deconstruction of european binary oppositions …

DECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPEAN BINARY OPPOSITIONS

TOWARD AFRICAN PEOPLE IN ZWICK AND

HERSKOVITZ’S BLOOD DIAMOND MOVIE

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

YOCEFRINO LEONARDI HIBUR

Student Number: 164214143

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA

YOGYAKARTA

2021

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ii




AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

YOCEFRINO LEONARDI HIBUR

Student Number: 164214143

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA

YOGYAKARTA

2021


iii


iv


v

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

I certify that this undergraduate thesis contains no material which has been

previously submitted for the award of any other degree at any university,

and that, to the best of my knowledge, this undergraduate thesis contains

no material previously written by any other person except where due

reference is made in the text of the undergraduate thesis.

Yogyakarta, July 06, 2021

Yocefrino Leonardi Hibur


vi

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH

UNTUK KEPERLUAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas sanata Dharma

Nama : Yocefrino Leonardi Hibur

Nomor Mahasiswa : 164214143

Demi membangun ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan

Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul




berserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan

kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan,

mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolahnya dalam bentuk perangkat

data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikanya di internet atau

media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta izin kepada saya

maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya

sebagai penulis.

Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.

Dibuat di Yogyakarta

Pada tanggal 06 Juli, 2021

Yang Menyatakan,



vii

Nobody is superior, nobody is inferior, but nobody is equal either.

People are simply unique, incomparable.

You are you, I am I.

~Osho~


viii

For My Beloved Parents and Sister,

I present this for you


ix

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I want to express my deepest gratitude to Almighty God. I feel

extremely blessed for giving me a lot of knowledge so I can finish my thesis. Only

with His unconditional love, I can pass all the obstacles and still keep going on.

I would also like to express my gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Gabriel Fajar

Sasmita Aji, M.Hum. for his passionate guidance and the precious time he has given

to me that make me able to finish this thesis. Then my gratitude also goes to A.B.

Sri Mulyani, Ph.D. as my co-advisor for the revisions and suggestions that enrich

my research.

I do also want to give my special gratitude to my family, Bapa Donasius

Hibur, Mama Petronela Ndia, and My sister Ecan Hibur. I want to thank you all for

the support and the best prayers for me. It does make every my steps much easier

to pass.

Lastly, my gratitude goes to all the lecturers and those who give color to my

journey, Nanda, Clara, Angel, Eri, Aska, Septian, Dimas, Natta, Revo, and

everyone who takes part in my growing process. I thank each of you for

accompanying me through ups and downs, for discussing with me, and for giving

me a new perspective of life. You all mean a lot to me.



x

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ........................................................................................................ ii

APPROVAL PAGE ............................................................................................. iii

ACCEPTANCE PAGE ........................................................................................ iv

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ..................................................................... v

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA

ILMIAH ................................................................................................................. vi

MOTTO PAGE ................................................................................................... vii

DEDICATION PAGE ........................................................................................ viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................. ix

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

ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................... xii

ABSTRAK ............................................................................................................ xiii

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

A. Background of the Study ............................................................................... 1

B. Problem Formulation ..................................................................................... 4

C. Objectives of the Study .................................................................................. 4

D. Definition of Terms ....................................................................................... 4

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE .................................................... 6

A. Review of Related Studies ............................................................................. 6

B. Review of Related Theories ........................................................................... 9

1. Theory of Social Context ........................................................................ 9

2. Theories of Postcolonialism on Binary Opposition .............................. 11

3. Theory of Deconstruction ..................................................................... 15

C. Theoretical Framework ................................................................................ 17

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY .................................................................. 19

A. Object of the Study.................................................................................... 19

B. Approach of the Study .............................................................................. 20

C. Method of the Study .................................................................................. 21

BAB IV: ANALYSIS RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ................................ 23

A. Binary Oppositions Constructed through the social Settings of European and

African People ........................................................................................... 23

1. African as Unsophisticated and Oppressed Society ............................. 24

2. African as Uncivilized Society ............................................................ 28


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B. Deconstruction to European Binary Oppositions in Blood Diamond Movie

................................................................................................................... 31

1. African Local Genius as Deconstructive Response to European

Domination Role ................................................................................. 32

2. African Humane Behavior as Deconstructive Response against

European Paradigm ............................................................................... 37

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION .......................................................................... 42

REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 46

APPENDICES ..................................................................................................... 49

Appendix 1: Summary of Blood Diamond Movie Script.......................... 49


xii

ABSTRACT

HIBUR, YOCEFRINO LEONARDI. (2021). Deconstruction of European

Binary Oppositions toward African People in Zwick and Herskovitz’s Blood

Diamond Movie. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters,

Universitas Sanata Dharma.

This thesis focused on Blood Diamond, the movie script written by Edward

Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, which is about a diamond mine and civil war

caused by the rebels, RUF (Revolutionary United Front) in Sierra Leone. The story

emphasizes the relationship between people who were depicted in the perspective

of European binary oppositions. The Europeans are superior and civilized,

meanwhile, Africans are inferior and uncivilized. However, the paradigm is

deconstructed in this thesis.

The objectives of the study are to identify the binary oppositions between

European and non-European (African) depicted through the social setting of Blood

Diamond movie. After finding the constructed binary opposition, the researcher

deconstructs the image between European and African by using a deconstruction

perspective. It aims to reveal the colonized superiority and break the European

paradigm.

In conducting this research, the researcher applies a postcolonial approach.

There are some steps done in this research. The first is to have a close reading of

the movie script. Then the researcher figures out the binary oppositions depicted in

the social setting of the movie. After that, the researcher analyzes how the Africans

respond the Europeans constructed binary oppositions. Lastly, the research draws a

conclusion. The method used in this research is the library research method.

The results of the study show there are two prominent social settings in the

movie script which are Africans as an unsophisticated and oppressed society and

Africans as an uncivilized society. Those social settings reveal that the Europeans

are constructed as superior and civilized, while Africans are attached to be inferior

and uncivilized. However, through the deconstruction perspective, the constructed

binary oppositions depicted by Europeans upon Africans are rejected. It turns out

that the responses and behaviors of Africans buried within the text prove that

African people also have their own paradigm of superiority and civilized character

depicted through the relationship with nature, cultural beliefs, and behaviors.

Keywords: deconstruction, binary opposition, European, African, Blood Diamond.


xiii

ABSTRAK

HIBUR, YOCEFRINO LEONARDI. (2021). Deconstruction of European

Binary Oppositions toward African People in Zwick and Herskovitz’s Blood

Diamond Movie. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra,

Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Skripsi ini membahas Blood Diamond, suatu naskah film yang ditulis oleh

Edward Zwick dan Marshall Herskovitz. Film ini bercerita tentang tambang berlian

dan perang saudara yang disebabkan oleh pemberontakan RUF (Front United

Revolutionary) di Sierra Leone. Cerita pada film menekankan hubungan antara

masyarakat yang digambarkan dalam perspektif oposisi biner orang Eropa. Orang

Eropa digambarkan lebih unggul dan beradab, sementara itu orang Afrika

digambarkan sebagai masyarakat yang rendah dan tidak beradab. Pandangan ini

merupakan isu yang ingin didekonstruksi dalam skripsi ini.

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengidentifikasi oposisi biner antara

Eropa dan non-Eropa (Afrika) yang digambarkan melalui latar sosial film Blood

Diamond. Setelah menemukan oposisi biner, peneliti kemudian mendekonstruksi

gambaran tentang orang Eropa dan Afrika dengan menggunakan perspektif

dekonstruksi. Hal ini bertujuan untuk mengungkapkan superioritas orang-orang

terjajah dan mematahkan paradigma Eropa.

Dalam melakukan penelitian ini, peneliti menerapkan pendekatan

pascakolonial. Ada beberapa langkah yang dilakukan dalam penelitian ini. Yang

pertama adalah membaca dengan detail skrip film. Kemudian, peneliti

mengidentifikasi oposisi biner yang digambarkan dalam latar sosial film. Setelah

itu, peneliti menganalisis bagaimana orang Afrika menanggapi oposisi biner yang

di bangun oleh orang Eropa. Pada bagian akhir, peneliti menarik kesimpulan.

Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode penelitian pustaka.

Hasil penelitian menunjukkan ada dua latar sosial yang menonjol dalam

film yaitu orang Africa sebagai masyarakat yang terbelakang dan tertindas dan

orang Afrika sebagai masyarakat tidak beradap. Latar sosial itu mengungkapkan

bahwa orang Eropa tampaknya lebih unggul dan beradab, sementara orang Afrika

lebih rendah dan tidak beradab. Namun, melalui perspektif dekonstruksi, oposisi

biner yang dibangun oleh orang Eropa untuk menggambarkan orang Afrika

dipatahkan. Ternyata melalui respon dan perilaku orang Afrika yang tersembunyi

di dalam teks membuktikan bahwa orang Afrika juga memiliki paradigma

superioritas dan karakter beradab yang digambarkan melalui kedekatan dengan

alam, keyakinan budaya, dan perilaku mereka.

