Icons, Indices, and Symbols of the Film Perayaan Mati Rasa by Umay Shahab: A Charles Sanders Peirce Semiotic Study

Abstract

This study aims to describe the meaning of icons, indices, and symbols in Umay Shahab’s film “Perayaan Mati Rasa” through Charles Sanders Peirce’s semiotics. The study was conducted by analyzing the film, which premiered in theaters on January 29, 2025, and on Netflix on June 12, 2025. The primary data source for this study was the film itself, while secondary data were obtained from semiotic theory books, scientific journals, and other relevant literature. The research instruments used included observation through repeated viewings of the film, documentation through screenshots of scenes, and literature review. Data analysis was conducted using Charles Sanders Peirce’s semiotic approach with a qualitative descriptive method. The results show that: first, eight icon data were found in the form of visual representations of the main characters: Ian Antono, Uta Antono, Satya Antono, Dini Antono, Ray Alvero, Saka Wijaya, Dika Ardana, and Dinda Juwita, which depict character, relationships between characters, and emotional conflicts based on direct similarities between the signs and the objects they represent; Second, eleven index data were found which were displayed through facial expressions, body gestures, lighting, and character actions as signs that have a causal relationship with psychological conditions such as loneliness, mental stress, family conflict, and loss; Third, five symbol data were found in the form of a handycam and family photos, a father’s heirloom, a flower arrangement, a Yasin book, and a ship and the sea, whose meanings were formed through social and cultural conventions to represent longing, loss, affection, sacrifice, and hope in Antono’s family.