Name : Raisa Erythrina Khansa’ Amany

Student Number : 121911233127

Class : Method of Cultural Studies Research A

RESEARCH PLAN

A. Research object and issue

The Princess Diaries (2001) tells the story of a 15-year-old girl who is looking for
her identity and passion in a teenager that can be considered difficult and full of
obstacles because of her social behavior. Mia Thermopolis, a girl who comes from a
simple but affluent family, runs her teenage life with a friend named Lily Moscovitz who
becomes Mia's one and only best friend. They only have each other, because of their
social class, which can be considered as lower class. They both go through the twists
and turns of teenage life with the pressure they get from the environment around them,
which is their high school’s enviroment. Mia and Lily, both of them don't get good enough
treatment just because they don't have an important position in school and live like the
other students. Then, things changed suddenly when there were news reports that Mia
Thermopolis is a Princess of Genovia. Her sudden change of circumstances, starting
from the clothes she wears, her belongings, appearance and even the social behavior
that she got shortly after becoming a princess, made her social class increase
drastically.
This makes a very significant difference in the social life of Mia Thermopolis,
which is then told in this film. The social behavior that she had acquired since her status
changed could be seen very clearly and was very different from her state before
becoming a princess. This then makes socialization relationships with peers more real
and it is proven that social class has an important role in the lives of teenagers,
especially at school.
B. Significancy
Differences in social class are often felt by some people out there, especially
people who are arguably less fortunate in life. A sociologist, Mayor Polak describes
social status as the social position of an individual in the group and society. According to
him, social status can be divided into two aspects, namely the structural aspect which is
hierarchical, where there is a relatively high and low comparison, and the functional
aspect which is defined as a person's social role related to a certain status (Mayor
Polak). In accordance with the theory described, social status does show a significant
difference between high and low which in the film The Princess Diaries (2001) is
described as a girl with a simple life background with a girl whose life changes after
becoming a royal princess, which is played by one role; Mia Thermopolis.
In today's modern era, social status has an important role in a person's social life,
especially teenagers. Friendship, school environment, consumption behavior, and social
behavior. High social class will indirectly get positive and pleasant treatment from most
people. On the other hand, low social class will not get the same thing as what high
social class gets. Unconsciously, this happens quite a lot in the environment around us.
Without realizing it, we as a society also participate in social behavior that distinguishes
the two social classes.

C. Aim
This research was made with the aim of describing the social gap that occurs
between two different social classes in the character of the film The Princess Diaries
(2001), Mia Thermopolis. In addition, this research was made so that people understand
about the role of social class in social life for a person, especially teenagers, both in
friendship, school environment, consumption behavior and social behavior.
D. Method and approach
This research basically examines the dialogue between characters that occurs in
the film The Princess Diaries (2001). Observing the storyline that occurs in the film and
using some previous related research to the discussion that will be discussed in this
study. Therefore, the approach that will be used in this study is a qualitative approach
with an observation method related to things in the film, and researching related previous
related studies. With the hope, researchers can develop ideas and ideas more broadly
about the topic of discussion in this study.

E. Rationale
Qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data such
as, text, video or audio, which is very suitable in this research. Research that discusses
the differences in social status that appears in the film can be done by observing and
analyzing what the characters are talking about in the film. Thus, data observation is the
right step to conduct this research.
Qualitative research also includes researching and developing previous related
studies with the same discussion. The significant difference in social status that occurs in
the film The Princess Diaries (2001) of course makes anyone who watches it understand
and notice what is being experienced by the film's actor, Mia Thermopolis. The suitability
of the chosen topic with the issues that are of course being faced at this time makes
researchers sure to carry out this research using the qualitative research approach and
methods mentioned earlier.
References

Bhandari, Pritha. 2020. “What is Qualitative Research? | Methods & Examples.” Scribbr.
https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/qualitative-research/.
Filmillah, Ila. 2014. “PERUBAHAN STATUS SOSIAL PETANI TAMBAK DESA MANYAREJO
KECAMATAN MANYAR KABUPATEN GRESIK PASCA KEBERADAAN INDUSTRI.”
http://digilib.uinsby.ac.id/342/5/Bab%202.pdf.
Hidayah, Nurul. 2021. “PENGARUH STATUS SOSIAL EKONOMI ORANG TUA DAN
KELOMPOK TEMAN SEBAYA TERHADAP PERILAKU KONSUMSI SISWA KELAS X
IPS DI SMA NEGERI 1 KARANGREJO TAHUN PELAJARAN 2020/20201.” Jurnal
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RAPIKA. 2017. “The Impacts of the Social Class as Reflected in Bronte’s Agnes Grey on the
Plot and Characters.”
http://digilib.unhas.ac.id/uploaded_files/temporary/DigitalCollection/YmQ3ZjI5M2Q4NzM
wMmZkMzhhNzM2ZWI3ZjY1ZjY1MDUxODg2NTUzMA==.pdf.