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CHAPTER 2
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
This chapter consists of the theoretical background for the analysis. The theories
will be used to analyze the elements of fiction and ecocriticism issues. The writer will
discuss the element of fiction in the movie such as character, setting, theme and symbol.
The theory of ecocriticism by Garard (2004) will help the writer to gain more and deeper
understanding in analyzing ecocriticism elements. They are nature aspect, the
environment and the relationship between human being and nature.
2.1. Elements of Fiction
Elements of fiction become an important part that will help the writer to analyze
the movie. There are so many elements of fiction such as character, setting, plot, point of
view, theme and symbol. Each of those elements of fiction has its function in analyzing
a story. In this thesis, the writer will focus on character, setting, theme and symbol as a
part of elements of fiction.
2.1.1. Character and Characterization
DiYanni (2001) stated that characters are the imaginary people that writers
create, sometimes identifying with them, sometimes judging them (p.55). Character is
someone who has some kind of identity, which is made up by appearance, conversation,
action, name and possibly thoughts going on in the mind (Gill, 1995, p.127). Characters
also refer to human being who represents some types of the people but only exist in the
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story. DiYanni classified characters into major and minor character. Major character is
also known as round character which has majority part told in the story.
Whereas, the function of minor character is to illuminate the major character. Kennedy
and Gioia stated that character is an imagined person who inhabits a story (2010, p.77).
Characters have their own personality within the story in order to make readers get
understanding about the story easily. As stated by DiYanni (2001), characterization is
the way of the writer reveals the information about his or her characters, characterization
is the means by which writers present and reveal character. The method of
characterization is narrative description with explicit judgment.
A story relatively has flat or round character. Flat character does not have any
substantial change in the story while round characters are complex and many sided; they
might require an essay for full analysis (Perrine, 1998, p.78). There is another character
that also classified into characters. They are static and dynamic character. Static
character is the same sort of person at the end of the story as at beginning. In addition,
the dynamic character undergoes a permanent change in some aspect of character,
personality, or outlook (Perrine, 1998, p.79-80).
2.1.2. Setting
Setting is one of the important parts of literature. It refers to place and time
where the character takes an action and play in the story. According to DiYanni (2001,
p.61), setting can be described as a function of a simple background for action and also
provides a culture and historical context. Gill (1995, p.148) also stated that setting can
be used to cover: (1) the places in which characters appear, (2) the social context of
characters, such as their families, friends and class, (3) the customs, beliefs and rules of
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behavior that give identity to a society, (4) the particular events or location and (5) the
atmosphere, including the mood and feeling that all the above elements create. Setting
can be divided into four parts. They are physical setting, social setting, chronological
setting and spiritual setting. According to Gill (1995, p.148), physical setting is a setting
that provides the story with expressed verbal information found in the story. Social
setting is a setting of the story which involves the society, including the beliefs and
assumptions of its characters (Kennedy & Gioia, 2005, p.125). Different from the
physical setting and social setting, chronological setting is the time that takes place in
the story such as hour, year or century (Kennedy & Gioia, 2005, p.124). There is another
setting that related to mood and feeling. Gill (1995) stated that spiritual setting is about
the atmosphere, mood and feel that all authors create or anything about the author views
and a reader can look at these and see what the author thinks about things (p.148).
2.1.3. Theme
Theme is not always about a moral or a message; it may be what the happenings
add up to, what the story is about (Kennedy & Gioia, 2005, p.212). Theme also
describes as controlling of ideas that tells audiences what’s happening and what the
central idea of the story is about. According to Sanger (1994), theme can be said as the
central or dominant idea of the story, and it is reinforced by the interaction of fictional
devices like character, plot, setting, and point of view (p.986).
In order to find a theme in the story, there are some questions that need to be
answered. (Kennedy & Gioia, 2010, p.185):
•Does the title indicate something to the reader?
•Does the protagonist change throughout the story?
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•Is the author making assumptions on how he views life?
•Any kind of symbolism, allusions or analogies in the story?
2.1.4. Symbol
According to Perrine (1998), symbol in literary meaning is something that means
more than what it is. It is an object, a person, a situation, an action, or some other item
that has a literal meaning in the story but suggests or represents other meanings as well.
