Politeness Maxims Performed by Characters in “The Magician Elephant” Movie

This study is aimed to observe the types of politeness maxim as well as the most dominant types used which are found in the movie transcript entitled “The Magician Elephant”. As a part of pragmatics, Leech’s theory about six types of politeness maxims was applied in this study. The data were collected using a documentation method and supported by a note taking technique which was taken in the form of utterances in the movie transcript. In addition, the data were analyzed by using a qualitative method, and showed descriptively in form of sentences and paragraphs. The formal method was also used due to the analysis applied in written words instead of numbers. The findings showed that there were 42 utterances of tact maxim, 17 utterances of generosity maxim, 31 utterances of approbation maxim, 14 utterances of modesty maxim, 18 utterances of agreement maxim, and 10 utterances of sympathy maxim.