Keywords: deconstruction, binary opposition, European, African, Blood Diamond.


1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

The story about colonialism has always been captivating and complex. It

brings the idea of conquering and ruling other people. Benjamin in his book defined

colonialism as the processes, policies, and ideologies used by the colonizer to

establish, conquer, settle, govern, and economically exploit the colonized people

(2007, p. xv). So far, European colonialism is the most distinctive and extensive

colonialism of all colonial contacts (Loomba, 1998, p. xiii). It almost encompasses

all over the world. As stated by Fieldhouse in Loomba that until the 1930s,

European colonies and ex-colonies reached 84.6 percent of the world. European

colonial had conquered and colonized so many places in the world, except Arabia,

Persia, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Tibet, China, Siam, and Japan (1998, p. xiii).

Richards in his writing said that colonialism has become a major factor that

triggered a rapid change in various fields, forced the change of a different culture

into a new form, then changed what was considered to be solid in society and

created a new model of identities (Richards, 2010, p. 19). Those changes in society

lead to the appearance of a superior and inferior paradigm. The colonizers saw

themselves as the standard of what a human being should be or as proper "self",

meanwhile, the colonized people were considered "other" which are inferior society

and less than fully human (Tyson, 2006, pp. 419-420). Furthermore, Bijay Kumar

Das explained in his book that the colonial powers sought to build a Western

superiority over the East which later formed the concept of binary opposition that


2

produced the idea of colonized as inferior and colonizer as superior (2002, p. 214).

Consequently, Western concepts of superiority give birth to racial stereotyping and

binary opposition such as the ‘othering’ of many people and their construction as

backward and inferior (Aji & Crima, 2014, p. 61). Laziness, aggression, violence,

greed, sexual promiscuity, bestiality, primitivism, innocence, and irrationality are

the image of the ‘others’ attributed by European colonists (Loomba, 1998, p. 107).

The stereotypes of colonized people, however, are also biased in literary

works such as movies. Specifically, it is tangibly depicted in Blood Diamond movie

script written by American filmmakers, Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz.

Blood Diamond movie, published in 2006, was set during Sierra Leone’s civil war

(West Africa) in 1991-2002. The movie concerns the exploitation of diamonds and

also the Africans in Sierra Leone that causes a civil war. Moreover, it emphasizes

the action and superiority of white people (European) in Africa during the war.

The social settings of the movie tell us how the social values, behaviors, and

systems of Europeans and Africans are described, whereby African societies have

more negative sides rather than Europeans. Europeans are described as superior and

dominant with the technology they have, while non-Europeans (Africans) are

described as inferior and uncivilized. The social settings that describe Europeans as

superior and civilized are concerned with the destruction and exploitation of the

land (Sierra Leone) and the Africans. That destructive and exploitative act

emphasizes the privilege of the Europeans as the surface representation. So far, the

researcher sees that the ideas of superiority and civilized society are more than just

the surface of power like destruction and exploitation, but also the relationship with


3

nature, cultural beliefs, tradition, behavior, and perspective of life can also be the

idea of the superiority of the movie. This paradigm is the idea that the researcher

wants to bring to the surface from Blood Diamond movie script as the

deconstructive works against Europeans’ rhetoric of civilization. Therefore, the

Europeans’ paradigm in Blood Diamond movie script which considered the ‘other’

as inferior and uncivilized is reversed to the different concept of superiority.

This writing is going to examine the paradigm or “tools” of the Africans

that represent their superiority. The social setting or context presenting Africans

being inferior, uncivilized, and barbarous in the movie script is the focus of the

writer to be articulated into a narration that shows African out of European

paradigms or concepts. Through “the tools” of Africans depicted in the movie script,

the researcher wants to articulate the oppressed consciousness of the colonized

subject and also to break the stigma of marginality, then to show that Africans also

have their own privileges compared to Europeans that make them also superior and

civilized.

This writing is important and also beneficial to be conducted because it

gives a new point of view that colonized people also have their superiority

comparing to the colonizer. Therefore, this study encourages people to not

stereotype and judge others or a certain group because of their race, gender, or

religion.


4

B. Problem Formulation

1. How are the European binary oppositions constructed through the existing social

settings of Blood Diamond?

2. How do the local genius and behavior of African people depicted in the movie

script deconstruct the European binary oppositions?

C. Objectives of the Study

Based on the problem formulations above, there are two objectives of this

research. First, the research is aimed to identify the binary opposition between

European and African (non-European) depicted through the social setting in Zwick

and Herskovitz’s Blood Diamond movie. The social setting of European and

African helps the researcher to see how they are presented. It will guide the

researcher to identify the binary oppositions given to Europeans and Africans in the

movie script. Then, as the critical point of this study, the researcher attempts to

break the constructed image between Europeans and Africans by using a

deconstruction perspective. It aims to reveal the colonized superiority and break the

European paradigm. The researcher wants to articulate the oppressed consciousness

of the colonized subject and also to break the stigma of marginality.

D. Definition of Terms

In this part, the researcher explains some terms related to the study. Those

terms are deconstruction and binary opposition. Both of those terms are clarified

below to give the reader a deeper understanding of the study.


5

Deconstruction, simply defined as a critique of the hierarchical oppositions

that have structured Western thought: inside/outside, mind/body,

literal/metaphorical, speech/writing, presence/absence, nature/culture,

form/meaning (Culler, 2000, p. 126). Deconstruction rejects any final definition and

hierarchical opposition system of text that put a certain group as more privileged or

valuable than the others.

Binary opposition, as stated by Caddon, is the essence of everything that

revealed through the opposition with another thing that has no quality at all, and the

perception of every subcategory is related to its distinction with another object

(Ahmadi, Mostaali, Piri, & Bajelani, 2013, p. 724). Binary opposition gives us the

opposite image between one subject and others. It describes to us how one subject

is more dominant than the others. In imperial perspectives, binary opposition is

described as the way of Western thought in seeing the world that establishes a

relation of dominance ( Ashcroft, Griffiths, & Tiffin, 2007, p. 19).


6

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

A. Review of Related Studies

In this part, the researcher reviewed some other studies. The related studies

were taken from some journals and undergraduate thesis. The researcher tries to

understand the related studies by reading and summing up some important points

of the studies.

The first related study is a journal article written by Uchenna Onuzulike

(2015) entitled A critical reading of Blood Diamond (2006) in the context of

transnationalism. It focuses on analyzing the conflict in Blood Diamond movies in

the context of transnationalism. It emphasizes how Africans and Westerners

contributed to conflict diamonds. Briefly, the study contains two important points.

First, African historical, political, economic, social, and cultural environments were

compromised by colonialism. This phenomenon creates wars and other atrocities in

Sierra Leone. Second, the implications of a colonial legacy suggest that both

Africans and Westerners participated in blood diamonds. Conflict diamonds are the

results of the exploitation by colonialists. Some Africans and Westerners continue

benefiting from and participating in the exploitation of conflict diamonds in many

ways, including physical and structural violence. The similarities of the two studies

are both of the studies discuss the same object which is the Blood Diamond movie.

Regardless of the similarities, there are also some differences between the two

studies. Onuzulike’s study of Blood Diamond focuses on conflict diamond seen

through transnationalism context, while this study focuses on the deconstruction of


7

binary opposition seen through the social setting or context of the movie script.

Moreover, the previous study aims to see how Africans and Westerners contributed

to conflict diamonds, while this study aims to examine Africans’ superiority against

European paradigm.

The second related study is the undergraduate thesis written by Indiwara

Pandu Widyaningrum (2018) entitled Deconstruction to Binary Opposition of

Postcolonialism through the Characterizations of Black Maid and White Mistress

in Stockett's The Help. The study focuses on deconstructing the constructed binary

opposition reflected from the characterizations of Black Maid Aibileen and White

Mistress Miss Leefolt. The researcher wants to prove that skin color does not

determine the qualities of a person. There are two important findings in this research.

First, Black Maid Aibileen are depicted as inferior, uncivilized, and exotic and

White Mistress Miss Leefolt is superior, civilized, and normal. Those constructed

binary oppositions are reflected from their characterizations in which Aibileen is

characterized as oppressed, poor, lack of education, impolite, nasty, and generous,

meanwhile White Mistress Miss Leefolt is characterized as dominant, wealthy,

polite, uncaring, rude, and perfectionist. Second, based on the deconstruction

perspective, Aibileen is also superior, civilized, and normal rather than Miss Leefolt.

It is because Aibileen has raised and educated White children since they were kids.

Moreover, Aibileen is the kind of woman who cares about others and has a big heart.

