POSTMODERN SUPERHERO AS A VIGILANTE IN THE ...Comics. New York: Harry N. Abrams. 2 Edmen, T. B. (2015). Power in Jeopardy: A Poststructuralist Reading of the Arthurian Legend from

ii

POSTMODERN SUPERHERO AS A VIGILANTE IN THE CONTEXT OF

MICHAEL FOUCAULT’S SUBJECT AND POWER RELATIONS FROM

JON FAVREAU‘S IRON MAN 2

THESIS

Submitted as a Partial Fulfilment of Requirement

for the Sarjana Sastra Degree of the English Department

Faculty of Cultural Sciences

Sebelas Maret University

by

Jadi Arif Dermawan

C0313028

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF CULTURAL SCIENCES

SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY

SURAKARTA

2017

iii

POSTMODERN SUPERHERO AS A VIGILANTE IN THE CONTEXT OF

MICHAEL FOUCAULT’S SUBJECT AND POWER RELATIONS FROM

JON FAVREAU‘S IRON MAN 2

THESIS

by

Jadi Arif Dermawan

C0313028

Approved to be examined before the Board of Examiners

Faculty of Cultural Sciences

Sebelas Maret University

Thesis Consultant

Drs. Hendarto Rahardjo, M.A.

NIP 196303281992011001

Head of English Department

Drs. Agus Hari Wibowo, M.A., Ph.D.

NIP 196708301993021001

iv

POSTMODERN SUPERHERO AS A VIGILANTE IN THE CONTEXT OF

MICHAEL FOUCAULT’S SUBJECT AND POWER RELATIONS FROM

JON FAVREAU‘S IRON MAN 2

THESIS

by

Jadi Arif Dermawan

C0313028

Accepted and Approved by the Board of Examiners

On …………………, 2017

Faculty of Cultural Sciences

Sebelas Maret University

The Board of Examiners

Position Name Signature

Chairman Dra. Sri Kusumo Habsari, M. Hum., Ph.D

NIP 196703231995122001 ( )

Secretary Karunia Purna Kusciati, S.S., M.Si.

NIP 198211242009122002 ( )

First Examiner Drs. Hendarto Rahardjo, M.A.

NIP 195207211979031004 ( )

Second Examiner Muh. Taufiq Al Makmun, S.S., M.A.

NIP 197806272005011003 ( )

Surakarta, …………………, 2017

Dean of Faculty of Cultural Sciences

Sebelas Maret University

Prof. Riyadi Santosa, M.Ed, Ph.D

NIP 196003281986011001

v

PRONOUNCEMENT

Name : Jadi Arif Dermawan

NIM : C0313028

I certify that the thesis entitled “Postmodern Superhero as a Vigilante in the

Context of Michael Foucault’s Subject and Power Relations from Jon

Favreau’s Iron Man 2” is neither plagiarism nor written by others. All theories

and materials taken from other sources are written in direct quotation or in

paraphrase. I am fully responsible for the pronouncement. If it is proven to be

wrong, I am willing to take any responsible actions given by the Faculty of

Cultural Sciences, Sebelas Maret University, including the withdrawal of the

degree.

Surakarta, ………., 2017

The researcher

Jadi Arif Dermawan

vi

MOTTOES

“Take advantage of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health

before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before your

work, and your life before your death”

(Prophet Muhammad)

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness trust

upon them”

(William Shakespeare)

vii

DEDICATION

To my Mom, Suyamti,

My beloved family,

My best friends,

And to American Studies scholars.

viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Praise be to the Lord

of the Universe, Allah SWT, for the peace, mercy, and blessings. Greet for the

Prophet of Muhammad SAW. May Allah SWT bless him, his family, and his

companions.

I would like to say Alhamdulillahirrobil‟alamin to express my feeling. I

was so grateful for my thesis accomplishment. And, I would like give special

thank for them who have supported me for my thesis.

I would like to say thank you very much for Prof. Riyadi Santosa, M.Ed,

Ph.D, Dean of Faculty of Cultural Sciences, for approving my thesis. For Drs.

