DECODING FEAR: SEMIOTIC INTERPRETATION OF CHILD IMAGERY IN INDONESIAN HORROR FILM POSTERS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47701/frasa.v7i1.5577Keywords:
Child imagery, Fear, Film posterAbstract
This study examines the representation of anxiety through child imagery in Indonesian horror film posters, employing Roland Barthes’ semiotic framework. The depiction of children as protagonists in horror movie posters creates a complex interaction between innocence and terror, utilizing visual clues to elicit emotions and capture viewers' attention. The objective of this study is to analyze how children's visual representations evoke sensations of fear and anxiety by interpreting their denotative and connotative meanings. A qualitative content study was conducted on ten meticulously selected Indonesian horror movie posters, spanning from Danur (2017) to Taghut (2024). The study concentrates on visual elements, including lighting, color palettes, body posture, face expressions, and symbolic objects, to uncover the fundamental cultural and psychological significances. The results indicate that child imagery serves as a powerful semiotic tool that embodies socio-cultural anxieties around family, morality, and social norms, while simultaneously amplifying terror through the contrast of vulnerability with supernatural or perilous elements. This research demonstrates the use of Barthes' semiotic theory in interpreting complex visual texts and enhances our comprehension of horror aesthetics within Indonesian cinema. The study offers significant insights for scholars examining media semiotics, visual culture, and film studies, particularly those interested in the dynamics of terror representation in cinematic marketing.
Downloads
References
Adnan, H. M., & Rahamad, M. S. (2023). The Semiotic Analysis of the Collisions Between Dominant Myths and Counter- Myths in Three Indonesian Horror Movies. Jurnal Komunikasi: Malaysian Journal of Communication, 39(2), 55–77. https://doi.org/10.17576/jkmjc-2023-3902-04
Amri, U., & Pratiwi, A. (2019). A Semiotic Analysis of Diary of a Wimpy Kid Movie Posters. Vivid: Journal of Language and Literature, 12(01), 20–30. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.25077/vj.12.1.20-29.2023
Anggraheni, D., Anandha, A., & Yogatama, A. (2024). Semiotic Analysis of Barbie Movie Poster (Issue ICCuS 2023). Atlantis Press SARL. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-212-5_22
Anggraheni, D., Widodo, S. T., Wijaya, M., & Ardianto, D. T. (2024a). Semiotic Analysis of the " Sewu Dino " Film Poster : Unveiling Visual Narratives and Cultural Symbolism. https://doi.org/10.4108/eai.25-10-2023.2348289
Anggraheni, D., Widodo, S. T., Wijaya, M., & Ardianto, D. T. (2024b). Signs of the Hereafter: Semiotic Analysis of Afterlife Imagery in Indonesian Horror Movie Posters (Issue ICCoLliC). Atlantis Press SARL. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-321-4_22
Barthes, R. (1977a). Barthes, R. (1977). Image, music, text. (S. Heath, Ed.)The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism (Vol. 37, p. 220). Hill and Wang. doi:10.2307/429854Image, music, text. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 37(2), 220. http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&btnG=Search&q=intitle:Image+Music+Text#0
Barthes, R. (1977b). Immage Music Text. In Suhrkamp Verlag AG (p. 29ff).
Barus, E., & Siregar, E. F. (2025). An Analysis of Roland Barthes ’ Semiotic Theory : Focusing on Denotation , Connotation , and Myth. International Journal of Educational Research Excellence (IJERE), 04(02), 355–363. https://doi.org/10.55299/ijere.v4i2.1438
Chandler, D. (2002). SEMIOTICS THE BASICS. Bmj, 324(7337), 621. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.324.7337.621/a
Dewi, K. W. U., Widya, K., Dewi, U., Putu, D., & Pratiwi, E. (2024). Semiotic Perspectives of Indonesian Horror Movie Posters. Retorika: Jurnal Ilmu Bahasa, 10(3), 707–720. https://doi.org/http://10.55637/jr.10.3.10231.730-743
Droit-Volet, S., Fayolle, S. L., & Gil, S. (2011). Emotion and time perception: Effects of film-induced mood. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 5(August), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2011.00033
Frolova, M. V. (2020). Indonesian Horror Story by Intan Paramaditha. Vestnik Sankt-Peterburgskogo Universiteta Vostokovedenie i Afrikanistika, 12(3), 368–379. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu13.2020.304
Hall, S. (2005). Culture Media Language (Vol. 17). Taylor & Francis e-Library,.
Mayangseto, G., Duta, U., & Surakarta, B. (2023). DECONSTRUCTION IN MOVIE ENTITLED GRETEL AND HANSEL. Frasa : English Education and Literature Journal, 4(2), 76–83. https://doi.org/Doi : 10.47701/frasa.v4i2.2912
Melamed, B. G., & et al. (1978). Effects of film modeling on the reduction of anxiety-related behaviors in individuals varying in level of previous experience in the stress situation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46(6), 1357–1367. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.46.6.1357
Mulvey, L. (1975). Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/screen/16.3.6.
Noer, A. R. (2021). We Choose What to Fear in Indonesian Horror Cinema. Communicare : Journal of Communication Studies, 8(1), 62. https://doi.org/10.37535/101008120215
Nugraha, Aulia C; Haryanti, R. P. (2025). VOICES OF THE SUBALTERN : DECODING RESISTANCE THROUGH SEMIOTICS IN COLLINS ’ THE BALLAD OF. FRASA: English Education and Literature Journal, 6(2), 374–387. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.47701/frasa.v6i2.5067 VOICES
Rahmalina, R., Gunawan, W., Saifullah, A. R., & Haristiani, N. (2025). The construction of fear in Indonesian contemporary horror films: A multimodal analysis. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 15(1), 131–146. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v15i1.76915
Walsh, R. (2010). The Horror, The Horror: What Kind of (Horror) Movie is the Apocalypse? The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, 22(3), 1–1. https://doi.org/10.3138/jrpc.22.3.001
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Dini Anggraheni, Sahid Teguh Widodo, Mahendra Wijaya, Deny Tri Ardianto
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