Then, she is not obsessive like Miss Leefolt. Miss Leefolt is normal because she

brings good value based on her manner and social status. The similarities of the two

studies are both of the studies discuss a deconstruction toward binary opposition


8

constructed by Europeans. Despite the similarities, there is also a difference

between the two studies in which the object of the study is different. If

Widyaningrum's research discusses Stockett's The Help novel, this study discusses

Zwick and Herskovitz’s Blood Diamond movie script. Moreover, deconstruction of

binary opposition in Widyaningrum's research is identified from the

characterization of characters, while in this research it is identified through the

social setting or context depicted in the movie script.

The third related study is a journal article written by Dearty Crima and G.

Fajar Sasmita Aji (2014) entitled Superiority of the Native Seen in the Tone of The

Track to Bralgu by Bozic Wongar. The study focuses on deconstructing colonizer

superiority as the surface representation and revealing the superiority of the

colonized as the representation of depth. It aims to explain how the tone of The

Track to Bralgu leads readers to the superiority of the colonized. There are three

findings in this study. First, the tone of the novel is cynical as depicted in the

cynicism in every expression of the Aborigine people. Second, the superiority of

the colonizer is depicted through the description of the whites exploiting the natives

by their superior and sophisticated equipment that they have. Third, the study

reveals that in the representation of depth, the colonized are superior to the colonizer

because they have a close relation to nature. Their skills and knowledge of nature

make them can dominate the colonizer. The similarities of the two studies are both

of the studies discuss a deconstruction toward the European paradigm of superiority.

Despite the similarities, there is also a difference between the two studies in which

the object of the study is different. If Dearty Crima and G. Fajar Sasmita Aji’s


9

research discusses Bozic Wongar’s the Track to Bralgu, this study discusses Zwick

and Herskovitz’s Blood Diamond movie script. Moreover, the researchers use the

tone of the text as the way to lead the reader to the superiority of the colonized,

while in this research it is identified through the social setting or context depicted

in the movie script.

B. Review of Related Theories

1. Theory of Social Setting

According to Suri, setting refers to understanding the place, time

relationship, and the social environment where the occurrence of the events

described. Suri also added that setting of places is about the location where the

occurrence of events, setting of time refers to when the occurrence of the events

described, and social setting, also known as social environment or context, is related

to the behavior of people living in a place social recounted in fiction (Suri, 2021,

pp. 42-44).

In this study, the researcher focuses on discussing the social setting (social

environment or context). Social setting highlights society’s habits, customs,

traditions, beliefs, way of life, and way of thinking and behaving (Suri, 2021, p. 44)

Comparing to the previous definition, Kim defines social setting or context in a

more specific way which is the physical and social environment that influence many

aspects of society's life, as stated below,

Building on the definition of a social environment, social context refers to

the settings influencing individuals' behavior, ways of living and thinking,

and other social standards, including a physical environment or culture in

which people live, and groups, institutions, social systems, or other

individuals that they interact with (Kim, 2019, p. 283).


10

Through the explanation above, social setting or context can be understood

as a theory that discusses the values, behaviors and the systems of society in which

they live and interact with. In literary works, social setting helps the reader

understands the social condition issues of the character within the text. As stated by

Meyer that context or social setting helps reader to be able to understand the

behaviors of the character and the significance of their actions (Meyer & Miller,

2019, p. 107). It describes the reader about the character’s social situations such as

behavior, culture, point of view, and way of thinking. Therefore, through social

setting, we can see how society and the surroundings are portrayed.

Analysis through social setting or context can be started from any point such

as social structures, social processes, or social behavior patterns (Earle & Earle,

1999, p. 4). Specifically, Earle and Earle in their writings define social structures

as external forces that shape how people approach their daily living activities and

relationship including factors such as technology, social class, demography,

urbanization, mass media, and many social institutions such as family, education,

religion, leisure, health, economy/work and government (Earle & Earle, 1999, p. 3).

Then the social process is related to the internal forces (e.g., perceptions, attitudes,

and values) that are central to the socialization of individuals in society (Earle &

Earle, 1999, p. 3). Meanwhile, social behavior patterns are about the social reality

that most individuals collectively acknowledge as guides to their thinking and

action and are closely related to various folkways, mores (e.g., societal or

community norms), and laws present in society (Earle & Earle, 1999, p. 3).


11

2. Theories of Postcolonialism on Binary Opposition

The postcolonial theory appears as the resistance toward the colonized

power. The term "postcolonial" covers all the cultures affected by the imperial

process from the moment of colonization to the present day (Ashcroft, Griffiths, &

Tiffin, 2002, p. 2). It discusses any impact related to European imperialism, as

stated clearly by Ashcroft, Tiffin, & Griffiths below.

The postcolonial theory involves a discussion about migration, slavery,

suppression, resistance, representation, difference, race, gender, place, and

responses to the influential master discourses of imperial Europe such as

history, philosophy, and linguistics, and the fundamental experiences of

speaking and writing by which all these come into being ( Ashcroft,

Griffiths, & Tiffin, 2003, p. 2).

From the quotation above, we know that postcolonialism concerns the

relation between the colonizer and the colonized people. It criticizes the ideology

that forces the colonized to internalize the colonizers’ values and speaks up the

resistance of colonized people, that old as colonialism itself, toward their oppressors

(Tyson, 2006, p. 418). Postcolonialism speaks up the struggle of colonized people

(the other) who struggle to get their identity by writing back to the center, telling

the colonizer that what they did was wrong and how their Western hegemony

damaged and suppressed the ideologies of those who were conquered (Bressler,

1998, pp. 267-268).

In postcolonial studies, the relation of European colonizers and colonized

people are seen through the concept of “self” and “other”. Tyson, in his book,

explains that colonizers tend to see themselves as the proper "self" which is the

embodiment of what human being should be, while the colonized is considered as


12

"other" which is less than fully human (different and inferior) (2006, p. 420). The

idea of "self" as a fully human being and "other' as less than fully human creates a

concept of binary opposition where the European (self) is depicted as superior and

civilized, while non- European (other) as inferior and uncivilized. Al-Saidi defines

binary opposition as “a principle of contrast between two mutually exclusive terms

which argues that the perceived binary dichotomy between civilized\ savage has

perpetuated and legitimized Western power” ( Al-Saidi, 2014, p. 95).

Rob Pope, in his book (2005, pp. 149-150), provides us a table that describes

the more specific binary opposition between "self" and "other". It shows a dominant

Western European mindset and cultural frame toward the world.

White Black

Civilization (corruption) Barbarism (innocence)

Culture (as repression) Nature (back to true)

Soul (trapped in the body) Body (expresses soul)

Christian (v. Christian v. Jew) Heathen (other religious)

God (the vengeful father) Devils (other Gods)

Reason (narrow rationalism) Feeling (intuition)

Intellectual (cerebral) Sensual (in touch with body)

Mental activity (white-collar) Manual activity (worker)

Sexual restraint (repressed) Sexual freedom (expressed)

Cleanliness (obsessive) Dirt (natural)

Science (inhuman) Superstition (folk wisdom)

Medicine (mechanical) Magic (holistic)

Classical music and dance Popular music and dance

Print culture (lifeless) Oral culture (lively)

Reserved (up-tight) Savage (‘cool’)


13

Self (as other) Other (as self)

Culturally ‘normal’ ‘Ethnic’

Familiar Exotic

Intellectual games Athletics

‘First’ world ‘Third’ World

‘Rich North’ ‘Poor South’

Computing and hypermedia Print literacy

Developed, independent Underdeveloped, dependent

Future Past

Table 1: Dominant post/colonial and neo-colonial mind-sets (and some muted

alternatives)

From the table above, we can see the systematic practice of binary

opposition that the Europeans (self) construct toward the world. From an

imperialism perspective, binary opposition is the way of Western thought to see the

world that establishes a relation of dominance ( Ashcroft, Griffiths, & Tiffin, 2007,

p. 19). It becomes the standpoint of European paradigms that structures people's

minds to see non-European as inferior and uncivilized. It creates a gap between the

two groups. Kumar Das explained clearly in his book that the colonial power had

exploited the colonized both politically and culturally and sought to establish the

superiority of the West that paved the way for the binary opposition that structured

people’s minds into ideas of the colonized people’s inferiority and the colonizer’s

superiority (Das, 2002, p. 214).

Another specific form of “othering” in postcolonial studies is called

Orientalism. It is proposed by Edward Said. In the theory, Said especially discusses

the contrast between the West (Europe) and the East and the style of how the West

controls the East. Said’s Orientalism identifies European cultural traditions that


14

consider the East as "other" and inferior to the West (Barry, 2017, p. 140). West

puts the other (East) as the repository or projection of themselves (Westerners)

(Barry, 2017, p. 140). Edward Said in his Orientalism said that Europeans are

always described as rational, virtuous, mature, and "normal", meanwhile people

other than Europeans (or the Oriental as the Europeans call) are described as

opposing the clarity, directness, and nobility (Said, 2003, pp. 39-40). The purpose

is to produce a positive national self-definition for Western nations by contrast with

Eastern nations on which the West projects all the negative characteristics for

Eastern (Tyson, 2006, p. 420). Therefore, Tyson said that,

Thus, the Chinese or the Arabs, or whatever Asian or Middle Eastern

population are politically defined as cruel, sneaky, evil, cunning, dishonest,

given to sexual promiscuity and perversion. Citizens of the West then define

themselves, in contrast to the imaginary “oriental” they’ve created, as kind,

straightforward, good, upright, honest, and moral (Tyson, 2006, pp. 420-

421).

