Chapter 1 Introduction The introduction section consists of eight parts, namely, background, problem identification, project aims, project questions, methods of production, significance of the product, limitation of the product, and organization of the report. 1.1 Background Aladdin’s wonderful lamp, Ali Baba and the forty thieves, and The seven voyages of Sinbad the sailor are some stories which are popular throughout the world. These stories originally come from Arabic folktales which are compiled with the title of Arabian Nights or One thousand and one night. There is also Mulan, a story which is based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan. Mulan is also popular worldwide. Those stories are gained their popularity through animated films. However, film is not the only medium which can attract people’s attention. Another medium that can attract people’s attention is comic. Nowadays, Japanese comics or manga are very popular not only in Japan but also througout the world. Popular series like One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach have many fans throughout the world. Indonesia is a rich country. It is not only rich for its natural resources but also for its culture. Folktale is one product of the Indonesian culture. There are many 1 folktales in Indonesia, for example Malin Kundang, Roro Jongrang, Situ Bagendit, and Sangkuriang . Unfortunately, Indonesian folktales may not be as popular as “Mulan” and “Aladin” As far as I am concerned there is an emerging need for us to promote such products and gain the world’s recognition. Folktales such as “Mulan” and “Aladin” have been promoted through widescreen media. In order to show the world that Indonesia has a great folktales and legends. I have tried to combine an Indonesian folktale and manga as one of the popular media. I have taken and adapted the story of Sangkuriang since Sangkuriang seems to be the most popular legend and it is the privilege for me as Sundanese to preserve and retell the story. Moreover the comic is written in English as international language so that foreigners can enjoy the comic. Furthermore, I not only put the story of Sangkuriang into a manga style, but also adapted it into my own version of futuristic world to make the story more interesting and entertaining. Besides the setting of futuristic world, what makes the story more interesting and entertaining is the use of manga style illustration and the implemented interesting story tips by Tatsu Maki (2002). 1.2 Problem Identification There are several problems that I identified. First, there are very few comics about Indonesian folktales in English. Next, most of the comics that have been published are written in Indonesian, so foreigners may find it difficult to enjoy the 2 stories. The last, the comics about traditional legends I found are generally very old and the illustration may not be suitable nowadays. 1.3 Project Aims The aims of this product are to inform and entertain foreign and domestic readers. “To inform” means “to widespread” the story of Sangkuriang not only in Indonesia but also worldwide because it is written in English. The other aim is to entertain. The story is more entertaining in the form of comic, rather than just a text without any illustrations. 1.4 Project Questions There are several project questions related to the final project, namely: 1. How has the original storyline been adapted into a new version? 2. What kind of language style is used? 3. How is the text of the story converted into a Manga style comic? 1.5 Methods of Production In making the product, there are a number of steps involved in the process. The first step is collecting data. The method used in collecting data is library study. 3 The data taken for the library study includes books and the Internet. However, most data are taken from the Internet because there are several data that could not be found in Indonesian books. The next step is processing the data. Then the outline of the comic is made based on the data. The last step of the production is to make storyboard based on the outline, and then to convert it into a comic. 1.6 Significance of the Product Practical Values There are several benefits that people and I can get through the product. The benefits are: Because the project will be written in English, it can improve my vocabulary, grammar, and my writing skills The product is comic so it can also improve my drawing skills The project can be a reference for other English students in doing similar final projects in the future The product can entertain and enrich the knowledge of domestic or foreign readers The product can help Indonesian preserve the richness of their folk tales The product indirectly promotes Tangkuban Perahu which is one of the tourism places in West Java, Indonesia to both domestic and foreign tourists. 4 1.7 Limitation of the Product There are a lot of folktales in Indonesia. However, the story of the comic is limited into one story, Sangkuriang. This limitation is taken based on my background as a Sundanese and inhabitant of Bandung which the story of Sangkuriang is related to. So the amount of data which can be collected from the story will be easier to get than any other folktales in Indonesia. 1.8 Organization of the Report The report is divided into five chapters. The first chapter is about the introduction which consists of eight parts. Those parts are background, problem identification, project aims, project questions, methods of production, significance of the product, limitation of the product, and organization of the report. The next chapter is about literature review and theoretical frameworks. There are five sources that are reviewed on the literature review and nine theories on the theoretical frameworks. The third chapter is about the method of production which is used in this project. The fourth one is about the result and discussion. This chapter explains about the result of the project, discusses the answers to the project questions and the problems faced during the making of the product and the solution of the problems. The last chapter is about conclusion and recommendation for further study. This part explains the 5 conclusion that can be drawn from the whole project and the suggestion for future similar project. 6 .