A Study of Politeness Strategies and Flouting of Maxim Used in The Dead Poets Society 1989 Movie

Abstract

The aims of this research were to find out (1) whether the types of politeness strategies in The Dead Poets Society movie are in accordance with politeness strategies proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987) or not, (2) what type of politeness strategies most frequently appeared in The Dead Poets Society movie, (3) which character(s) use politeness strategies most frequently than the others, and (4) what type of flouting maxims based on Grice’s maxim most frequently appeared in The Dead Poets Society movie. The design of this research is a descriptive qualitative research. The data of the research were in the form of utterances that contained politeness strategies and cooperation and implicature (flouting of maxim). The result shows that (1) the types of politeness strategies in The Dead Poets Society movie are in accordance with politeness strategies proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987); (2) Bald on Record is the most frequent politeness strategies appeared in The Dead Poets Society movie; (3) there are three characters who used politeness strategies more frequently in requesting something, they are John Keating, Mr.Perry, and Mr.Nolan and (4) Violating maxim of manner is the most frequently appeared in The Dead Poets Society movie. It can be indicated that Bald on Record is mostly used by the characters because there is a power, social status, or close relationship among the characters. Moreover, maxim of manner is mostly flouted by the characters because there is a misunderstanding or conflict avoidance.