(p. 216). Perrine stated that the ability to interpret symbols is crucial to get the full
understanding in literature, and that there are certain signs that need extra attention when
it comes about symbols. The elements can be seen as follow:
1. The clue contained in the story
2. The meaning that is supported by the whole context of the story
3. Must have different meaning in kind from its literal meaning
4. Have more than one meaning
2.2 Elements of Cinematic Composition
Cinematography is an art of movie photography that relates to the capturing an
images in the creation of a movie. It focuses on camera movement, editing, shot and
colors. These several compositions have been created in the process of making a movie.
2.2.1. Camera Movement
The camera’s movement incorporates what is essentially a human field of view.
Most movement of the camera falls within these natural human limitations. A closer
look at these camera movements will clarify these limitations (Boggs, 1991, p.90).
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2.2.1.1. Panning Movement
According to Boggs (1991), panning movement is about moving the camera’s
“line of sight” in a horizontal plane to the left and right. The use of this panning
movement is to follow the lateral movement of the subject (p.90). When a camera is
moved from side to side, this is known as panning1. Here the lens scans the scene to
provide the viewer with elements of a scene that cannot be included in a wide-angle
shot.
The example of panning movement camera
2.2.1.2. Tilting Movement
Moving the camera’s “line of sight” in a vertical plane, up and down is called
tilting which approximates the vertical movement of our head and eyes. This movement
also approximates the way people would normally observe the incident if they were
standing in the camera’s position (Boggs, 1991. P.91). Tilting the camera up can show
height. Tilting it down can show depth2.
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http://www.video101.org/pdf/sample_chapter.pdf
http://www.video101.org/pdf/sample_chapter.pdf
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The example of tilting movement camera
2.2.2. Colors
As stated by Boggs (1991), color attracts and holds our attention; our eyes are
more quickly attracted by color than by shape or form. Color is not only seen but is felt
emotionally by individual viewer (p.166). In addition, color holds a powerful position
among the elements of film structure which actually adds new richness of film
expression that immeasurably deepens the total work. Colors also always draw the eye
and response to color seems to vary from individual to individual.
2.2.3. The Composition of Movie Shot
According to Thompson and Bowen, shot is the smallest unit of visual
information captured at one time by the camera that shows a certain action or event
(p.1). In addition, Shot is smallest unit, which used to edit motion picture and refers to
an event which is recorded by one camera at one time (p, 203).
2.2.3.1. Extreme Long Shot
According to Soles (2009), extreme long shot is used to create a setting that can
frame a large area – cityscape, for example. Extreme long shot also can be defined as
human figure which is barely invisible. It can frame for landscapes and bird's eye views
of cities (Bordwell and Thompson, 2008, p.191).
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2.2.3.2. Long Shot
As stated by Bowen and Thompson (2009), the long shot is a more inclusive
shot. It frames much more of the environment around the person, object, or action and
often shows their relationships in physical space much better. This is usually considered
as a full body shot, wide but in close to a figure with head and feet visible in the frame
(p. 10).
2.2.3.3. Medium Long Shot
Medium long shot is defined as first shot in increasing magnitude that cuts off a
body part of the subject which also traditionally framed such that bottom of frame cuts
off the leg either just below or, more commonly, just above the knee. Medium long shot
also focuses on human figure which is prominent such as details in clothing, gender, and
facial expressions are visible (Bowen and Thompson, 2009, p. 16).
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2.2.3.4. Medium Shot
Medium Shot — when photographing a standing human being, the bottom of the
frame will cut off the person around the waist (Bowen and Thompson, 2009, p.29). The
medium shot frames the human body from the waist up. Gesture and expression now
become more visible (Bowen and Thompson, 2009, p. 29), human figure is most
prominent in the frame — eyes and the direction they look, clothing, hair color, and
style are all plainly visible. It is also certainly show who and may provide detail about
where such as, outside, apartment, store, forest and when such as, day, night or season.
2.2.4.5. Medium Close-Up
According to Bowen and Thompson, 2009, p. 30), the medium close up frames
the body from the chest up. It focuses on character’s facial features are rather clear —
where the eyes look is obvious, as is emotion, hair style and color, make-up, etc. This is
one of the most commonly used shots in filmmaking because it provides so much
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information about the character while speaking, listening, or performing an action that
does not involve much body or head movement (Bowen and Thompson, 2009, p. 30).
