Politeness strategies used by the characters in the movie Girl in the Basement

This study aims to analyze the politeness strategies contained in the movie Girl in the Basement. This movie tells a story of a girl who was locked up and tortured by her father in the basement for years without anyone knowing and the phenomenon of decency occurs in this movie. There are two problems to be solved in this study, namely: (1) What are the types of politeness strategies used by the characters in the movie Girl in the Basement and (2) Why did the characters use that politeness strategy. This thesis employs a qualitative approach in its use of concise and methodical descriptions of the phenomena under study. This study used a descriptive study approach to textual analysis to examine utterances’ characters in a script of the movie Girl in the Basement. The data were collected by first transcribing the movie. Then, the transcription was analyzed by identifying the types of politeness strategies by applying abbreviation codes to the relevant passages of utterance. The analysis was furthered by identifying the politeness strategies used by the characters in the movie. Lastly, the purposes of the characters used that strategy is identified by observing the conversation's context. The results of the study show that all politeness strategies (Bald on record, Positive politeness, Negative politeness, and Bald off record) have been used in the movie Girl in the Basement. The researcher found that of all existing politeness strategies, Sarah (a girl who was tortured by her father in the basement) tends to use positive politeness strategies. She uses this strategy to maintain good relations between herself, her father, and her children. She also hopes that this strategy can make the father and her children feel comfortable so that they are not tortured by their father and peace can be achieved. Meanwhile, Marie and Michael (Sarah’s children) emphasized the use of positive politeness strategies to maintain good relations and solidarity with their parents and sibling.