Agus Hari Wibowo, M.A, Ph.D, Head of the English Department, I say thank you

for the approval and support. And, for all the lectures of the English Department, I

would like to thank for all knowledge, advices, and experiences during my study.

My special thank would be for Dra. Rara Sugiarti, M. Tourism, my

Academic Advisor. Your advices were so helpful during my study. For Drs.

Hendarto Rahardjo, M.A, my Thesis Consultant, I say thank you for helping me

finish my thesis. And, for Dra. Sri Kusumo Habsari, M.Hum, Ph.D, I would like

to say thank you for your help and your advice for the development of my thesis.

And, for my beloved Mom, I say thank you so much for supporting me.

For my family and my best friends that I could not write one by one on this piece

ix

of paper, I would like to say thank for your support. I am so grateful to have you

all.

Surakarta, ………., 2017

Jadi Arif Dermawan

TABLE OF CONTENTS

x

COVER ....................................................................................................................................... i

APPROVAL OF THESIS CONSULTANT ........................................................................... iii

APPROVAL OF THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS .............................................................. iv

PRONOUNCEMENT ............................................................................................................... v

MOTTOES ............................................................................................................................... vi

DEDICATION ......................................................................................................................... vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..................................................................................................... viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................... x

ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................ xiii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1

A. Research Background...................................................................................................... 1

B. Scope of Research ........................................................................................................... 9

C. Research Question ........................................................................................................... 9

D. Research Objective.......................................................................................................... 9

E. Research Benefits .......................................................................................................... 10

F. Research Methodology.................................................................................................. 11

G. Theoretical Approaches ................................................................................................ 13

H. Thesis Organization ...................................................................................................... 19

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................. 20

A. Postmodern Superhero .................................................................................................. 20

1. Postmodern .............................................................................................................. 20

2. Superhero ................................................................................................................ 22

xi

B. Vigilante ........................................................................................................................ 27

C. Discourse, Subject and Power Relations ....................................................................... 30

1. Discourse ................................................................................................................. 30

2. Subject and Power Relations ................................................................................... 35

D. Semiotic for Movie ....................................................................................................... 41

CHAPTER III: ANALYSIS ................................................................................................... 54

A. Discourses in Iron Man 2 Movie .................................................................................. 54

1. Government Management for The Common Good ................................................ 56

2. The World Peace Privatization................................................................................ 58

3. Public Interest over Individual Liberty ................................................................... 63

4. Tony Stark’s Individual Liberty .............................................................................. 67

B. The Postmodern Superhero ........................................................................................... 70

1. Iron Man’s Open Identity ........................................................................................ 71

2. Superhero with No Mask ........................................................................................ 74

3. An Inconsistent Superhero ...................................................................................... 76

C. The Vigilante ................................................................................................................. 80

1. An Ambiguous Vigilante ........................................................................................ 80

D. Iron Man’s Status in relation to the Discourses ............................................................ 84

CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ......................................... 92

1. Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 92

2. Recommendation..................................................................................................... 94

REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................ 96

xii

“POSTMODERN SUPERHERO AS A VIGILANTE IN THE CONTEXT

OF MICHAEL FOUCAULT’S SUBJECT AND POWER RELATIONS

FROM JON FAVREAU‘S IRON MAN 2”

Jadi Arif Dermawan1

ABSTRACT

Superhero has become an important consideration about concepts of heroism in

American society. As a popular culture product, the superhero has spread beyond

comic books and appeared in movies. It also becomes interesting discussions

academic study. One of the discussions among the scholars is about vigilantism.

To move the discussion further, this research examines examine a postmodern

superhero as a vigilante in the context of Michael Foucault’s subject and power

relations. By taking into account what Foucault advocates in his theory of the

subject and power relations, the status of Iron Mas as a superhero or a vigilante is

revealed by examining the discourse. As a result, Iron Man who presents an

ambiguous status – whether he is a superhero or a vigilante – is a superhero from

the discourse perspective. He can be considered as a superhero due to following

the discourse of superhero that is promoted by the society.

Keywords: postmodern, superhero, American society, vigilante, subject and

power relations

1 A student of the English Department, Faculty of Cultural Studies, Sebelas Maret University

1

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