Politeness Strategies Used by The Antagonist Characters in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella Adaptation

Abstract

In the realm of linguistics, there is a strategy where people do polite behaviors to others called politeness strategies. This study aims to determine the types of politeness strategies carried out by the characters, especially the antagonists in the Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella adaptation released in 1997. Using the theory Brown & Levinson (1987) which explains that politeness strategies are divided into 4 types, namely positive politeness, negative politeness, bald on record and off-record. Using qualitative methods, researchers focus on collecting data through conversations with the antagonist characters in this film, namely the stepmother and two stepsisters when talking to other people. After the researchers finished analyzing, it can be concluded that the antagonist characters in this film use more positive politeness compared to other strategies with 15 positive politeness, 2 negative politeness and 1 bald on record. The existence of this strategy can show how power and social status influence the choice of language from a character.