Representations of Heroism in the Cinematography of the Animated Film Panji Tengkorak Using Roland Barthes’s Semiotic Approach

Abstract

Heroism in a film is not only portrayed through the characters’ actions but it also constructed through a system of signs that shape specific meanings. The film Panji Tengkorak (2025) presents heroic figures through powerful visuals, utilizing gestures and a narrative that tends to be complex. Research on meaning and representation in film has been extensively conducted using Roland Barthes’s semiotic approach as well as other visual studies. However, studies on Indonesian animated films that integrate cinematographic elements as a visual sign system with Roland Barthes’s semiotic approach remain relatively limited. This study aims to analyze the visual representation of the character Panji through cinematographic and semiotic approaches. The research employs a descriptive qualitative method, analyzing the visual elements that collectively contribute to constructing the impression of heroism in the character, as well as applying Roland Barthes’s semiotic theory to dissect the levels of denotation, connotation, and myth. The results show that Panji’s heroism is constructed not only through heroic actions but also through camera angles, visual composition, body gestures, lighting, color palettes, and specific symbols that build meaning at the levels of denotation, connotation, and myth. From a semiotic perspective, the portrayal of Panji which is far from glamorous is a visual form that gives rise to the myth of the solitary warrior. This study demonstrates that cinematography functions as a system of signs that actively shapes the representation of heroism.