MASCULINITY IN CRISIS AND THE MAINTENANCE OF

HETERONORMATIVITY IN BROMANCE GENRE AS SEEN

IN THE FILM ‘HUMPDAY’

THESIS

Submitted as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

Sarjana Sastra Degree in the English Department

Faculty of Cultural Sciences

Sebelas Maret University

By:

Sri Mulyati

C0312060

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF CULTURAL SCIENCES

SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY

2017

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Motto

“I will live my life” – 30 Seconds to Mars

“Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically and people will love it more”-

Christopher Anthony John Martin

“All we know is that we don’t know how it’s gonna be. Please, brother let it be.

Life on the other hand won’t make you understand, we’re all part of The

Masterplan” - Oasis

“I know the world is a broken bone but melt your headache call it home”- Panic!

At the Disco

“After difficulty comes ease. Surely after difficulty comes eas.” Al Insyirah:5-6

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DEDICATION

For everyone I have crossed paths in life with,

be it the ones who stay or those who get away,

you have made me who I am today,

so thank you.

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Acknowledgement

Alhamdulillahhirobbil ‘alamiin. All praises belong to Allah SWT. Without His

blessings, I may not be able to make it to this point.

Of my four and a half years studying in English Department, this past year has

probably been the hardest, most brutal period ever. Thus, it will be totally selfish

to claim that I win this battle by myself. In this opportunity, I would like to

express my gratitude to several people for giving a constant support while I am

finishing this thesis. They are:

1. Prof. Drs. Riyadi Santosa, M.A., Ph.D, the Dean of Faculty of Cultural

Sciences for the approval of this thesis;

2. Drs. Agus Hari Wibowo, M.A., Ph.D, the Head of English Department in

Faculty of Cultural Sciences for allowing me to write this thesis and

finally finish my study;

3. Dra. Sri Kusumo Habsari, M.Hum., Ph.D as my thesis supervisor who

have helped me a lot and given many inputs for the betterment of this

thesis. Thank you for all your patience, guidance, and incredible advice for

both academic and life.

4. Muhammad Taufiq Al-Makmun, S.S., M.A. as my academic supervisor

for all the academic guidance and also inspiration in every class he is in.

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5. Mamak, a mother who is more of a partner in crime for me. The talkative,

overprotective mother who simply wants the best for her children. I will

still be that stubborn kid but hey, it takes me this far, all right?

6. Bapak, my number one supporter who always believes in me. Thank you

for giving me permissions in almost everything when it is hard sometimes

to get one from Mom haha. I surely would not have made this far without

your incredible support. Thank you, Pak!

7. My fellow English Department batch 2012. I am glad I am kind of

‘trapped’ in this jungle full of amazingly controversial people (haha,

kidding!). Thank you for this amazing four year ride in ED12. My college

years will surely be less fun without all of you, guys! See you on top!

8. Mintol Squad aka American Studies students of batch 2012. The very first

people I would go to if I heard any latest gossips haha. There are six of

them: Irene Yolanda Sembiring for being the most loyal partner. I am

sorry that I am such a hard person to deal with, Ren but thank you for

staying with me for these past two years. It is nice to meet you and even

better see you grow up better and better. Just do not stop being so

enthusiastic in almost everything because that is what makes you

beautiful. Ujik: my ‘A-type’ friend who just cannot stop throwing some

annoying jokes. Seriously, Jik, just stop! But regardless of that, you know

that I love you, right? Dunur: the Pracie guy with an incredible ability to

throw some jokes even though most of them are receh. Seriously, Nur, you

would make a good copywriter. Last but not least, Simbah and Halimi

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(Yes, I have to put you two altogether) for being genuinely kind even

though both of you are recehan as well. These past two years are the most

stressful phase in my college years but it comes all easier with you guys

around.

9. My friends in LPM Kalpadruma, especially the fellow batch 2012: Asis,

Harun, Alieza, Jarwati, Devita, Meldi, etc who makes my life in this ‘little

tree’ easier. I hope you guys get to live your passion and succeed in life. I

would also thank the other Kalpadruma members: Icha, Mirda, Windy,

Umi, Siti, Ambar, Keket, Raras, Pungky, Zizah, etc for letting me learn

about everything, especially life. It is always nice to listen to other

people’s perspective about life.

