A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF GIBRAN’S RESPONSE TO PANDJI’S POLITICAL SATIRE

Hassika Laila, Yeni Artanti, Susana Widyastuti, Sulis Triyono


Abstract


This study explores stand-up comedy as a medium for expressing socio-political issues and examines how political figures respond to such satire in digital media. This study scopes the discourse and power relations in Gibran Rakabuming’s response to Pandji Pragiwaksono’s satire in his Mens Rea show, which was recorded and published on Netflix and Tretan Universe YouTube channel. Previous studies of political satire have focused mainly on the construction of humour. This study fills the gap by examining the strategic responses of targeted politicians. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, this study analyzes micro-level linguistic features through Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) metafunctions, ideational, interpersonal, and textual and examines how language constructs meaning and sociocultural practices through Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), drawing on Fairclough’s framework of representation, relations, and identity. Gibran’s composed demeanor functions discursively as a strategy of political deflection. His serenity, laughter, and simple language transform political criticism into harmless biological humor framed as natural and innocent. This strategy exemplifies ‘soft hegemony,’ whereby politicians employ humor and self-deprecation to diffuse critique and maintain authority. This study greatly advances the field of political discourse by broadening the scope of application of SFL and CDA frameworks to informal digital multimodal interactions, which are usually dismissed as trivial entertainment but are in fact highly complex and sophisticated sites for ideological negotiation and power reproduction.

Keywords


Critical Discourse Analysis; Gibran Rakabuming; Metafunction; Pandji Pragiwaksono; Political Satire; Stand-up Comedy.

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abdullah, S. I., Ali, A. M., & Abdullah, F. S. (2012). The role of humor in the construction of satire in Nigerian political cartoons. Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 2(3), 148–165.

Abrar, Balya, H., & Syukran, Z. M. (2025). Peran mens rea dalam sistem hukum: Analisis hubungan dengan prinsip etika dan keadilan. As-Salam Jurnal Studi Hukum Islam & Pendidikan, 14(1), 99–107.

Adegbenro, E., & Olayemi, O. (2025). A critical discourse analysis of President Biden’s remarks on ‘pandemic politics’. Humanities Journal of University of Zakho, 13(1), 54–61. https://doi.org/10.26436/hjuoz.2025.13.1.1482

Alameda-Hernández, Á., & Jiménez-Briones, R. (2025). Critical discourse analysis and systemic functional linguistics in empirical research: A systematic literature review. English Studies at NBU, 11(2), 291. https://doi.org/10.33919/esnbu.25.2.6

Chen, Q. (2025). An interpersonal metafunction analysis of three highly viewed TED Talks. Literature Language and Cultural Studies, 3(1), 86. https://doi.org/10.63313/llcs.9100

Cheng, S. (2024). A review of interpersonal metafunction studies in systemic functional linguistics (2012–2022). Journal of World Languages, 10(3), 623–667. https://doi.org/10.1515/jwl-2023-0026

Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.

Enarsson, T. (2025). The disinformation dilemma: Moderating political satire under the DSA in light of the European Convention on Human Rights. European Journal of Risk Regulation, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1017/err.2025.10062

Fairclough, N. (1995). Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language. Longman.

Farhanita, F., & Kurniawan, M. H. (2024). Negotiating power between leading male and female characters in Toy Story 4 movie. Language Literacy: Journal of Linguistics, Literature, and Language Teaching, 8(1), 199–210. https://doi.org/10.30743/ll.v8i1.9074

Fretes, D. R. D., Zainuddin, A., Darmawati., Muhammadong., & Dewi, M. P. (2023). Challenges in enforcing hate speech laws in Indonesian politics. International Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences and Business (INJOSS), 2(3), 418–442.

Gil de Zúñiga, H., Veenstra, A., Vraga, E., & Shah, D. (2010). Digital democracy: Reimagining pathways to political participation. Journal of Information Technology and Politics, 7(1), 36–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/19331680903316742

Halliday, M. A. K., & Matthiessen, C. M. I. M. (2014). Halliday’s introduction to functional grammar (4th ed.). Routledge.

Hariyanti, N., & Yustitia, S. (2020). Language and political expression (Study of critical discourse analysis of satire Instagram account @nurhadi_aldo). Jurnal Aristo (Social, Politic, Humaniora), 8(1), 154–172.

