Indonesia’s Political Colours: From the New Order to Joko Widodo Rifka Sibarani Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta Jl. Babarsari No. 44 Yogyakarta 55281 Email: [email protected] Abstract: This study aims to examine the meaning behind the political colours in Indonesia. It uses Roland Barthes’ semiotics analysis. The results show that yellow is identified with the power of Golongan Karya Party which means oligarch wealth; red symbolises the intertwine association of the communism history and the labour movement in Indonesia with PDI Perjuangan; blue symbolises the values of patriotism and neoliberalist agenda for Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono: whereas the combination of red-white-black of Joko Widodo’s plaid shirt symbolises political progressiveness. Keywords: Indonesia, political colour, political communication, semiotic. Abstrak: Penelitian ini bertujuan menganalisis makna di balik warna-warna politik di Indonesia. Penelitian ini menggunakan analisis semiotika Roland Barthes. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kuning lambang Partai Golongan Karya yang berarti kekayaan berkuasa; merah lambang Partai Demokrasi Indonesia (PDI) Perjuangan yang berarti hubungan, sejarah komunisme, dan gerakan buruh di Indonesia; biru melambangkan nilai-nilai patriotisme serta agenda neoliberalisme Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono; sedangkan kombinasi merah-putih-hitam dari kemeja kotak-kotak Joko Widodo melambangkan politik progresif. Keywords: Indonesia, komunikasi politik, semiotika, warna politik. A lot of political communication research sociocultural and political meaning behind focuses on persuasion and voters’ decision a political colour in Indonesia. They can making (Miller & McKerrow, 2010; Forgas be used to understand how a political party & Williams, 2016; McNair, 2017). In addition colour is tried to be represented and political to that, modern political communication messages are established. This study attempts research has proliferated beyond the to provide a semiotics analysis to look into communication field. It has also made its the existing research gap. existence in marketing, advertising, and Nevertheless, early studies of political cultural studies and it established semiotics communication suggested, show the strong as a part of political communication research relationship between symbol-using and (Maarek, 2008; Serazio, 2017; Spenkuch politics. Semiotics in political communication & Toniatti, 2018). However, there are still research focuses on propaganda and cultural limited studies that examine and explain the hegemony of the ruling class, visual 189 Jurnal ILMU KOMUNIKASI VOLUME 15, NOMOR 2, Desember 2018: 189-202 representation of political campaign media, product. Previous studies have shown that and their social meanings (Drechsler, 2009; different colours have different emotional Berger, 2014). One of the elements examined impacts on perceivers. Burgoon and Saine (in through semiotics approach is political Argyle, 2013, p. 186) show that yellow has colours used by politicians and political more positive emotional effects on human parties in their campaigns. compared to purple colour. These studies The research on significance of colour have associated yellow as joyful, cheerful, in political communication flourishes exciting, and stimulating, and purple colour with the development of modern political as the unhappy, dejected, despondent, and campaigns. Election campaigns are seen as melancholy. a form of marketing activities that involve Colours affect how audience feels advertising to promote candidates. For about candidates. An effective political example, Presidential Election year of 2008, communication is often measured by an amount of US $2.6 billion was spent on increasing popularity of a political candidate political advertising (Scheinkman, G. V., as well. Often, their likability is measured by Mclean, & Weitberg, 2012). Mitt Romney their public appearance, including the choice paid his campaign manager an amount of US of their outfits they wear (Cartner-Morley, $183,000 in 2012 and Barack Obama paid 2016). Previous studies showed that people his campaign manager US $172,000 in 2012 were responded to someone’s wearing in (Sullivan, 2013). This campaign funding was public, they were responded to symbols they also high in Indonesia. Based on Indonesian first encountered in their early emotional Corruption Watch data in presidential development. The symbols has power election year of 2014, Prabowo-Hatta spent based on conditioning, modeling, cognitive approximately US $11,390,000, meanwhile consistency, affect transfer, and other Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Jusuf Kalla socialisation mechanisms (De Landtsheer, De spent US $19,766,000 for their campaign