10. My fellow KKN Malaka team! There are 24 of you so I will not mention

your name one by one. Thank you for the amazing journey in Malaka,

Lombok Utara and for this amazing friendship. I know I have been so low

maintenance with all of you guys but I want you to know that you have

scored a special place in my heart.

11. Mamih Way Sa ‘Ani and Fajrianur Afnan, two incredible friends who I

accidentally bump into on the internet and magically stay as true friend for

these past 6 years. I cannot believe we already know each other for that

long. Thank you for always listening to my fangirl rants and fulfilling my

need to ramble about pop culture. For Mamih, thank you for inspiring me

to make my dream come true. And for Fajri, it is totally a blessing to have

found someone as crazy as you. People with strong passion are always my

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favorite. Please get your degree soon so you are not someone who has

nothing to do anymore lol.

12. Apriliyana Sari and Dedy D. Nasution whom I met separately during two

of my remarkable journeys in university. Thank you for all the incredible

support and also faith that I will finally make it.

13. Last but not least, I would like to thank Coldplay, Oasis, and Manchester

United as the ultimate muses.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE……………………………………………………………………………..i

APPROVAL OF THESIS CONSULTANTS………………………………….ii

APPROVAL OF BOARD EXAMINERS……………………………………..iii

PRONOUNCEMENT…………………………………………………………..iv

MOTTO…………………………………………………………………….…….v

DEDICATION…………………………………………………………….…….vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT……………………………………………….…….vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS………,………………………………………………xi

ABTRACT……………………………………………………………………..xiii

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION………………………………………...……..1

a. Research Background…………………………………………...……….1

b. Scope of Study………………………………………………...…...……..9

c. Research Question…………………………………………...…...………9

d. Objectives of the Study……………………………………………..……9

e. Benefits of the Study……………………………………………………10

f. Methods of Research……………………………………………………11

g. Theoretical Approach…………………………………………………..12

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h. Thesis Organization……………………………………………….……19

CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………21

a. Masculinity in Crisis……………………………………………………21

b. Bromance Film Genre………………………………………………….25

c. Heteronormativity Discourse in Bromance Genre……………………29

d. Semiotic Film Theory…………………………………………………...33

CHAPTER III. ANALYSIS……………………………………………………41

a. Contextualizing Bromance as a Genre………………………………...41

b. Masculinity in Crisis……………………………………………………46

c. The Continuation of Heteronormativity in Bromance……………….72

CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSION and RECOMMENDATION………………86

a. Conclusion……………………………………………………………….86

b. Recommendation………………………………………………………..89

BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………90

APPENDIX……………………………………………………………………..96

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ABSTRACT

Sri Mulyati. C0312060. Masculinity in Crisis and The Maintenance of

Heteronormativity in Bromance Genre as Seen in the Film Humpday.

Thesis. English Department. Faculty of Cultural Sciences. Universitas

Sebelas Maret Surakarta

The objective of this research is to reveal how masculinity in crisis is

constructed and analyze how the myth of American heteronormativity is

maintained in the film Humpday.

This is a descriptive qualitatively research which is meant to find out the

portrayal of masculinity in crisis and the maintenance of heteronormarivity

in bromance film Humpday. Thus, the main data are in the forms of

images, dialogues, camera shots and angles, and lightings, and other

cinematographic elements. The supporting data are taken from online

articles on American socio-cultural situation related to the topic.

This research works under the framework of American Studies. It applied

interdisciplinary studies which combine theories and approaches from

other fields such as gender theory, semiotic theory, film and genre theory.

It also used socio-cultural approach to understand the context of American

society.

The result shows that the conventions in bromance film like Humpday

combines both man and woman films. This affects to the representation of

men where they start to embrace feminine quality. Feminization is also

influenced by the on-going situation in America where men becomes more

domestic. Apart from being feminized, men in bromance are also

considered as beta-male with gross body and sex life. They have started to

embrace queer identity as well. This categorizes them into masculinity in

crisis as they fail to live up to ideal standard. Moreover, Humpday also

makes several attempts to break the heteronormative boundary such as

passionate kissing between two men. However, heteronormativity myth is

still carefully maintained through bro-split and straight language.

Keywords: bromance, masculinity, homosocial, heteronormativity,

American film