An Analysis of Humor resulted from Flouting Maxims in the Benchwarmers

ABSTRACT

A successful and good conversation can happen if the speaker and the hearer can understand each other’s utterances. In fact, some people intentionally flout the maxims, which create misunderstanding, when they communicate with others in some respects. The researcher found a case of creating a humorous text by flouting of those maxims. This research was done to answer two research problems: (1) What maxims are flouted in the comedy movie The Benchwarmers? (2) How do the flouting maxims create humor in the comedy movie The Benchwarmers? Those research problems had purposes to find out the kind of flouting maxims and how the flouting maxims can create the humorous effect in the comedy movie The Benchwarmers.

This study uses descriptive qualitative to answer the research problems that have been stated. This study uses qualitative methodology because it focuses on the process, it does not use any statistical procedures since it is not done to count the number and it is done inductively. It means that this study does not go from a hypothesis but from the theory that has been studied and from the data that have been collected. The primary instrument of this study is the researcher herself. The researcher collects the data by finding the movie, watching the movie carefully, understanding the conversation and examining which humorous text is caused by the flouting of maxim.

The result of this study shows that: (1) All kinds of flouting maxims were found in the movie. The characters in the movie flouted maxim of relation by answering someone’s question but the answer was not relevant to the question. Then, flouting maxims of quality was found in the movie when the characters told a lie or said something false. Moreover, flouting maxims of quantity was also found in the movie because the characters said something less informative when someone asked for information. The last, maxim of manner was found in the movie when the speaker answered someone’s question by saying something obscure or ambiguous, so that, the hearer did not get clear explanation. (2) The humorous effect created when the speakers said something irrelevant, said something roguishness or lied to hide the truth, said something less informative and said something obscure or ambiguous.