Deconstructing fear in Indonesian cinema: Diachronic analysis of antagonist representations in half a century of Indonesian horror films 1970-2020

Abstract

The antagonist representations in horror films demonstrate how cultural symptoms of a community respond to fear. The diachronic analysis in this study employs a mixed method to analyze the dynamics of antagonist representation in Indonesian horror films. This research investigates the portrayal of antagonists from a macroscopic standpoint, encompassing a wider scope of analysis. During the 1970s, the Indonesian film industry had a prevailing trend characterized by the prominence of psychological horror films. Indonesian cinema in the subsequent decades continued to produce films featured antagonists characterized by psychopathic tendencies. Nevertheless, the growth of the former was not commensurate with the surge observed in the latter genre of supernatural horror movies. From 1985 to 1998, there was a notable shift in Indonesian horror films, as ghostly spirits emerged as the predominant antagonistic entities. The increase in the portrayal of spectral adversaries within the genre of supernatural horror is closely associated with a shift towards spirituality, particularly in the Indonesian cultural and social milieu. The Indonesian horror archetypes, such as kuntilanak and sundelbolong, are rooted in the trauma stemming from violence, rape and the horror experienced by women during significant historical moments in Indonesia. We can also see how the expansion of Hollywood films and New Asian Horror also influences the appearance of antagonists with special characterizations in Indonesian horror films.

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