Orientalism lives academically through its doctrine and then many writers

have accepted the distinction between West and East as the basic point when they

write some works about East people, customs, minds, destiny (Said, 2003, pp. 2-3).

Therefore, European culture can manage and produce any aspects of the East

(politics, ideology, social). Edward Said’s Orientalism examines how Eurocentrism

not only influences and alters, but produces other cultures ( Ashcroft, Griffiths, &

Tiffin, 2007, p. 85). Orientalism is more about the Western style of dominating,

restructuring, having authority over the orient (Said, 2003, p. 3).


15

3. Theory of Deconstruction

Deconstruction is a way of reading text introduced by a French philosopher,

Jacques Derrida. Deconstruction appeared in the late 1960s and became a major

influence on literary studies during the late 1970s ( (Tyson, 2006, p. 249). It

appeared as a reaction to the primacy of French structuralism and a repressive

academic and intellectual system that rigidly administered a unique and definitive

interpretation of a literary text ( Hendricks, 2016, p. 2). Unlike structuralism,

deconstruction identifies textual features that focus on the rhetorical rather than

grammatical (Guerin, Labor, Morgan, Reesman, & Willingham, 2005, p. 377).

According to Hendricks, the method is called “deconstruction” because it is

not only containing the idea of “constructing meaning”, but also “deconstructing

the metaphysics of presence from the text” (2016, p. 8). Deconstruction is simply

defined as a critique of the hierarchical oppositions that have structured Western

thought: inside/outside, mind/body, literal/metaphorical, speech/writing,

presence/absence, nature/culture, form/meaning (Culler, 2000, p. 126).

Furthermore, Derrida stated that deconstruction is a useful means of saying new

things about the text ( Hendricks, 2016, p. 2). Reading text by deconstruction is not

to break the text itself, but rather to give the text a different structure and functioning

(Culler, 2000, p. 126). Deconstruction is about the dismantling of cultural,

philosophical, institutional structures that starts from textual ( Hendricks, 2016, p.

2).

Since deconstruction trying to read the text from a different point of view,

it rejects any final explication or statement of meaning and questions the presence


16

of any objective structure or content in a text (Guerin, Labor, Morgan, Reesman, &

Willingham, 2005, p. 377). Deconstruction starts to deconstruct by finding the

center of the text and how it constructs its system of 'truth' and 'meaning' (Klages,

2006, p. 59). Deconstruction questions the inconsistency of the text, because

deconstruction, as explained clearly by Lois Tyson below.

(1) Language is dynamic, ambiguous, and unstable, continually

disseminating possible meanings; (2) existence has no center, no stable

meaning, no fixed ground; and (3) human beings are fragmented battlefields

for competing ideologies whose only “identities” are the ones we invent and

choose to believe (Tyson, 2006, p. 158).

In rejecting and questioning the text center, deconstruction tries to see the

binary opposition in the text. Hendricks stated that “the basic method of

deconstruction is to find a binary opposition and show how each term, rather than

being the polar opposite of its paired term, is part of it” ( Hendricks, 2016, p. 8).

The purpose of finding the binary oppositions is to discover a certain ideology in a

text that contains hierarchical oppositions, as explained clearly by Lois Tyson

below.

By finding the binary oppositions at work in cultural production (such as a

novel, a film, a conversation, a classroom, or a courtroom trial), and by

identifying which member of the opposition is privileged, one can discover

something about the ideology promoted by that production (Tyson, 2006, p.

254).

Deconstruction rejects the hierarchical opposition system that puts a certain group

on the privileged side or more valuable than the other. Hendricks said that

deconstruction tries to dismantle the opposition concepts of hierarchical thought,

and then rewrite the concept in different order of textual signification (2016, p. 2).


17

Deconstructing a text can be done by the reader and the text itself. When the

text is deconstructed by the reader, it means that the reader can have an opposite

perspective from what has already started on the text. The way the reader reads the

text violates the certain intention of the text. Meanwhile, if the text deconstructs

itself, it means that the text itself offers the opposite meaning of interpretation. It

happens because of the non-finite meaning of the word that people have (Waugh,

2006, pp. 312-315)

C. Theoretical Framework

To answer the research questions, there are three theories used. Those

theories are the theory of social setting or context, the theory of postcolonial binary

opposition, and the theory of deconstruction. Those theories have their function and

reason why they are used in this study.

The theory of social setting helps the researcher to examine society’s social

setting or context in the literature work. The theory provides us an image of how

the director depicts the European and African people in Blood Diamond movie. By

looking at the social setting of the society, it leads the researcher to discover the

constructed binary oppositions between European and African people.

The next theory is the theory of postcolonial on binary opposition. In this

theory, the researcher wants to see the concept of European binary opposition

through postcolonial study. The theory helps the researcher to define what binary

opposition is. Moreover, the theory gives the researcher an understanding of the

concept and limitation of binary opposition. The researcher also provides the theory

of orientalism by Edward Said to show the Western style for dominating,


18

restructuring, and having authority over the other. It guides the researcher to analyze

the kind of constructed binary oppositions. In this theory, the European paradigm

is clearly described, whereby the Westerns see the ‘other’ in a different way such

as inferior, uncivilized, barbarous. The theory helps the researcher know how the

European and non-European (Africans) in the Zwick and Herskovitz’s Blood

Diamond movie depicted oppositely.

The last theory is the theory of deconstruction. This theory guides the

researcher to unmasking internal contradictions or inconsistencies in the movie

script by finding another way of reading the text (movie). The theory helps the

researcher to against general assumptions constructed by the European paradigm

over the ‘other’.


19

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

Blood Diamond movie, set in Sierra Leone in 1999, is the object of the study

in this research. The movie is an Oscar-nominated Hollywood blockbuster film

directed by Edward Zwick ( Onuzulike, 2015, p. 297). In analyzing the movie, the

researcher focuses on the script of the movie. The story was directed by Edward

Zwick and written by Charles Leavitt, based on a story by Mr. Leavitt and C. Gaby

Mitchell (Dargis, 2006), but it was rewritten by Edward Zwick and

Marshall Hershkovitz. In this study, the researcher used Zwick and Hershkovitz’s

script version that consists of 112 pages. The movie was released on December 8,

2006, with a running time of 2 hours and 23 minutes (Dargis, 2006). The genre is

adventure, drama, and thriller. The movie is distributed by Warner Bross Picture

which spends a budget of $ 57,366,262 million.

The director of the film, Edward Zwick, is an American producer, writer,

and director. He has directed 13 feature films with many genres. Besides Blood

Diamond (2006), he has directed and produced some famous films such as About

Last Night (1986), Glory (1989), The Last Samurai (2003), Legends of the Fall

(1994), Defiance (2008), Love and Other Drugs (2010), and Jack Reacher: Never

Go Back (2016). In 1999, Zwick won an Oscar as one of the producers of

Shakespeare in Love (Silver, 2019).

Blood Diamond is a story about diamond mines and civil war caused by the

rebels, RUF (Revolutionary United Front) in Sierra Leone. The rebels called RUF


20

(Revolutionary United Front) appear as a form of rebellion toward the Freetown

dictatorial government and their white masters. They take control of the diamond

mine that creates so much violence in the country because RUF forcibly recruits

civilians and children to become soldiers and slaves in the diamond mine as a form

of rebellion against the government. The situation makes many people (African)

lose and separated from their families as experienced by the African character,

Salomon Vandy, in the movie script. The movie is not just about Africa and its

people, but also about white people (European) in Africa and their actions during

the war in Sierra Leone. It emphasizes the relationship between the European and

African during the war.

B. Approach of the Study

In analyzing the study, the writer applies the postcolonial approach.

Postcolonialism is a discourse of resistance. It criticizes the relation between the

colonizer and the colonized people. Post-colonialism provides a frame to destabilize

inherent assumptions embedded in the Occidental thought which always considers

as the highest and universal truth ( Hafizh, Faruk, & Juliasih, 2016, p. 77).

Therefore, the postcolonial approach is the approach that tries to criticize

any kind of colonial paradigm. It rejects all kinds of colonizer's dominations toward

the colonized people. The postcolonial approach speaks up the situation of the

oppressed people, how the colonizers see and treat the colonized people. The

approach is appropriate in analyzing Zwick's Blood Diamond movie because the


21

movie also talks about the domination of the Europeans toward African people and

postcolonial studies itself are also focused on the resistance toward European power.

