INSTAGRAM AND AN INDONESIAN IDEAL LEADER

Wahyu Eka Putri¹, Eriyanto²*
¹S.KPm., Department of Communication Science, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Indonesia, Indonesia, wahyuekakpm49@gmail.com
²Dr.,M.Si, Department of Communication Science, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Indonesia, Indonesia, eriyanto2001@gmail.com
*Corresponding author

Abstract

This article explores Indonesian elected president activities on Instagram during the 2019 election. Instagram create new ways to market political campaigns through the displayed images and new channels for candidates and voters to interact. Self-framing displayed enable to present identifiable image for candidates. To explore the role that images play in framing political character and to identify which images received higher levels of engagement, content analyses were performed on candidates’ Instagram account. Political framing identification uses the potential frames character that had previously been carried by Grabe dan Bucy. Grab and Bucy identify images used in the campaign to create a particular political character. The purpose of this study is to describe the representation of Indonesian ideal leader on instagram by using multimodal analysis to understand how Instagram images convey meaning that helps to create those frames. This research concludes with a discussion of the utility of multimodal analysis in understanding campaign images that support the created framing characters. As a candidate, Joko Widodo most frequently employes the ideal candidate frame with subdimensions of statesmanship and compassion. Joko Widodo, as an incumbent candidate, does not show his achievements or symbol of progress as a campaign tool in his image. He uses many family themes and bapakism symbols in Instagram posts. This is in accordance with the cultural values of the Indonesian people, especially Java that a leader must be modest, and uphold the family because he is part of the family. This shows that Javanese cultural values which are one of the cultural values in Indonesian society are in control to influence Joko Widodo to represent himself. Joko Widodo considers the values in each of his Instagram posts, because Javanese culture is a value he embraces (Joko Widodo is of Javanese descent) and sees the condition of the Indonesian people, the majority of which are Javanese.

Keywords: Framing, Instagram, Multimodal Analysis, Javanese Culture