MUTANT POWER AS SYMBOL OF AMERICAN IDEAL IN REALIZING THEIR DREAM REFLECTED IN X-MEN I BY BRYAN SINGER a Final Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Sarjana Sastra in English by Kukuh Tri Nugroho 2250404555 ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS SEMARANG STATE UNIVERSITY 2009 PERNYATAAN Dengan ini saya: Nama : Kukuh Tri Nugroho NIM : 2250404555 Fakultas : Bahasa dan Seni Jurusan/Prodi : Bahasa Inggris/Sastra Inggris menyatakan dengan ini sesungguhnya bahwa skripsi/final project yang berjudul: MUTANT POWER AS SYMBOL OF AMERICAN IDEAL IN REALIZING THEIR DREAM REFLECTED IN X-MEN I BY BRYAN SINGER yang saya tulis dalam rangka memenuhi salah satu syarat untuk memperoleh gelar sarjana ini benar benar merupakan kerja sendiri, yang saya hasilkan setelah melalui penelitian, pembimbingan, diskusi dan pemaparan/ujian. Semua kutipan baik yang langsung maupun tidak langsung, baik yang diperoleh dari sumber perpustakaan, wahana elektronik maupun sumber lainnya, telah disertai keterangan mengenai identitas sumbernya dengan cara sebagaimana lazimnya dalam penulisan karya ilmiah. Dengan demikian, walaupun tim penguji dan pembimbing penulisan skripsi/final project ini telah membubuhkan tanda tangan keabsahannya, seluruh skripsi/final project ini tetap menjadi tanggung jawab sendiri. Jika kemudian ditemukan pelanggaran terhadap konvensi tata tulis yang lazim digunakan dalam penulisan ilmiah, saya bersedia mempertanggung jawabkannya. Semarang, 28 Agustus 2009 Yang membuat pernyataan Kukuh Tri nugroho 2250404555 i APPROVAL The final project has been approved by the board of examiners of the English Department of the faculty of Language and Arts of Semarang State University on August 28, 2009. Board of Examiners 1. Chairperson, Drs. Dewa Made Karthadinata, M.Pd. ____________________ NIP. 195111181984031001 2. Secretary, Dra. Rahayu Puji H, M. Hum. ____________________ NIP. 196610201997022001 3. First Examiner, Henrikus Joko Yulianto, S.S., M. Hum. ____________________ NIP. 196907131999031001 4. Second Advisor as second Examiner, Intan Permata Hapsari, S.P.d., M. Hum. ____________________ NIP. 197402242005012001 5. First Advisor as third Examiner, Drs. Amir Sisbiyanto, M. Hum. ____________________ NIP. 195407281983031002 Approved by Dean of Faculty of Language and Arts, Prof. Dr. Rustono NIP. 195801271983031003 ii ABSTRACT Nugroho Tri, Kukuh. 2009. Mutant Power as Symbol of American Ideal in Realizing Their Dream Revealed in X-Men I by Bryan Singer. Final Project. Semarang: Faculty of Languages and Arts. Semarang State University. 1st Advisor: Drs. Amir Sisbiyanto, M.Hum. 2nd Advisor: Intan Permata Hapsari, S.Pd, M.Pd Keywords: Mutant Power, American Dream, symbolism Mutation is the beginning of evolution. People who evolve have god-liked powers which are far beyond of ordinary human. There are two types of power; those are physical mutant power and physics mutant power. These mutation effect the society which holds the American Dream as a belief. For many reason mutants does not believe the American Dream and they are going to berserk as they believe that they are more superior than the ordinary humans. On the other hand, because of the differences of power, human feel that mutants are dangerous and need to be separated from the society. But there are mutants who believe that mutants and humans can live co-exist in one society. The problems of this study are: what American Dream is revealed in the film X-Men; what characters of mutant power are revealed in the film X-Men; and how mutant power symbolizes the failure of American Dream in the film X-Men. The object of this study is the film entitled “X-Men I”. It is a 2000 film directed by Bryan Singer. In this study, the writer described the mutant characters and symbolized mutant powers which affected to the ideal of American Dream, and the movement of brotherhood of mutant; some theories related to the literature are used. The method applied in this final project is qualitative. The procedures of collecting the data include watching the film, reading the script, inventorizing the script to obtain the data related to the problems of the research, classifying, selecting, and reporting. The result of the analysis shows that there are three dreams of American people whether they are mutant or human. In fulfilling their dream, they use their own way. Those dream as a symbol as the failure of American Dream in building the society. iii MOTTO AND DEDICATION Motto: “You can if you think you can” (George Reeves) This final project is dedicated to: ♥ My beloved parents, Wagino and Tukirah ♥ My dear sisters, Fitriya Prambandari and Ummi Wahyu Rohmadhani ♥ All of my friends in sharing up and down moments iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Praised