Politeness Strategies is a theory that was proposed by Brown and Levinson
after their research in India. The writer is interested in this theory because by
knowing and understanding this theory, it can help the writer to build relationship
with others in his daily lives and also it can avoid misunderstanding. In his
research, the writer examined the politeness strategies that are used by the two
main characters in a film "Meet the Parents", they are Gaylord Fokker (Greg) as
the future son in law and Jack Byrnes as Pam?s father and also Greg?s father to be.
Furthermore, the writer also wants to identify and explain the factors in using
certain politeness strategies.
In his research, the writer attempts to find whether people with opposite
roles, here are Greg and Jack, still show politeness to each other. In the film, it
seems that they do not like each other, but they still show politeness and
interestingly, the result of this study shows that both characters, Greg and Jack,
apply positive politeness the most. Positive politeness is a strategy to enhance
hearer?s face in order to minimize the distance between them. It appears they are
showing politeness because they have the same purpose, which is to make Pam
happy. Finally, the writer draws a conclusion that there are two important factors
that can influence the interlocutors in using politeness strategies, they are social
status and social distance between them.