ABSTRACT: Cartoonists are communicators who convey the communication message through cartoons. Since the Reform period, freedom of expression for cartoonists got fresh air along with the enactment of legislation known as Law Number 40 Year 1999 on the press, which stated that the freedom of the press is the rights of all citizens. Furthermore, the presence of new media as a forum for cartoonists to convey his ideas has changed communication patterns become more open and engage the wider participation of the reader. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), as a political figure, was giving better freedom for media expressions, including political cartoons. Using the method of discourse analysis, this study examines the cartoonist visual communication through a political cartoon featuring a cartoon of President SBY. The result of this research shows that there are interactive participants that serves as a the act of communication for cartoon and the readers. In this digital era, cartoonist did not use labels or names of cartoon characters, because the cartoon depiction using digital tracing techniques. Visual messages are delivered directly to the figures reported, in this case called subjective modality. Later most, visual communications done by cartoonists can be said very freely, although he was talking about an incumbent President.

KEY WORD: Visual communication, discourse analysis, political cartoons, Reform era, freedom of expression, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and incumbent President.

RESUME: “Komunikasi Visual Kartunis melalui Kartun Politik Online pada Masa Pemerintahan Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono”. Kartunis adalah komunikator yang menyampaikan pesan komunikasinya melalui gambar kartun. Sejak masa Reformasi, kebebasan berekspresi kartunis mendapatkan angin segar seiring dengan diberlakukannya UU (Undang-Undang) No.40 tahun 1999 tentang pers, dimana disebutkan bahwa kemerdekaan pers adalah hak asasi warga negara. Ditambah lagi, kehadiran media baru sebagai wadah bagi kartunis menyampaikan ide dan gagasannya mengubah pola komunikasi menjadi lebih terbuka dan mengikutsertakan partisipasi pembaca lebih luas. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), sebagai seorang tokoh politik, telah memberikan kebebasan yang lebih baik bagi media pers untuk berekspresi, termasuk kartun politik. Menggunakan metode analisis wacana, penelitian ini mengkaji komunikasi visual kartunis melalui kartun politik yang menampilkan kartun Presiden SBY. Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa terdapat partisipan interaktif yang berfungsi sebagai tindak komunikasi bagi kartun dengan pembacanya. Di era digital ini, kartunis tidak menggunakan label atau penamaan untuk tokoh kartunnya, karena penggambaran kartun menggunakan teknik digital tracing. Pesan visual yang disampaikan bersifat langsung kepada tokoh yang diberitakan, dalam hal ini disebut modalitas subjektif. Akhirnya, komunikasi visual yang dilakukan kartunis begitu bebas, meskipun yang dibicarakannya adalah seorang Presiden yang tengah berkuasa.

KATA KUNCI: Komunikasi visual, analisis wacana, kartun politik, masa Reformasi, kebebasan berekspresi, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, dan Presiden yang tengah berkuasa.

About the Authors: Ferry Darmawan is a Lecturer at the Faculty of Communication UNISBA (Bandung Islamic University), Jalan Tamansari No.1 Bandung, West Java, Indonesia; and Prof. Dr. Yasraf A. Piliang is a Lecturer at the Faculty of Fine Art and Design ITB (Bandung Institute of Technology), Jalan Ganesha No.10 Tamansari, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. For academic interests, the authors can be contacted via e-mails at: ferrydarma_1@yahoo.com and ya_piliang@yahoo.com

How to cite this article? Darmawan, Ferry & Yasraf A. Piliang. (2015). “Cartoonist Visual Communication through Online Political Cartoon in the Era of the Government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono” in SOSIOHUMANIKA: Jurnal Pendidikan Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan, Vol.8(2) November, pp.195-204. Bandung, Indonesia: Minda Masagi Press and UNIPA Surabaya, ISSN 1979-0112.

Chronicle of the article: Accepted (July 3, 2015); Revised (September 3, 2015); and Published (November 30, 2015).

visual communication; discourse analysis; political cartoons; Reform era; freedom of expression; Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono; incumbent President

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