Ilham, I., Muttaqin, M. Z., Idris, U., & Renyaan, D. (2022). Era digital: Influencer dalam sistem politik Indonesia. Jurnal Ekologi Birokrasi, 10(1), 69–80. https://doi.org/10.31957/jeb.v10i1.2317

Kanwal, R., Ali, Z., & Qasim, M. H. (2025). The textual metafunction in Pakistani English newspaper editorials: A systemic functional linguistic study. Academia International Journal for Social Sciences, 4(2), 1411–1426. https://doi.org/10.63056/ACAD.004.02.0264

Kaur, H., & Puyok, A. (2021). Political satire and its influence on the youth political perception. Trends in Undergraduate Research, 4(2), 18–28. https://doi.org/10.33736/tur.4096.2021

Kulkarni, A. (2017). Internet meme and political discourse: A study on the impact of internet meme as a tool in communicating political satire. Journal of Content, Community and Communication, 6, 13–17. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3501366

Kwong, Y. H. (2024). Political satire and collective reproduction: The power of political nicknames in Hong Kong. Semiosis Research Center at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, 12(2), 215–234. https://doi.org/10.1086/729473

Ledin, P., & Machin, D. (2020). Introduction to multimodal analysis (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing.

Lola, V. I., & Emilia, E. (2025). Digital multimodal composing in EFL pre-service teachers’ slides: A systemic functional multimodal discourse analysis. Language Literacy: Journal of Linguistics, Literature, and Language Teaching, 9(2), 417–438. https://doi.org/10.30743/ll.v1i1.11649

Mariana, D., & Husin, H. L. (2017). Democracy, local election, and political dynasty in Indonesian politics. Jurnal Wacana Politik, 2(2), 88–97.

Mikolov, T., Yih, W., & Zweig, G. (2013). Linguistic regularities in continuous space word representations. Microsoft Research, 746–751.

Möller, A. M., & Boukes, M. (2022). Satirizing the clothing industry on YouTube: How political satire and user comments jointly shape behavioral intentions. Media Psychology, 25(5), 724–739. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2022.2066004

Nabiyeva, N. A. (2025). A structural-semantic analysis of English noun phrases. Journal of Azerbaijan of Languages, 2025(64), 216–225. https://doi.org/10.62706/bqiz.2025.v25.i4.38

Nita, F. R., Setiawan, S., & Lestari, L. A. (2021). Meaning-making of internet memes to create humorous sense: Functions as speech acts. Language Literacy: Journal of Linguistics, Literature, and Language Teaching, 5(2), 465–479. https://doi.org/10.30743/ll.v5i2.4445

Nizar, A. Z., & Aesthetika, N. M. (2024). Analisis semiotika meme satir di akun Twitter @memefess. Interaction Communication Studies Journal, 1(1), 161–171. https://doi.org/10.47134/interaction.v1i1.2544

Oboko, B. E., & Ukwueze, A. (2025). Influence of social media messages on Niger Delta youths’ perception of the Federal Government’s war against oil theft: A critical discourse analysis. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), 9(9), 8605–8617. https://doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.909000703

Ogbo, S. U., & Nuhu, M. (2016). Satire as tool of political cartoons in the Nigerian national dailies: A critical discourse analysis. European Scientific Journal, 12(29), 124–141. https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2016.v12n29p124

Parasian, N. A., Nurlela, Zein, T. T., & Deliana. (2025). The ideational metafunction realisation of Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto’s speech on commemoration of National Teacher’s Day 2024. RAINBOW: Journal of Literature, Linguistics and Cultural Studies, 14(2), 183–190. https://doi.org/10.15294/rainbow.v14i2.28858

Pragiwaksono, P. (Writer & performer). (2025). Mens rea [Stand-up comedy special]. Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/title/82627260

Purwaningrum, W. P., & Harmoko, D. D. (2025). Ideological critique and dynamics of democracy: Critical discourse analysis of the “Pasar Bebas Capres” narrative in revealing oligarchy on the Mata Najwa. NOTION: Journal of Linguistics, Literature, and Culture, 7(1), 85–103. https://doi.org/10.12928/notion.v7i1.11738

Putra, F. R., Zulprianto, & Sawirman. (2024). An ideational metafunction analysis of President Joko Widodo’s speech on Crude Palm Oil (CPO) policies. SALEE: Study of Applied Linguistics and English Education, 5(1), 344–365. https://doi.org/10.35961/salee.v5i1.1065

