ISHIDA SHOYA’S CHARACTER ARC IN A SILENT VOICE FILM

Abstract

Bullying is one social issue that is complicated and hard to solve. Many boys and girls have suffered a lot because of bullying every year. Some of them choose suicide as the option to end the problem. This issue is so common in Japan that it is reflected in many media, especially in the form of film. Which has become a part of the existing culture in society. A Silent Voice is one such film that tells the story of bullying through Ishida Sh?ya’s eyes during his elementary and middle school. Through Sh?ya’s character, the objective of this study is to show that people who are bullied can develop characteristics that are reflected in Ishida Sh?ya. In this study, the researcher will use the social psychology of aggression theory (Krahe, 2001) and film theory (Klarer, 2005). The first theory is used to analyze the characteristics change in Ishida Sh?ya while the second theory is used to analyze the dialogue that shows the developed characteristics. This study is a literary analysis and the method used in this study is selecting and grouping from two sources of data, primary and secondary data. The primary data is in the form of A Silent Voice film and the secondary is in the form of books and online journals. This study shows that bullying (Ijime) and harassment he goes through during elementary and middle school play a big role in changing his characteristics. Labeling, vandalizing, and scapegoating Sh?ya were the triggers that changed his characteristics once he was in high school. Consequently, Sh?ya developed introversion, depression, and social anxiety characteristics in high school.