C. Method of the Study

The study employs a library research method. It means that the researcher

collected information and sources from books, studies or thesis, and other media by

doing a survey or observation on-site to get a deeper knowledge about

deconstruction theory, postcolonial theory, orientalism theory, and Blood Diamond

movie.

There were three steps done by the researcher to enlarge the study. Those

steps are collecting the data, analyzing data, and drawing a conclusion. The

researcher collected the data by reading the script of Blood Diamond movie several

times to understand and grasp the idea completely. While reading, the researcher

highlighted the significance of the social settings depicted in the movie.

Furthermore, because the movie mostly depicted postcolonial issues, the researcher

took an idea to discuss the movie throughout the postcolonial binary opposition

perspective. Then the researcher determined two research questions related to

binary opposition issues. Those research questions have been mentioned in chapter

I. Besides collecting the data from the movie, the researcher also did some reviews

on books journals, thesis, and any kind of online sources related to the study to get

a deeper understanding of the topic and object that the writer wanted to analyze.

The second was analyzing the data. In this part, the researcher figured out

the binary opposition between European and non-European (African) existing in


22

the social setting to see the way they are depicted. The researcher used the theory

of social setting to figure out the image of both of the groups depicted in the movie

script. In analyzing the binary opposition, the researcher applied postcolonial theory

and orientalism theory that already been stated in the review of related theory. After

that, to break the European paradigm toward non-European, the researcher

deconstructed the binary oppositions found in the social setting of the society in

Zwick and Hershkovitz’s Blood Diamond movie script. The researcher applied

deconstruction theory as a guideline to deconstruct the binary oppositions.

Lastly, the researcher concluded all of the discussions and findings. The

researcher summed up some important points in the study. After that, the researcher

tried to make a connection between those points. Then, the researcher drew a

conclusion based on those important points and findings.


23

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

A. Binary Oppositions Constructed through Social Setting of European and

African People

Social setting or context refers to the settings influencing individuals'

behavior, ways of living and thinking, and other social standards, including a

physical environment or culture in which people live, and groups, institutions,

social systems or other individuals that they interact with (Kim, 2019, p. 283).

Therefore, it is very important to know how the social setting of European and

African (non-European) is portrayed. Through social context or setting, the writer

can figure out the way European and African (non-European) societies are

presented, not just by their actions, but also by their thought and social situations.

Those depictions of social context lead the researcher to find out the constructed

binary oppositions in the movie script.

As the writer has explained in chapter two "theory of social setting", how

the social setting or context depicted can be analyzed from many points of social

setting, namely social structure, social process, and social behavior patterns (Earle

& Earle, 1999, pp. 3-4). Therefore, the following explanations of European and

African societies are focused on those points of social setting. From the social

structure, social process, and social behavior patterns, there are two prominent

binary oppositions constructed in the social settings of Blood Diamond which are


24

Africans as an unsophisticated and oppressed society and African as an uncivilized

society. Those findings are comprehensively explained below.

1. African as Unsophisticated and Oppressed Society

As seen vividly in the social setting of Blood Diamond movie, it does not

just talk about Africa and its people struggling in the civil war, but also about white

people (European) in Africa and their actions during the war in Sierra Leone. It

emphasizes the relationship between the Europeans and Africans during the war.

However, what is being emphasized to Africans is different from the Europeans.

Within the script of Blood Diamond, African is highlighted in their lack of

technological tools and their dependency on Europeans in the social structure of the

society because of the Europeans’ sophisticated tools and dominant role.

Social structure is one of the elements which describes how society is

portrayed in the social setting. As stated in the theory, social structure highlights

the external forces that shape how people approach their daily living activities and

relationship including factors such as technology, social class, demography,

urbanization, mass media, and many social institutions such as family, education,

religion, leisure, health, economy/work and government (Earle & Earle, 1999, p. 3).

In Blood Diamond, one of the prominent external forces that shape how Europeans

approach their daily living and relationship with others is technology. It becomes

one of the main factors that differentiate them from others in the social structure of

society, especially with Africans as seen in the movie.


25

In most of the scenes, Africans are described as a society that is far from

anything related to technology. Indirectly, it highlights the image of the African

people in the social structure of society. It is described in the script when an African

adores the technological advancements of white people. White people's world is

closed to sophisticated tools such as computers, video cameras, and satellite phones.

(BACK TO THE BUSS...)

(Where Salomon talking quietly to Maddy)

SALOMON. I have been living in the white people’s world. Computers,

video cameras, and satellite phones. You would like it very much

(Blood Diamond, 2005, p. 58).

The above conversation showing the local Salomon Vandy adores white

people’s technological advances affirms the image of African people as an

unsophisticated society. The phenomenon of having no access to technology makes

African people have no more opportunities to do anything in the social structure of

the society. As a sociologist, Robert Merton stated that “social structure consists

not only of normative patterns but also of the inequalities of power, status, and

material privileges, which give the members of a society widely different

opportunities and alternatives” (Form & Wilterdink, 2020). Therefore, having no

material privilege such as technology makes the Africans have to depend on the

Europeans because they have widely different opportunities and alternatives due to

the technological advances of the Europeans. Africans seem to be oppressed by the

dominant role of the Europeans in the structure social of society. Europeans can do

anything with the power they have. It is depicted in the scene when an African

Salomon depends on the white people’s technology to help his family who

disappears during the war in Sierra Leone.


26

ARCHER. What if I could help find your family?

[At these words, something feral appears in Salomon’s eyes]

SALOMON. What do you know about my family?

ARCHER. The relief agencies are useless, the hospitals are overwhelmed.

There are other ways.

SALOMON. Liar!

ARCHER. I know people. White people [Salomon LUNGES---pinning

Archer against the wall. Archer could fight. He doesn’t]

ARCHER. The...right...stone [Salomon wants nothing more than to strangle

him, but he also intuits Archer might be his only hope. He relaxes his

grip]

ARCHER. --can buy anything. Information. Safety. Even freedom. But a

big stone doesn’t stay secret. The minute you show it, your life is

worthless. I’m guessing the only reason you're still alive is that you

haven't told anyone where it is. Right? [Archer’s pitch—fueled by

desperation—is mesmerizing]

(Blood Diamond, 2005, p. 42)

As seen in the conversation above, a white Danny Archer, who is ordered by his

white people leader (Colonel Coetsee) to find the location of the diamond that most

Europeans want, uses their power as white people to intimidate and exploit the

locals which are Salomon Vandy and the family. As seen in the conversation above,

the white Danny Archer said, “The...right...stone” (p. 42), which means that the

white people can help Salomon and the family as long as Salomon tells them where

the diamond is located. After negotiating, eventually the local (Salomon Vandy)

accepts an offer of the white Danny Archer to tell him about the diamond mine

location that most of the white people are looking for in Sierra Leone, Africa.

ARCHER. Yes or no. Whole life can change with a single syllable.

SALOMON. Yes.


The local Salomon Vandy is helpless because he does not have many

choices to make rather than just follow or agree to save the other Africans which

are his family, even though he has to sacrifice their natural wealth. The only hope


27

Salomon has is white people, “Salomon wants nothing more than to strangle him,

but he also intuits Archer might be his only hope. He relaxes his grip” (p. 42). The

African Salomon Vandy cannot do anything more rather than just depend on the

white people’s power. In this situation, the Africans Salomon Vandy is oppressed.

Moreover, as depicted in the conversation above, even the relief agencies are

useless and the hospitals are overwhelmed, and only the white people have ways to

solve African’s problem. It becomes very clear when Archer said, “I know people.

White people”. Then with the power of the European sophisticated tool that they

have, Salomon could find the location where his family lives. It is depicted clearly

when two white people (Danny and Maddy) use their computers to access any

information about Salomon’s family so they could find where they are.

[Maddy reads from the computer manifest in her hand]

MADDY. Jassie Vandy, Kono District. Crossed into Guinea six weeks ago.

SALOMON. Six weeks? And my children?

[Maddy hesitates, folds the manifest, then just nods]

MADDY. You would have found them. Sometimes it takes a year before a

new manifest reaches the field offices. [Glances at Archer] I was

lucky to get access to the UNHCR database.


The above interaction between European and African identifies the image

of Africans in the social structure of the society in Blood Diamond movie. Having

no technology shapes the image and the position of Africans as unsophisticated and

oppressed people in the social structure. White people or Europeans can easily

dominate and exploit the Africans because they can access anything they want. It

makes the local have a dependency toward the white power. As mentioned in the

dialogue above, European people could get access to the UNHCR database to know

the African family. Based on the sociologist, Robert Merton said that “the


28

inequality defines different strata, or classes, that form the stratification system, or

class structure, of the society” (Form & Wilterdink, 2020). So, it can be concluded

that the inequality in terms of technology makes the Africans belong to lower strata

compare to the Europeans which are depicted as a sophisticated and dominant

(superior) society in the social structure. The Africans seem to be inferior in the

social setting of the movie. The phenomena of social class differences above

become one of the prominent things depicted in the social setting of the Blood

Diamond movie.