2.2.4.6. Close-Up
The close up is traditionally the shot showing just the head, hands, feet or a small
object. It emphasizes facial expression, the details of a gesture, or a significant object. It
is also provides a magnified view of some person, object, or action (Bowen and
Thompson, 2009, p.21). In addition, with the close-up, details are magnified. The viewer
is provided with smaller detailed bits of action that is taking place in the scene.
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2.2.4.7. Extreme Close-Up
As stated by Bowen and Thompson, (2009), the extreme close up singles out a
portion of the face (often eyes and lips) or isolates and magnifies an object (p. 33). It
focuses on detail shot, framing favors one aspect of a subject such as his or her eyes,
mouth, ear, or hand (p. 32). The extreme close-up is an extremely powerful shot.
Generally, it has twice as much of an effect on the viewer as does an ordinary close-up.
2.3. Ecocriticism
Ecocriticism" is the word on the recently published anthology entitled The
Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology (1996), edited by CheryIl
Glottfelty and Harold Fromm. In Opperman’s journal, Ecocriticism; Natural word in the
Literary Viewfinder, he stated that ecocriticism is a new critical movement that attempts
to link literary criticism and theory with today's ecological issues. Hannes Bergthaller
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stated that Ecocriticism is the youngest of the revisionist movements that have swept the
humanities over the past few decades.
According to Thomas K. Dean, Ecocriticism is a study of culture and cultural
products (art works, writings, scientific theories, etc.) that is in some way connected
with the human relationship to the natural world. Eco-criticism is also a response to
needs, problems, or crises, depending on one's perception of urgency. Another theorist,
Lawrence Coupe defines Ecocriticism as “the relationship between human and nonhuman life as represented in literary texts and which theorizes about the place of
literature in the struggle against environmental destruction.
Different from Bergthaller, Dean and Coupe, other theorist, Cohen stated that
Ecocriticism focuses on literary and artistic expression of human experience primarily in
a naturally and consequently in a culturally shaped world: the joys of abundance,
sorrows of deprivation, hopes for harmonious existence, and fears of loss and disaster.
Glotfelty, an ecocriticism theorist stated that ecocriticism takes as its subject the
interconnections between nature and culture, specifically the cultural artifacts of
language and literature. As a critical stance, it has one foot in literature and the other on
land; as a theoretical discourse, it negotiates between the human and the non-human. In
his journal, Ecocriticism: Natural world in the Literary Viewfinder, Opperman (1999),
stated that ecocriticism today is in a process of inventing and shaping itself, borrowing
largely from other disciplines and the natural science (p. 2).
2.3.1 History of Ecocriticism
The word Eco is short of ecology, which is concerned with the relationships
between living organisms in their natural environment as well as their relationships with
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that environment. A few years ago, an influential literary school has new historicists
which disagree that people cannot describe and talk about nature in any meaningful
sense because nature has a sense of social construct. From the journal of Kenneth Burke,
the writer Robert Wess wrote that in 1978, an ecocritic, William H. Rueckert, published
Literature and Ecology: An Experiment in Ecocriticism. Actually, it took a few years for
the term ecocriticism to catch on3. In the 1990s, it made its way to the title of an
anthology destined to become widely known: The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in
Literary Ecology, where Rueckert’s groundbreaking essay is reprinted. In her
introduction to this volume, Cheryll Glotfelty observes that by 1993 ecocriticism “had
emerged as a recognizable critical school, with a new journal, ISLE: Interdisciplinary
Studies in Literature and Environment, and a new organization, ASLE, acronym for
Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE).
The term “ecocriticism” was coined in 1978 by William Rueckert in his essay
Literature and Ecology: An Experiment in Ecocriticism. Interest in the study of nature
writing and with reading literature with a focus on “green” issues grew through the
1980s, and by the early 1990s ecocriticism had emerged as a recognizable discipline
within literature departments of American universities. Association for the Study of
Literature and the Environment, ASLE is a professional association which started in
America but now has branches in Japan and UK significantly. (Garrard, 2004, p.4)
Actually, there are so many early work of ecocriticism that were characterized by
a specific interest in Romantic poetry, wilderness narrative and nature writing, but in the
last few years Association for Study of Literature and the Environment, ASLE has
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http://kbjournal.org/wess2 (Retrieved April 14, 2013)
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turned into more general cultural ecocriticism, which studies of popular scientific
writing, film, TV, art, architecture and other cultural artifacts such as theme parks, zoo
and shopping malls. (Garrard, 2004, p.4).
