Salib Merah, Sakralitas Tanah Dan Resistensi Sosial-Politik: Analisis Semiotik Film Dokumenter Pesta Babi

Abstract

Abstract

This article examines the representation of the red cross (salib merah) in the documentary film Pesta Babi as a symbol of Indigenous resistance in South Papua against forest conversion driven by national strategic projects (PSN) and corporate expansion. The study employs a qualitative method using Roland Barthes’ semiotic approach, focusing on denotative and connotative meanings. Data were collected through close observation of scenes featuring the red cross in the film and supported by a literature review on ecological conflicts, Indigenous communities, and religious symbols in media representation. The findings reveal that, at the denotative level, the red cross is represented as a visual object appearing in various sites of ecological conflict, including customary forests, sago groves, swamps, riverbanks, and areas threatened by development projects. At the connotative level, however, the red cross functions as a marker of customary forest boundaries, a medium for spiritual appeals to God and ancestors, and a symbol of political resistance against state and corporate interventions. The red color, traditional war motifs carved on the cross, and its association with Indigenous symbols demonstrate a transformation of meaning from a religious emblem into a symbol of ecological struggle. The study argues that documentary films not only represent social realities but also serve as sites of meaning production where religious symbols can be reconstructed as instruments of social, political, and ecological communication in Indigenous struggles to defend their living spaces.

Keywords: red cross, Roland Barthes’ semiotics, documentary film, Indigenous peoples, ecological conflict, South Papua.