar Evers is killed.

  Keywords: Discrimination, Black Minority, Segregation

  

ABSTRAK

Film The Help adalah film yang berceritera tentang bagaimana pembantu

  berkulit hitam menggambarkan majikan mereka pada saat hukum Jim Crows diterapkan. Rerdapat beberapa phenomena diskriminasi yang menarik untuk dianalasi dari film ini. Maka dari itu penulis tertarik untuk mencari tahu phenomena tragis di dalam film and membandingkannya dengan sejarah Amerika Serikat di tahun 1960an. Penulis menjelaskan macam macam sosial diskriminasi yang dialami oleh orang kulit hitam di dalam film dan menjelaskan bagaimana film ini mencerminkan sejrah orang kulit hitam amerika Serikat menggunakan pendekatan sosiologis dan sejarah dalam analisisnya. Pendekatan sosiologis adalah untuk menganalisa perilaku masyarakat yang berhubungan dengan enam factor yang mempengaruhi diskriminasi dari orang kulit putih terhadap orang kulit hitam. Enam factor tersebut adalah superioritas, diskriminasi genetic, prasangka, sukuism, efek konfirmasi pelaku, generalisasi berlebihan. Sementara itu, pendekatan sejarah digunakan untuk menganalisa sisi sejarah yang muncul dalam film. Karena waktunya di tahun 1960an, penulis menggunakan peristiwa sejarah dari Ku Klux Klan, Rosa Parks, dan Jim Crow untuk menganalisa dan menafsirkan film ini. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah beberapa diskriminasi di film serupa dengan apa yang terjadi di masa lalu seperti pemisahan di kursi penumpang di bis, pintu masuk bioskop and kamar mandi. Terdapat juga pemberontakan di dalam film yang serupa dengan apa yang terjadi di sejarah orang kulit hitam di Amerika Serikat. Pemberontakan tersebut dilakukan oleh orang orang kulit hitam setelah penangkapan Rosa Parks di tahun 1955 serupa dengan pemberontakan yang dilakukan oleh orang orang kulit hitam setelah penangkapan Yule Male. Rosa Parks adalah wanita berkulit hitam yang tidak memberikan kursi untuk orang kulit putih. Film ini juga menunjukan bagaimana terror Ku Klux Klan menghantui banyak orang kulit hitam ketika Medgar Evers dibunuh difilm.

  Kata Kunci: Diskriminasi, Minoritas Orang Kulit Hitam, Pemisahan