2.3.2. Ecocriticism and Literature
Ecocriticism focuses on the relationships between literature and environment or
it can be described as how human relationships with their physical environment which
are reflected in literature. The ecocriticism is very broad because it is not limited to any
literary course. In the 1990s, ecocriticism is also defined as a separate discipline. It
became a particular interesting to literary critic.
Glotfelty, an ecocritic wrote in her journal What is Ecoriticism?, stated that
Ecocritics and theorists ask some questions which related to the ecocriticism theory.
How is nature represented in this sonnet? Are the values expressed in this play
consistent with ecological wisdom? How can we characterize nature writing as a genre?
Those questions have been discussed in the science of literature along with the
ecocriticism theory4.
According to Garrard (2004), Ecocriticism is unique amongst contemporary
literary and cultural theories because of its close relationship with the science of
ecology. In addition, ecocriticism has relationship with literature because this theory can
be combined with another theory such as feminism and postcolonialism. As an example,
Garrard stated that postcolonialism ecocriticism draws out the advocacy function that is
often embedded within postcolonial, animal and environmental literature.
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http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/glotfelty/ (Retrieved April 14, 2013)
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According to Barry, (1995, p. 254), there are also five points that become a
discussion between the ecocritics related about what ecocritics do:
1. The ecocritics re-read the literary work from the ecocentric point of view,
focusing on the representation of the natural world.
2. The ecocritics expand ecocentric concepts by using term or concepts other than
natural world, such as growth and energy, balance and imbalance, symbiosis and
mutuality, and sustainable uses of energy and resources.
3. The ecocritics emphasize special canonical to writers who frame nature as a
major part of their subject matter, such as the American transcendentalists, the
British Romantics, the poetry of John Clare, the work of Thomas Hardy and the
Georgian poets of the early twentieth century.
4. The ecocritics expand the scope of literary-critical practice by emphasizing on
relevant ‘factual’ writing, especially reflective topographical material such as
essays, travel writing, memoirs, and regional literature.
5. The ecocritics turn away from the ‘social constructivism’ and ‘linguistic
determinism’ of dominant literary theories by emphasizing on the linguistic and
social constructedness of the external world and instead of emphasis ecocentric
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values of meticulous observation, collective ethical responsibility, and the claims
of the world beyond ourselves.
2.3.3. Nature and Culture
In general, theory tends to see the external word as socially and linguistically
constructed. However, the ecocritics have different idea about the external world which
is called as nature. The ecocritics stated that nature really exists, out there beyond
ourselves, not needing to be ironized as a concept by enclosure within knowing inverted
commas, but actually present as an entity which affect us and which we can affect,
perhaps fatally, if we mistreat it. (Barry, 2009, p.243).
Barry adds more explanation about nature and culture:
We have nature and culture, and states part taking of both, and that all
three are real. He calls the outdoor environment as a series of adjoining
and overlapping areas which more gradually from nature to culture by
following this lines:
Area one: ‘the wilderness’ (e.g. deserts, oceans, uninhabited continents)
Area two: ‘the scenic sublime’ (e.g. forests, lakes, mountains, cliffs,
waterfalls)
Area three: ‘the countryside’ (e.g hills, fields, woods)
Area four: ‘the domestic picturesque’ (e.g. parks, gardens, lanes).
(p.246).
However, Garard argues that wilderness signifying nature in a state
uncontaminated by civilization (p.59). Besides that, Cronon (1996) supports the idea of
Garard. He stated that wilderness is the natural, unfallen antithesis of an unnatural
civilization that has lost its soul. It is a place of freedom in which we can recover out
true selves we have lost to the corrupting influences of our artificial lives. Most of all, it
is the ultimate landscape of authenticity (Garard, 2005, p.69-70)
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