2. African as Uncivilized Society

In scene after scene, one of the prominent social settings of Blood Diamond

is the depiction of Africa as a conflict area that is full of violence and also

inhumanity of Africans. It emphasizes the image of Africa and the social behavior

patterns of the society.

From the first scene of the movie script, it already portrays the cruelty and

conflict (Civil War) that occurred in Africa whereby many people are killed and

children are recruited as a soldier (pp. 2-3). It emphasizes Africa as a "dark

continent”. The portraits of Africa as a “dark continent” are depicted vividly

through the explanation of a European, Danny Archer, about the image of Africa.

It can be seen in the following scene.

ARCHER. See that guy? Government ministers caught pocketing disaster

relief money. Bad move, know why? Wasn't giving a big enough cut

to his boss...[points nearby] That one ...? Sells AK-47’s to the rebels

and waits for a cease- fire to buy ‘em at a discount, then after the

fighting starts again, sells them back at a profit.

MADDY. And your point is?


29

ARCHER. The point is, it’s Africa. There is no point. You want another?


From the conversation above, it is obvious that Africa is depicted as nothing rather

than just a place that full of chaos. When a European, Archer, said “The point is,

it’s Africa. There is no point”, it emphasizes that Europeans consider Africa as no

more than just a wild, unsafe, and ironic place. There is nothing to expect or be

proud of from Africa instead of chaos and a hopeless place.

The portraits of Africa as a “dark continent” also automatically alludes to

the pattern of social behavior of the society. As stated in the theory, social behavior

patterns are about the social reality that most individuals collectively acknowledge

as guides to their thinking and action and are closely related to various folkways,

mores (norms), and laws present in society (Earle & Earle, 1999, p. 3). In the movie,

Africans' social behavior is depicted as savage human beings (not fully human).

They are described as having uncivilized behavior as the social reality that most of

them acknowledge as guides to their thinking and action. The image of Africans as

an uncivilized society is vividly depicted in the movie through the conversation

between two Europeans in the scene below.

ARCHER. How long you been in Africa?

MADY. Four months. Before that Kosovo

ARCHER. Okay. How many blacks do you know back in States—besides

the girl who cleans your house and the man who picks up your

garbage?

MADY. What’s that got to do with it?

ARCHER. I know blacks. Grew up with ‘em, fought with ‘em. Behind the

calm eyes and the gentle smile, they’re burning with hate for what

we have done to ‘em. They hate you, hate me, hate each other and

hate themselves. And your bleeding heart isn’t gonna stop ‘em

butchering each other. Half the continent is starving and the rest is


30

dying of AIDS while their leaders sell medicine to build palaces and

drive mercedes


The dialogue between the two Europeans above describes African or black

people as the vengeful people behind their calmness and friendly smile. They are

also full of hatred. They do not just hate the European people but also each other as

described in the dialogue, “they hate you, hate me, hate each other, and hate

themselves” (p. 21). Those behaviors are categorized as uncivilized since it is

harmful to other people both verbally or physically. Moreover, as said by the

European in the conversation above, Africans also act like corruptors (their leader)

which cause so many cases of starvation in Africa. The way they establish a

relationship with others severely violates social expectations for a particular

environment. Even though the Europeans come to help them, they are still

unfriendly as explained in the conversation above, "And your bleeding heart isn’t

gonna stop ‘em butchering each other” (p. 21). Indirectly, it also highlights that

Europeans have more concerns about what happened in Africa rather than Africans.

They are depicted as having more civilized characters, meanwhile, Africans are

culturally depicted as savage and brutal.

Such an inhuman action that shows a social decadence in Africa as

explained above becomes the most thing that is shown in the Blood Diamond movie.

The Africans look like an uncivilized society in the social setting of the movie. It

obviously can be seen through the view of Europeans as seen in some scenes above.

The phenomena of Africa as a "dark continent" and uncivilized behavior of the

people are also the prominent social setting described in Blood Diamond.


31

B. Deconstruction to European Binary Oppositions in Blood Diamond Movie

After identifying European binary oppositions reflected through the social

setting or context of the Blood Diamond movie script, the writer deconstructs the

binary oppositions paradigm as the critical point of this research. In this part, the

focus of this analysis is on the responses and behaviors of African people that

deconstruct Europeans constructed binary oppositions.

To analyze the content properly, the writer needs to bear in mind what the

writer has explained in the review of related theories about the Europeans'

paradigms in the concept of "self" and "other". European colonialism brought a

hierarchical opposition in the relation between the Europeans and "the other". The

Europeans see “the other” as less than fully human. As stated by Tyson that the

colonizers see themselves as the embodiment of what a human being should be, the

proper "self", meanwhile, native people were considered "other" and inferior to the

point of being less than fully human (Tyson, 2006, pp. 419-420). Such a thing

happens even after the practice of colonialism itself has ended.

In this part, the writer tries to go deeper into the movie script of Blood

Diamond to find exactly the unseen remains buried within the script that describe

the responses and behaviors of African people toward the European people

paradigms. As stated by Bressler that many colonized people (the other) who

struggle to get their identity by writing back to the center, telling the colonizer that

what they did was wrong and how their Western hegemony damaged and

suppressed the ideologies of those who were conquered (Bressler, 1998, pp. 267-

268). Therefore, in Blood Diamond movie, the efforts of Africans in breaking


32

European hegemony and getting back their identity are done by the unseen actions

and qualities that Africans have toward the Europeans. The Europeans paradigm of

superiority toward Africans (non-European) is rejected through the responses and

behaviors pattern that Africans have. By revealing those qualities as the depth

representation of African people, the writer wants to articulate the oppressed

consciousness of the colonized subject and also to break the stigma of marginality

portrayed by Europeans toward non-Europeans.

1. African Local Genius as Deconstructive Response to European

Domination Role

In Blood Diamond movie script, one of the prominent ideas that can be

grasped clearly in our mind is about an inequality of power between European and

African people that defines different strata or social classes. The inequality makes

the European people look like sophisticated people and play a dominant role in the

social structure of the society. Meanwhile, the Africans seem to be helpless and

depend on the Europeans. The social setting or context of the movie highlights the

Europeans' power and superiority through the technology or sophisticated tools that

make them can dominate and access anything, even solve any problems easily.

However, by looking deeper into the text, the representation of Europeans'

superiority is rejected through the way how African people respond and behave

towards European people’s domination role that remains buried within the script. It

turns out that after having the examination, the writer finds out the Africans also

have a significant role toward the Europeans that have to be acknowledged by the

Europeans. It makes them, in some cases, superior to the European people.


33

Binjay Kumar Das explains in his book that the colonial power had

exploited the colonized the ‘other’ both politically and culturally, and then sought

to build a Western superiority over the East which later formed the concept of

binary opposition that produced the idea of colonized as inferior and colonizer as

superior (Das, 2002, p. 214). Speaking through the concept, the surface

presentations of Blood Diamond depict that being superior and powerful by

dominating and exploiting the local people become the style of Europeans to get

the diamond they want from the Africans that shows their superiority. As seen in

the social setting, a white Danny Archer exploits the helpless local people, Salomon

Vandy, to tell and lead him to the diamond mine if Salomon wants to get the family

back. Only white people can get any information related to the family.

ARCHER. The...right...stone [Salomon wants nothing more than to strangle

him, but he also intuits Archer might be his only hope. He relaxes

his grip]

ARCHER. --can buy anything. Information. Safety. Even freedom


As depicted in the scene above, even though the Europeans have

sophisticated tools that make them look powerful and dominant, however, as the

“newcomer” in African people’s land, Europeans still need the locals to lead them

to the diamond (the right stone) located in Sierra Leone, Africa. It cannot be denied

that the local genius or knowledge plays an important role in this part. As the local

people, Africans have much more knowledge related to their land rather than the

“newcomer” (Europeans). The local genius of the Africans makes the Europeans

have to depend on them. It becomes clearer when Colonel Coetsee tells Danny

Archer that they need people who know the terrain where the diamond is located.


34

THE COLONEL. They want us to take back the diamond mines and I need

someone who knows his way around up there. [Archer just takes

another sip. The colonel studies him]


The Colone asks Archer to bring them to the diamond mine in Sierra Leone because

Archer has been living in that place for a long time. However, even Archer has been

living in Sierra Leone, he still does not know the place well. Therefore, as seen in

the social setting of the movie script, the white Danny Archer, who is ordered by

white people leader Colonel Coetsee, needs the local Salomon Vandy to leads him

and other Europeans to the diamond mine. To get the family back, Salomon

becomes a pet of white people since he knows the place well and how to get there.