Vries, & Vertessen, 2008, p. 22; Medveschi (Indonesian Corruption Watch, 2014). & Frunza, 2018, p. 141). This makes it more Candidates are seen as the products in important than those political candidates to the advertising process with so much money present a political brand through dress that is at stake. Political campaign needs strategies appealing to his potential voters. Additionally, for colour using to associate their candidates this is more important in the digital era, when with certain values the colours have. Previous such political branding has more alternative studies (Labrecque & Milne, 2012, p. 712- platforms for distribution. In the age of 714; Lichtlé & Plichon, 2014, p. 5) argue that social media, politicians compete to produce colours are linked to emotions and human personal image for attracting potential personality. Its have been used to identify supporters. The motive behind choice of and communicate cultural and political ideas presentation, fashion, and style, will be more and to stimulate buyers’ decision to buy a essential than the message they convey and 190 Rifka Sibarani. Indonesia’s Political Colours ... policies they offer (McNair, 2017, p. xviii; understand the meaning behind the colour Salazar-Sutil, 2008, p. 23-24). symbols based on the social context. In the This study proposes theoretical propo- semiotics approach, representation could be sitions from a series of hypothesis. Firstly, understood as the foundation of the way of parties and political candidates incorporate words work as signs within language (Hall, colours in their campaigns for voters’ iden- 1997). In general, semiotics is the science of tification of their campaign. This makes the signs that can be used to stand for something use of colours in political campaigns is not else. There are three well-known approaches different from the use of colours in product to semiology as known as the packaging for advertising (Kauppinen- Charles Sanders Peirce, Ferdinand Räisänen, 2014, p. 663). Schaffner and Streb de Saussure, and Roland Barthes. This (in Conroy-Krutz, Moehler, & Aguilar, 2016, study uses the Roland Barthes’ approaches p. 5-6) suggests that colour is important in because the model looks into the social a political climate where voters have low- meaning of a sign. information and high political illiteracy (e.g. … as a result, [I] acquired the conviction that in the Indonesia’s New Order era), in that by treating “collective representations” as sign-systems, one might hope to go further case, voters will tend to identify their voting that the pious show of unmasking them and preferences with colour coded options. With account in detail for the mystification which transforms petit-bourgeois culture into the way of an election is set-up according universal nature. (Barthes, 1972, p. 8) to a national standard, colour uses are also standarised and appear consistently to establish a stable symbolic association between the party, objectives, and their colours. Secondly, according to Marini (2017, p. Image 1 Barthes Model of Semiotics Analysis 3) politicians and party leaders selects their Barthes’ semiotics model defines a identity colours with taking consideration sign as something that stands for something collective meanings attached to the colours. else and constituted by a signifier and Her study argues that political elites that have a signified. Barthes (1972, p. 115) also connection to the established ruling class and explains that signs can both work at royal family would refer to their traditional denotative and connotative levels. The colours and their coats of arms (e.g the British interpretation of these signs will be referred Conservative party), or rather some would to larger collective social meaning and in associate their political colour with patriotism the analysis will be coded as “myth” (Hall, (e.g the U.S Republican party). 1997, p. 97). This study will categorise the sample colours and analysed them based METHOD on the social ‘myth’ and based on study This study uses an interpretative semiotics of Marini (2017) that colour palate as the approach. It uses the Barthesian semiotics to anchor category. 191 Jurnal ILMU KOMUNIKASI VOLUME 15, NOMOR 2, Desember 2018: 189-202 with Golongan Karya (Golkar), the ruling party of the Soeharto era which is associated with authoritarianism, military oppression, and corruption. During the New Order period, members of Golkar would proudly wear bright yellow outfits. As a campaign machine for the New Order regime, supporters of Golkar would gather in major rallies, entertained by Image 1 Space from Colour Theory (Marini, 2017, p. 5) Indonesian popular celebrities and received money and other souvenirs from the party. Budiman (in Tomsa, 2008, p. 219) suggests that the choice of the colour of yellow as Golkar’s signature