THE STORM OF THE YOUTH LIFE AS REFLECTED IN SCENES FROM A MEMORY ALBUM BY DREAM THEATER: A SEMIOTIC STUDY

By
Sigit Widodo
04004032

ABSTRACT

The title of this graduating paper is The Storm of the Youth Life as Reflected in Scenes from a Memory Album by Dream Theater: A Semiotic Study. In this graduating paper, the researcher discusses the symbols and also the moral teaching in Dream Theater album especially in Scenes From A Memory album. The objective of this study is to find out the symbols as reflected in youth’s life in America and the moral values of Dream Theater’s song lyrics in Scenes From A Memory album.

In analyzing and finding the symbols and the moral values of Dream Theater’s song, the researcher uses theory of semiotics by Roland Barthes who offers five codes Proairetic Code, Hermeneutic Code, The Cultural Code, The Connotative Code, and The Symbolic Code. The theory of moral value by Stanford, this theory is guiding how to know the differences of morality and immorality. The research data are gathered through observation and documentation technique.

The results of this research shows three symbols in the lyrics of Scenes From A Memory album by Dream Theater are: love, death and the gun. The first symbol Deals of the album, Dream Theater tells about love as a conflict named interpersonal love. The second is a death. Death is a transcend of the human soul into another life that everyone should pass it. The last is the gun. Gun is a weapon to end the other people life, according to the story gun is a weapon to kill brutally used by Nicholas. Beside that, the researcher also gets moral values in Dream Theater’s song lyrics. There are three moral teachings: safe people life, keep away from drugs and alcohol and keep away from free sex.