Minangkabau Audience Reception of Feminist Representations in Film

This study employs a reception analysis to examine the interpretation of feminist themes in global cinema within the specific cultural context of the Minangkabau society of Indonesia. The research contrasts audience responses to two distinct films: Kim Ji-Young: Born 1982 (10 participants; 7 women, 3 men) and Barbie (2023) (4 men). Utilizing a qualitative narrative methodology and framed by Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model, data were gathered through in-depth interviews to ascertain how viewers decipher feminist messages. The analysis identifies three predominant reception positions. A dominant reading emerged wherein viewers perceived the films’ narratives as a valid reflection of persistent gender inequality within their own matrilineal society, which maintains male authority in socio-political spheres. A negotiated reading was also prevalent, with audiences accepting core feminist premises but reconciling them with local cultural, religious, and traditional values. Finally, an oppositional reading was present, wherein participants wholly rejected the films’ feminist frameworks, dismissing them as culturally incompatible Western constructs. The findings demonstrate that the reception of feminist media is a complex process of negotiation situated at the intersection of global media texts and local frameworks. This study underscores the continued relevance of Hall’s theoretical model for understanding how meaning is constructed and contested by audiences when engaging with cross-cultural cinematic discourse.