It is depicted when Salomon leads Danny Archer to track the forest without using

a map.

[Salomon sharpens the blade of a machete with a whetstone. Archer pores

over a map with a flashlight]

ARCHER. You say the mine is near the Moa River. Where exactly on this

map? [Salomon’s eyes remain on the machete blade]

SALOMON. I do not need a map.

ARCHER. Well, I do


As depicted above, it shows that even though the European or white people

represented by Danny Archer have a map to find the diamond, however, it does not

help at all. Only Africans know exactly where the location of the diamond mine,

because it cannot be denied that the locals know better their place than the

Europeans. Another prove showing the local genius of the Africans is depicted

when the Europeans Danny Archer depends on the local Salomon Vandy to find

water in the forest because Danny Archer feels thirsty during their tracking in the

forest to find the big diamond that most Europeans want.


35

ARCHER. [Feeling his forehead] I’ve stopped sweating. We’ve got to find

water.

SALOMON. Then we must move faster.


SALOMON. Wait ...[listening] Can you hear it?

[Archer listens hard. A weird croaking sound. Frogs?]

ARCHER. Frogs !

SALOMON. Yes.

[Frogs mean water. They stumble forward to discover...]

ARCHER. What if...this water...is bad?

SALOMON. You can wait for beer.

ARCHER. Good point. [Archer drinks his fill]


It is narrated through the scene above that the local African, Salomon Vandy uses

his local knowledge and skill to find water in order to save Danny Archer from

thirst that could kill him in the forest. The local Salomon uses his ability to hear a

frog’s sound in order to discover water because if there are frogs’ sounds, it means

that they are closed to the water sources/spring. Having those kinds of local genius

makes the European Danny Archer have a high dependency on the local African,

Salomon Vandy. He cannot even kill him because the local Salomon is the way to

get to the diamond mine that makes Danny Archer can bring the Colonel and other

Europeans to get there.

ARCHER. Hold Up there, boy--! [Salomon reacts to Archer’s instinctive

use of “boy”]

ARCHER. I’m not letting you get yourself killed until I had that fucking

stone. We wait for dark.


The scene above shows us the superiority of the African people. However,

it turns out from the scene that, by the local genius or knowledge, Africans also

have a significant and dominant role over the Europeans. The situation is used by

African (Salomon Vandy) to control the European in order to save the African


36

family first from the war. The African takes an advantage of Europeans'

sophisticated tools and power to find the family.

ARCHER. No? You don’t give a fuck about finding the diamond. [More]

ARCHER. You’re out here looking for your son. And you’d cut my heart

out in a second if it is meant to get him back. [Salomon is shocked

into silence. Archer is right]

SALOMON. Yes. It is true.

(Blood Diamond, 2005, pp. 79-80)

As depicted above, the local Salomon does not want to help the Europeans to get to

the diamond mine. He is actually preparing the journey to help his family by using

the power of European people. Throughout the scene above, the idea of Europeans

as superior and dominant by dominating and exploiting the others (Africans) is

debatable. The African actually pretends to be the pet of white and then takes

advantage of it. Therefore, the Europeans' paradigms over the other (Africans) that

structured people's minds into ideas of Europeans' superiority and the others'

inferiority (Africans) are rejected. Since the local people have their local genius or

knowledge, as “newcomer” the European paradigm of superiority does not work at

all to the local people. Furthermore, the local genius of the Africans depicted

through their skills in tracking forest without a map and finding water in the forest

show that Africans are also advanced in their way. It highlights the Africans’

paradigm of superiority that the Europeans as the “newcomer” must recognize. The

scene proves that the local genius of the Africans makes the white people have a

high dependency on the native (Africans) as the masters of their land. It turns out

that both Europeans and Africans have their own particular advances on both sides.

From the explanations above, having local genius depicted through the close

relationship to nature and the way how Africans respond to the domination role of


37

Europeans are kind of “the unseen qualities” that belongs to the Africans that might

be buried within the text of Blood Diamond Movie. It does not mean to say that

Africans are better than the Europeans, but it is simply to show the Africans are also

advance and have a way of living that makes the Europeans depend on them. It

shows that African people also have their own superiority toward European people

that must be recognized by the Europeans.

2. African Humane Behavior as Deconstructive Response against European

Paradigm

As stated in Said's Orientalism that people other than Europeans (or the

Oriental as the Europeans call) are described as opposing the clarity, directness, and

nobility (Said, 2003, p. 40). In the social setting, Africa is considered as nothing

rather than "a dark continent" that full of chaos, it is depicted through the statement

of white people about Africa, "The point is, it’s Africa. There is no point. You want

another?” (p. 21). Not just stop there, Africans’ social behavior patterns are depicted

as anti-social behavior in the social setting of the movie. It is portrayed through the

description of white people, Danny Archer about African people who are full of

hatred and desire to kill. Africans are culturally marked as savage, brutal, and even

heartless. Those images of Africans' social decadence depict Africans as opposing

clarity, directness, and nobility. Therefore, they look like an uncivilized society in

the social setting of Blood Diamond movie.

After doing depth research, however, the writer finds out that actually,

binary opposition does not portray such an image. The Africans are not culturally


38

savage, brutal, and heartless as they are described. In fact, the Europeans

assumption toward the Africans is rejected when there is a quality of Africans that

highlights the human behaviors and values of the Africans in some parts of the

movie script. It deconstructs Europeans’ binary opposition concepts about Africans

who are uncivilized and barbarous. The quality that the writer wants to explain is

caring humans.

As depicted in the social setting by the European Danny Archer, that Black

people are described as an anti-social society with savage and brutal behavior. They

hate the Europeans and even each other, “…behind the calm eyes and the gentle

smile, they're burning with hate for what we have done to 'em. They hate you, hate

me, hate each other and hate themselves” (p. 21). However, it is debatable through

the scene when the Europeans come to their village. It is depicted that the Africans’

family take care of the Europeans, Danny Archer and Maddy Bowen.

BENJAMIN. If you are looking for money, weapons, or fuel, I don’t have

any.

ARCHER. How about food?

BENJAMIN. If you ask politely. My name is Benjamin Kapanay.

ARCHER. Danny Archer. And this is—

MADDY. Maddy Bowen. How do you do?

[.... Under a covered porch, they eat lunch—served by Benjamin’s young

Mende wife and his three children]


Instead of doing like what Europeans assume about black people who are

hating them and butchering each other, however, the Africans serve them by giving

them food. It is depicted in the scene above when the local leader, Benyamin and

his young Mende wife and his three children provide lunch for the Europeans.

Another prove showing the local people’s humane behavior is when the local


39

African, Salomon Vandy takes care of the white Danny Archer when he gets wound

in the forest.

SALOMON. Let me see your leg.

ARCHER. It’s fine.

[Salomon touches it and Archer grunts in pain]

ARCHER. It’s infected. From lying there all fucking night…

[Salomon stands. Archer tries to but the pain is overwhelming]

SALOMON. I will be back…

HOURS LATER-THE MOON HAS RISEN. [Archer awakens to see

Salomon walking toward him out of the bush. He carries a poultice made of

leaves and mud. He kneels and begins to apply it to Archer’s wound]


As depicted in the dialogue above, the local African, Salomon Vandy goes to the

bush to find a traditional medicine for the European Danny Archer and he takes

care of Archer’s wound. Indirectly, the scene shows that the local people actually

care deeply about other people. The fact that any assumptions of Europeans towards

the Africans actually reflect themselves. Any chaos and inhumanity that happened

in Africa are because of the Europeans' interventions. It is depicted in the scene

when Danny Archer explains about their people (white people) affect African’s life.

MADDY. I pin it on all of us. Especially you.

ARCHER. Yeah, we fucked the black man. My father did and my

grandfather before him. Now the black man fucks himself. Tell me

something I don’t know.


The appearance of Europeans has an impact on the social behavior pattern of

Africans. They come to the African world and then “Fuck” their life. It is obviously

depicted above that what Europeans have done in the past impacts the Africans.

This is reinforced by the statement of the RUF leader Caption Poison, who rebels

toward the government and the white people.


40

CAPTAIN POISON. The Freetown government and their white masters

have raped your land to feed their greed!


The statement above confirms that actually what is portrayed by Europeans

about Africans is a picture of themselves. They are the people who cause the

suffering of Africans and they rape the Africans and their land. They come to take

the diamond that Africans have and they caused any social decadence in Sierra

Leone, Africa. Therefore, the image of Europeans as rational, virtuous, mature, and

"normal" stated by Said in his Orientalism (Said, 2003, pp. 39-40), somehow, is

questionable.

The point of caring human is not just the action of the African people in

their daily life, but actually it becomes something that has been mandated in the

beliefs of African people. The prove can be seen through Salomon's words about

Africans' beliefs and culture in the movie script. In the script, it is narrated when

Salomon Vandy and Danny Archer see many corpses are piled high at a mass grave

that is built from an abandoned diamond pit. Salomon cries and tells Archer about

the belief that highlights the humanity value in their society.