to Allah S.W.T, the most Merciful and the most Almighty, for the compassion, blessing, love, luck, gift and strength. It is because of His guidance I can finish my final project. I would like to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation to Amir Sisbiyanto, M. Hum, as my first advisor and Intan Permata Hapsari, S. Pd, M. Pd, as my second advisor, for the entire patience, valuable guidance, grammar correction, comment, and advice in finishing this final project. I would also like to express my deepest salutation to my examiner who have examined and given correction my final project wisely, my lecturers in the English Department of UNNES who gave me all their knowledge to me, hopefully, I can use the knowledge wisely. I also would like to express my deepest love to my parents and my sisters at home for their irreplaceable care and their unstoppable prayers for me, I love you full. My special thanks go to all of my friends in the Ventura Kost who share happiness and sadness together without any regret, especially for my roommate, Ibnu ”Sunu” Hajar, for lending me your money when I was broke. Weldhany “Jamboel” for allowing me to use his printer thanks a lot bro. Kadri, Agus, Paidin, Bebet, Paijan, Lulut “Bleu” Harcito and Temon for sharing their spirits in sport, especially futsal game, A-inu for never ending help in supporting me and accompanying me in campus, Tunggul for sharing laughable moments, and Riska, Ikasari, Erna, Evi, and Yani for inspiring me when I am down. Last but not least I v would like to thank to my KKN’s friends and my friends in B parallel class for the joyful and beautiful moments. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE OF PAGE .......................................................................................... i PAGE OF APPROVAL ................................................................................ ii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................... iii MOTTO AND DEDICATION ..................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................ v TABLE OF CONTENT ................................................................................ vii LIST OF APPENDICES ……………………………………………………. x I. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study ....................................................................... 1 1.2 Reason for Choosing the Topic ............................................................. 3 1.3 Research Question ................................................................................ 5 1.4 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................... 5 1.5. Significance of the Study ....................................................................... 5 1.6 Outline of the Research ......................................................................... 6 II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 2.1 Film ........................................................................................................ 8 2.1.1 Definition of Film ................................................................................... 8 2.1.2 History of Film ...................................................................................... 10 2.1.3 Film Genre .............................................................................................. 11 2.1.4 Elements of Film ………………………………………… ................... 12 2.2 Power …………………………………………………………… ......... 14 vii 2.2.1 Theories of Power .................................................................................. 14 2.2.2 Types of Power ....................................................................................... 16 2.2.3 Authority ................................................................................................. 18 2.3 Symbol ....................................................................................................... 21 2.3.1 Signs and Signals .................................................................................... 21 2.3.2 Symbolism .............................................................................................. 22 2.3.2 Type of Symbolism ................................................................................. 24 2.3.2 American Dream ..................................................................................... 26 III. METHOD OF INVESTIGATION 3.1 Object of the Study ................................................................................ 29 3.1.1 Synopsis .................................................................................................. 29 3.2 Sources of Data ...................................................................................... 32 3.3 Procedures