Screen and faith: Mediatization of religion through docudrama
Article
The background of this current research is the shift in the pattern of fulfilling the need for religiosity. The purpose is to examine the mediatization of faith (religion) through media (docudrama). The research question is how docudrama mediatizes faith. The method applied was rhetorical criticism in communication research. This method signifies text and audience’s reception and corresponds to qualitative textual and reception analysis. This current research particularly adapted Jensen’s (2002) media-audience qualitative reception design. The procedure adapted from Frey, et al. (1999) included selecting Solusi docudrama and viewers’ comments on YouTube channel as data, describing themes by identifying elements and inter-relatedness among scenes, analyzing the salient ideas embedded within the themes, interpreting the narrative structure, and evaluating the persuasive force of messages supported by the viewers’ comments. The findings show that docudrama mediatizes religion by representing the interconnection of notions between religiosity-spirituality and individuality-community, the notions of religion in the dramatization frame, and by producing the audience’s pseudo model of reading. In conclusion, media (docudrama) mediatizes faith (religion) by representing the religious frames from a universal and psychic point of view. Mediatization of faith does not merely meet the needs for religiosity but alters the outlook of religion.
Abstrakt
Latar belakang dari penelitian ini adalah adanya pergeseran pola pemenuhan terhadap kebutuhan religiusitas. Tujuannya adalah untuk meneliti mediatisasi iman (agama) melalui media (dokudrama). Pertanyaan penelitiannya adalah bagaimana dokudrama memediasi keimanan. Metode yang digunakan adalah kritik retorika dalam penelitian komunikasi. Metode ini mensignifikasi teks dan resepsi penonton dan berkaitan dengan analisis tekstual dan analisis kualitatif terhadap resepsi. Penelitian ini secara khusus mengadaptasi desain resepsi kualitatif terhadap media-penonton dari Jensen (2002). Prosedur yang diadaptasi dari Frey, dkk. (1999) mencakup pemilihan dokudrama Solusi dan komentar penonton di saluran YouTube sebagai data, mendeskripsikan tema dengan mengidentifikasi elemen dan keterkaitan antar adegan, menganalisis ide-ide penting yang terkandung dalam tema, menginterpretasikan struktur naratif, dan mengevaluasi kekuatan persuasif dari pesan yang didukung oleh komentar penonton. Temuan penelitian menunjukkan bahwa dokudrama memediasi agama dengan merepresentasikan keterkaitan gagasan antara religiusitas-spiritualitas dan individualitas-komunitas, gagasan agama dalam bingkai dramatisasi, dan dengan memproduksi model pseudo pada cara penonton memahami. Kesimpulannya, media (dokudrama) memediasi keimanan (agama) dengan merepresentasikan bingkai-bingkai agama dari sudut pandang universal dan psikis. Mediatisasi iman tidak hanya memenuhi kebutuhan religiusitas, tetapi juga mengubah tampilan agama.
Anna Deavere Smith’s Docudrama Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992: Crossing Boundaries or Re-Mythifying the Orient?
Article
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 (1994), Anna Deavere Smith’s 15th project in her On the Road series, is a docudrama that explores American identity through the diverse cultural memories of the 1992 Los Angeles crisis. She works to make the play an open platform where racial minority groups in multicultural America can negotiate and coexist by repeating interviews from various groups who were involved in the L.A. crisis. Despite the many advantages in her docudrama, the genre itself has been criticized, owing to the dubious characteristics of “reality,” “truthfulness,” and “neutrality” that she emphasizes. This paper examines the characteristics of the docudrama that Smith employs and investigates whether Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 is effective in achieving her aim of shedding light on the diverse layers of American identity. In particular, this paper will focus on “reality,” one of the significant traits of the docudrama, and will investigate whether or not this might cause other forms of racial discrimination. Moreover, the researcher will analyze whether Smith’s racial representation is balanced so that the play becomes meaningful to minorities and helps them work through their foundational historical trauma, that is, the L.A. crisis, which has already become part of their cultural identity.
