Representasi Tokoh Perempuan Tuli sebagai Tragic Victim: Analisis Semiotika Roland Barthes pada Tokoh Cheong Ah dalam Serial Drama Korea Twinkling Watermelon (2023)

Yumna Amartha Aulia Putri, Dr. Novi Kurnia, M.Si., M.A.

2026 | Skripsi | Ilmu Komunikasi

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk membongkar representasi karakteristik tragic victim pada tokoh disabilitas Tuli bernama Yoon Cheong Ah dalam drama Korea Twinkling Watermelon. Melalui pendekatan kualitatif-deskriptif dengan pisau analisis semiotika Roland Barthes, data penelitian dikumpulkan melalui teknik dokumentasi berupa observasi tekstual audio-visual terhadap 12 fragmen adegan terpilih yang mengandung tanda tanda marginalisasi, kekerasan, dan pasivitas tokoh. Hasil penelitian pada tatanan signifikansi denotasi, konotasi, dan mitos menunjukkan bahwa karakteristik tragic victim direkonstruksi secara terstruktur, multidimensional, dan berkelanjutan yang secara sistemik mengunci ruang gerak tokoh melalui tiga indikator utama. Pertama, terjadinya eksploitasi penderitaan melalui marginalisasi ganda (double marginalization) yang menempatkan tokoh ada di bawah opresi budaya audisme sekaligus struktur patriarki domestik. Kedua, hadirnya siklus kekerasan multidimensional dari ranah domestik hingga institusi sekolah yang mengakibatkan perampasan hak berbahasa (language deprivation) hingga berujung pada fatalitas komunikasi di ruang publik. Ketiga, representasi pasivitas absolut yang mengonstruksi tokoh sehingga berada dalam fase learned helplessness, di mana pemenuhan hak asasinya selalu bergantung pada kepahlawanan karakter nondisabilitas. Meskipun drama ini menyelipkan bentuk resistensi pasif (passive resistance), secara keseluruhan Twinkling Watermelon tetap melanggengkan mitos sosiologis lama mengenai penyandang disabilitas sebagai subjek rapuh yang tidak berdaya, sekaligus mengeksploitasi kebisuan tokoh sebagai komoditas estetika penderitaan (pity porn) guna memicu katarsis emosional penonton. Secara akademis, penelitian ini berkontribusi dalam memperkaya literatur studi media kontemporer melalui penerapan analisis kritis yang menjembatani isu gender dan disabilitas (interseksionalitas) dalam produk budaya populer.

This study aims to dismantle the representation of the tragic victim characteristics in the Deaf character named Yoon Cheong Ah in the Korean drama Twinkling Watermelon. Utilizing a qualitative-descriptive approach with Roland Barthes's semiotic analysis, the research data were collected through documentation techniques in the form of textual audio-visual observation of 12 selected scene fragments containing signs of marginalization, violence, and character passivity. The results of the study at the levels of denotation, connotation, and myth signification show that the characteristics of the tragic victim are reconstructed in a structured, multidimensional, and continuous manner that systemically locks the character's space through three main indicators. First, the exploitation of suffering through double marginalization, which places the character under the oppression of audism culture as well as domestic patriarchal structures. Second, the presence of a multidimensional cycle of violence from the domestic sphere to educational institutions that results in language deprivation, leading to communication fatalities in public spaces. Third, the representation of absolute passivity that constructs the character in a phase of learned helplessness, where the fulfillment of her human rights always depends on the heroism of non disabled characters. Although this drama introduces forms of passive resistance, overall Twinkling Watermelon still perpetuates the old sociological myth of persons with disabilities as fragile and powerless subjects, while exploiting the character's muteness as a commodity of suffering aesthetics (pity porn) to trigger the audience's emotional catharsis. Academically, this research contributes to enriching contemporary media studies literature through the application of critical analysis that bridges gender and disability issues (intersectionality) in popular culture products.

Kata Kunci : Semiotika, Tragic Victim, Disabilitas Tuli, Audisme, Twinkling Watermelon