A critical discourse analysis on Racial Stereotyping in The Lakeview Terrace Movie

ABSTRACT

The discourse of racial stereotyping is an example of unequal power relation naturalized by discourse. It is unvarying form or pattern of races, fixed or conventional notion or conception of races held by a number of people which can produce an inequality of subdominant group. A racial stereotyping sometimes published in certain medias, for example: movie. This study use a movie entitled Lakeview Terrace as a movie which reflects a racial stereotyping.

That movie is analyzed using the descriptive qualitative approach in finding and analyzing discourses of racial stereotyping applied. In analyzing the data found from the movie, the researcher comes to several processes. Firstly, finding the dialogues presenting discourse formation and its strategies, explaining the microstructure, superstructure and macrostructure to generate the main discourse presented based on theory of Teun Van Dijk. Secondly, explaining the strategies of discourse found where it naturalizes uncommon perceptions of race differences in society, and displaying those analyzed data in the form of tables which is completed with the analysis of three main approaches of Van Dijk’s theories. Thirdly, analyzing the main effect of generated discourse on white people as a subdominant group.

The researcher finds that most the statements uttered by the characters of Lakeview Terrace movie in type of words and sentence indicate racial stereotyping. Intention and expression elements are the most dominant elements of discursive formation in expressing racial stereotyping. The discursive strategies that use by the characters are normalizing certain subjectivities and eliminating others. To normalize discourse, some discursive formation divide the characteristic of white people for example, the white people are considered as weak race. This normalization actually eliminates other discourses which support that white people also have strength to protect their family.

Based on finding mention above, the researcher suggests to the next researcher concerns in the comparing certain medias having similar topic of discourse to analyze its effect the paradigm of society on discourse presented by using critical discourse analysis approach proposed by different expert.