Rahman, R., Hidayat, D. N., & Alek, A. (2021). A critical discourse analysis of Bintang Emon’s humor discourse entitled ‘Ga sengaja’. Englisia: Journal of Language, Education, and Humanities, 8(2), 94. https://doi.org/10.22373/ej.v8i2.8461

Romandona, R., & Yasin, B. (2025). Analisis Hukum Asas Mens Rea dan Actus Reus Dalam Kasus Pembunuhan Brigadir Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat (Studi kasus dalam putusan PN Jakarta Selatan No. 796/Pid.B/2022/PN Jkt.Sel). Justitiable: Jurnal Hukum Universitas Bojonegoro, 6(2), 8. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350601529.180

Saleem, F., Maqsood, M., & Abbasi, S. (2022). Political emes and ethical boundaries: Framing analysis in the context of “no-confidence motion 2022” in Pakistan. Online Media and Society, 3, 134–148. https://doi.org/10.71016/oms/tamqzg30

Salih, R. H. (2021). CDA in the perceptions of the public space of immigration: The ideology and elements of Halliday's theory (SFG) in the interpretation of migration narratives in the US public space. International Journal of Humanities and Educational Research, 3(6), 187–207. https://doi.org/10.47832/2757-5403.6-3.14

Sari, I. P., & Triyono, S. (2023). Roasting officials in humorous discourse by Kiki Saputri: A critical discourse analysis. International Journal of Contemporary Studies in Education (IJ-CSE), 2(3), 204–214. https://doi.org/10.56855/ijcse.v2i3.657

Situmorang, K., Simbolon, N. E., Pramusita, S. M., & Hutabarat, P. (2025). Multimodality in English-medium nursing classroom interactions: A critical discourse analysis. Studies in English Language and Education, 12(3), 1280–1297. https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v12i3.44484

Sentosa, A., Arianti, S., Ugang, Y., Effrata, E., Manya, M., & Pakpahan, A. (2024). Peran generasi milenial dalam mempengaruhi budaya politik Indonesia. Jurnal Sociopolitico, 6(2), 203–208. https://doi.org/10.54683/sociopolitico.v6i2.147

Song, K., Williams, K. M., Schallert, D. L., & Pruitt, A. A. (2021). Humor in multimodal language use: Students’ response to a dialogic, social-networking online assignment. Linguistics and Education, 63, 100903. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.LINGED.2021.100903

Sumari, B. A. D. (2024). Interpersonal metafunction analysis of smartphone slogans. International Journal of English Education and Linguistics (IJoEEL), 6(1), 81–91. https://doi.org/10.33650/ijoeel.v6i1.8194

Sunarso, S., Setiawan, B., & Anjani, N. P. P. S. (2022). The political satire of Mojok.co in the 2019 Indonesian election. Heliyon, 8(7), e10018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10018

Surahmat, S., Wijana, I. D. P., & Baskoro, B. S. (2024). Cultural violence in Indonesian ethnic humor: A critical discourse analysis. Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya, 52(1), 43–60. https://doi.org/10.17977/um015v52i12024p43

Tesnohlidkova, O. (2021). Humor and satire in politics: Introducing cultural sociology to the field. Sociology Compass, 15(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12842

Tretan Universe. (2026, 18 Januari). Gibran ngantuk ya?! – Tahan sabar [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxSBNOLJzL8

Van Dijk, T. A. (2008). Discourse & power. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-07299-3

Windisch, S., & Simi, P. (2022). More than a joke: White supremacist humor as a daily form of resistance. Deviant Behavior, 44(3), 381–397. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2022.2048216

Wodak, R., & Meyer, M. (2009). Critical discourse analysis: History, agenda, theory, and methodology. In R. Wodak, & M. Meyer (Eds.), Methods of critical discourse analysis (pp. 1–33). London: SAGE Publications.

Zeb, S., Malik, F., & Hussain, Z. (2025). Memes as resistance: A discourse analysis of political and cultural memes in Pakistan. The Critical Review of Social Sciences Studies, 3(2), 582–590. https://thecrsss.com/index.php/Journal/about




DOI: https://doi.org/10.30743/ll.v10i1.13468

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.