Analisis Semiotika Roland Barthes terhadap Makna Kritik Politik dalam Lirik Lagu “Surat Buat Wakil Rakyat” Karya Iwan Fals

Abstract

This study aims to unpack the process of denotative and connotative signification and to reveal the political myth constructed and deconstructed in the lyrics of the song “Surat Buat Wakil Rakyat” (“A Letter to the People’s Representatives”) by Iwan Fals, released in 1987. This research employs a qualitative method with a descriptive-interpretive approach grounded in a critical paradigm, applying the semiotic framework of the two orders of signification and Roland Barthes’s theory of myth as formulated in Mythologies. The primary data, in the form of the song lyric text, were analysed through a Barthesian matrix of meaning that maps sign units into the levels of denotation, connotation, and myth, with secondary data consisting of historical-political literature on the New Order regime serving as contextual triangulation. The findings show that at the denotative level, diction such as “kekenyangan” (being overstuffed/gorged) and “tidur waktu sidang” (sleeping during sessions) merely records literal activities; however, at the connotative level, these expand into criticism of elite greed, the alienation of people’s representatives from their constituents, and the commodification of politics. At the mythical level, the lyrics function as a counter-hegemonic instrument that deconstructs the state’s official myth of the nobility and sanctity of the House of Representatives (DPR) as an institution, exposing the reality of parliament as a mere “rubber-stamp” body that has lost its function of checks and balances. This study concludes that popular music serves as a crucial alternative public sphere for articulating political resistance amid authoritarian repression.