[A mass grave has been fashioned from an abandoned diamond pit. Bodies

piled high—men, women, children. None of the soldiers]

ARCHER. Animals.

SALOMON. No animal would do such a thing. It makes no sense.

[Salomon forces himself to walk among the corpses, praying that his son is

not among them. Tears stream down his cheeks]

SALOMON. My people value life. The Mende find it hard even to take the

life of a chicken. God gives life, only he may take it back. [a

strangled cry] How can they do this?

[Archer has no answer. Just look at him]



41

As displayed in the scene, it shows that killing is not the Africans' way of life. They

value people's life as a concept of living because their belief teaches them that

people have no right to take other people's life, only God may do that. It is not just

about respecting human life, but more than that it is also about respecting other

creatures' life such as animals as stated by Salomon that it is hard for them even to

take the life of a chicken. The Africans' belief above indicates that they have a high

appreciation of humanity in their society. Indirectly, this is contrary to the European

assumptions about Black people who are savage and brutal.

The above description emphasizes an important point that Africans are not

as bad as the white people think. They are good human beings, not just good for

their people but also for others like Europeans. So that, the Europeans’ perspective

of other (or the Oriental as the Europeans call) as opposing the clarity, directness,

and nobility stated by Said in his Orientalism (Said, 2003, p. 40), however, it is

rejected. The image of African’s social behavior patterns as uncivilized are rejected

since they have a quality of caring human that is reflected from their belief and

action in daily life. Moreover, the image of Europeans as a civilized society is

somehow questionable since their intervention in African people’s system of life

causes the social decadence in Africa.


42

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

Based on the previous Analysis, in this chapter, the researcher concludes the

result of the analysis. On writing the conclusion, the researcher uses the problem

formulation as a guideline to draw the conclusion. There is two problem

formulation used in this research. The first one is discussing the binary opposition

found in the social settings of Blood Diamond. The social context or setting of

European and non-European helps the researcher to see how they are presented. It

leads the researcher to reveal the binary oppositions given to European and non-

European (African) in the movie script. Then as the critical point of this study, on

second problem formulation, the researcher discusses how the local people respond

and behave to the European binary oppositions. It is focused on deconstructing the

European binary oppositions.

After figuring out the social setting depicted in the Blood Diamond movie,

the researcher found out two prominent binary oppositions depicted in the social

settings of Blood Diamond movie. There are African as an unsophisticated and

oppressed society and Africans as an uncivilized society. The first finding describes

Africans as inferior and helpless compare to European people in the social structure

of the society. Having sophisticated tools make the European can access and do

anything they want. This opportunity is used by the Europeans to control and exploit

the Africans to get the diamond that Africans have. Africans represented by

Salomon Vandy have no choice because he has to help his family who is lost during

the war. The only way he can do is depending on white people's power and


43

sophisticated tools. The domination and power of white people make the Africans

seem to be oppressed even in their land of birth. This inequality in terms of

technology makes the Europeans belong to different strata in the social structure of

the society. The second finding depicts African people as an uncivilized society

who are considered as having savage behaviors in social life. Africans are culturally

marked as vengeful and full of hatred. They are also butchering each other. Those

images of Africans' social decadence depict Africans as opposing clarity, directness,

and nobility. Therefore, they look like an uncivilized society in the social setting of

Blood Diamond movie script.

The second finding in this research becomes the critical point of the research.

By using the deconstructive perspective, the research found out the unseen

phenomena that remain buried within the script. It turns out that the binary

oppositions created by Europeans are not true. Firstly, the constructed binary

oppositions that say African as an unsophisticated and oppressed society are

deconstructed. Based on the analysis, the social setting or context of the movie

highlights the Europeans' power and superiority through their technology or

sophisticated tools that make them can dominate and exploit the Africans. However,

as the “newcomer” in the Africans’ land, the European’s sophisticated tools do not

really help them. They still need the local knowledge to lead them to the diamond

mine located in Sierra Leone, Africa. This is clearly depicted when the white Danny

Archer, who is ordered by Colonel Coetsee to find the diamond mine, depends on

the African Salomon Vandy because Africans have much more knowledge about

their land. It shows that even though the European or white people represented by


44

Danny Archer have a map to find the diamond, however, it does not help at all.

Only Africans know exactly where the location of the diamond mine even without

a map, because it cannot be denied that the locals know better their place than the

Europeans. Moreover, the local people have the skill to find water in the forest

depicted by the local character, Salomon Vandy who saves the white people, Danny

Archer, from thirst. It makes the Europeans have a high dependency on the Africans

to get the diamond. The local genius of the Africans depicted through their skill in

tracking forest without a map and finding water through the frogs’ sounds show

that Africans are also advanced in their way. It highlights the Africans’ paradigm

of superiority that the Europeans as the “newcomer” must recognize. It turns out

that both Europeans and Africans have their own particular advances on both sides.

Secondly, European binary oppositions that consider African as uncivilized is also

deconstructed. Africans have a quality of caring human. As seen in the movie script,

Benjamin and his family take care of white people, Dany Archer and Maddy

Bowen. They give them food when the white people come to their village.

Moreover, the movie script also depicts the scene when the local African, Salomon

Vandy takes care of the white Danny Archer when he gets wound during their

tracking in the forest. This phenomenon depicts that black people are not anti-social

or uncivilized as depicted by the Europeans. In fact, the social decadence that

happens to Africans is because of the interventions of the Europeans who destroy

their system social of life. It is depicted through the dialog between Maddy and

Archer about the Europeans that “fuck” black man’s life. It is also reinforced by the

speech of Captain Poison who tells that the suffering in Africa is caused by the


45

white people who rape their land. Moreover, Africans’ action of caring humans is

also part of their cultural beliefs. They value people's life as a concept of living

because their belief teaches them that people have no right to take other people's

life, only God may do that. It is not just about respecting human life, but more than

that it is also about respecting other creatures' life such as animals as stated by

Salomon that it is hard for them even to take the life of a chicken. It shows the

Africans high appreciation of humanity. The quality of caring humans is not just a

mere belief in Africans' life, but they also apply it in action in their daily life.

By the explanations in the previous paragraphs, the Europeans' paradigms

over the other (Africans) that structured people's minds into ideas of Europeans'

superiority and the others' inferiority (Africans) are rejected. The fact that, Africans

also have their own paradigm of superiority and civilized character that are depicted

through their local genius or knowledge and behaviors buried within the text of

Blood Diamond movie script. It breaks the stigma of marginality that the Europeans

describe to the others (Africans). However, it does not mean to say that Africans

are better than the Europeans, but it is simply to show that both Africans and

Europeans have their own paradigm of superiority that must be recognized by each

other. Moreover, regardless of those binary oppositions and deconstructive works

depicted in the Blood diamond movie script, the important ideology that the text

wants to deliver is about humanity. The Blood Diamond itself highlights some

social issues like children soldiers, civil war, and discrimination that want to evoke

our respect and awareness toward humanity value.


46

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49

APPENDICES

Appendix 1: The Summary of Zwick and Herskovitz’s Blood Diamond

Published in 2005, Blood Diamond talks about the civil war and exploitation

of diamonds in Sierra Leone, Africa. It does not just talk about Africa and its people

struggling in the civil war, but also about white people (European) in Africa and

their actions during the war in Sierra Leone. The story emphasizes the relationship

between the European and African during the war.

The movie begins with the invade of Salomon Vandy’s village by the

Revolutionary United Front (RUF) who rebels toward the government and the white

people. Salomon Vandy is captured by the group and separated from his family. He

is enslaved to work in the diamond fields under the command of Captain Poison.

While working in the RUF diamond fields as a slave, Solomon finds a large pink

diamond. A white Danny Archer, an Anglo ex-mercenary from Rhodesia, is asked

by a white leader of South African mercenary named Colonel Coetzee to find the

large pink diamond. Then Danny Archer arranges to meet Solomon and offers to

help him find his family in exchange for the diamond. Danny Archer needs Salomon

because as a local people he knows better the place. Salomon Vandy has no choice

rather than accept Archer’s offer because as white people Archer has more power

and access to technology that could help Salomon Vandy to find his family. With

the help of Mady Bowen who is Archer’s friend, Salomon can find the location of

his family. Furthermore, Salomon and Archer go to meet the family and find the

diamond. In their way, Salomon helps Archer in tracking the forest until they arrive


50

at the location of the diamond mine. Finally, Archer calls Colonel Coetzee and the

other white soldiers to come to the location. It creates the war between Colonel

Coetzee’s army and the RUF lead by Captain Poison. The war results in many

people death from both sides, including Danny Archer. Then Salomon eventually

meets his family again in London where he testifies against and serves as a witness

to the blood diamond trade.


deconstruction of european binary oppositions …

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