ASPIRATION Journal

THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS OF THE FAMILIAR: REFRAMING SOVIET AVANT-GARDE CINEMA BETWEEN AESTHETICS AND IDEOLOGY

Pavel Malin, Wang Changsong — Sat, 29 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0700

This study reinterprets Soviet avant-garde cinema of the 1920s through the analytical lens of Russian Formalism, challenging the prevailing scholarly dichotomy that frames these films either as ideological propaganda or as purely aesthetic experimentation. Employing a formalist conceptual analysis, the study investigates key cinematic devices in selected films by Eisenstein, treating rhythmic, intellectual, metric and tonal montage types as the primary units of analysis. The method integrates formalist principles with sequence analysis to determine how familiar sociopolitical motifs function within the perceptual logic of poetic cinema. The findings reveal that revolutionary and socialist imagery in avant-garde films operates not as direct ideological messaging but as perceptually automatized material necessary for generating defamiliarization effects. Devices such as rhythmic, intellectual, metric and tonal montage reconfigure these familiar motifs into sites of renewed perception, confirming their role as formal prerequisites rather than propagandistic ends. The analysis further shows that the historical displacement of Formalism by Marxist and post-structuralist frameworks shaped later misreadings of Soviet cinema, obscuring its original system-bound aesthetic rationale. It concludes that Soviet avant-garde cinema’s political motifs should be understood as integral components of a wider formal system grounded in perceptual estrangement. This approach provides a historically informed analytical model for reassessing early Soviet film beyond ideological binaries and offers a foundation for further research on how aesthetic systems emerge from and respond to their cultural zeitgeist.

CULTURAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY IN DISTINGUISHING LIFE STYLE AND LIFESTYLE IN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES

Priyo Subekti, Dian Wardiana Sjuchro, Nguyen Minh Tri — Sat, 29 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0700

This paper investigates how the indigenous community of Kampung Naga, West Java, Indonesia uses cultural communication techniques to preserve a traditional way of life under growing modern challenges. The study reveals five main themes by means of a qualitative phenomenological approach and thematic analysis: value inheritance through role modelling, symbolic communication in cultural practices, selective adaptation to modern culture, ecological and spiritual relationships with nature, and the role of social rituals in maintaining cultural identity. In-depth interviews, participatory observation, and documentation involving nine informants-elders, birth attendants, women, youth, and returnees from metropolitan areas-data were gathered.

The results indicate that instead of passive preservation, the Kampung Naga community maintains its way of life by means of a dynamic process of cultural negotiation. Daily activities and intergenerational role models help people to assimilate cultural beliefs rather than formal education. Symbols like holy woods, birth ceremonies, and bans on power use are communicative devices mediating identity, spirituality, and resistance. These techniques mirror socio-cultural, semiotic, and phenomenological communication traditions in which meaning is manifested in action and group memory

EMPOWERING CHILDREN FOR PARTICIPATORY DISASTER MITIGATION: A DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION APPROACH IN KUBU RAYA, WEST KALIMANTAN

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0700

Kubu Raya Regency in West Kalimantan is a region with a high level of disaster risk. Based on the 2022 Indonesian Disaster Risk Index (IRBI), Kubu Raya is categorized as high risk due to its geographic conditions, which are dominated by lowlands, swamps, and large rivers. Despite various mitigation programs, children's involvement in these processes remains minimal, even though they have the potential to be agents of change in their communities. This study aims to identify forms of participatory communication for children in disaster mitigation. This approach is based on the view that development communication not only conveys information but also empowers communities through active participation, including children's communities. The research used a qualitative Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach, grounded in the Risk Communication Theory of Covello & Sandman. The study involved children from the Ambawang Kubu Raya Forum Anak community. They were involved in flood risk mapping activities, evacuation simulations, and the production of community-based disaster campaign media. This study concluded that participatory communication is effective in helping children identify flood hazards based on their experiences and observations. Through the Child-Friendly Participatory Geographic Information Systems approach, children not only visually mapped risks but also strengthened their spatial awareness and engagement in building community resilience. Furthermore, they articulated an ideal, healthy, safe, inclusive environment and expressed their desire to participate in mitigation actions actively. These findings demonstrate that a development communication approach that involves children directly strengthen communities' adaptive capacity in disaster-prone areas.

CRISIS COMMUNICATION THROUGH GOVERNMENT SOCIAL MEDIA (@BTN_GN_RINJANI) IN HANDLING THE BRAZILIAN TOURIST ACCIDENT ON MOUNT RINJANI

Anna Nurjanah, Sri Hesti, Isiaka Zubair Aliagan — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0700

This study examines the role of Instagram in governmental crisis communication following the accident involving a Brazilian tourist at Mount Rinjani National Park, Indonesia. Using a qualitative content analysis approach, the research analyzes ten Instagram posts published by the official account @btn_gn_rinjani between June 22 and June 27, 2025. The study integrates Entman’s framing theory and Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) to assess how crisis narratives, responsibility attribution, and institutional credibility were constructed in a digital environment. The findings reveal a consistent communication pattern characterized by timely informational updates, solution-oriented framing, and empathetic messaging. From a framing perspective, the posts predominantly emphasized problem definition and suggested remedies, while minimizing moral judgment to maintain a neutral institutional stance. Within the SCCT framework, the crisis was positioned within the unintentional (victim) cluster, utilizing a combination of diminish (excuse/justification) and rebuild strategies to mitigate accountability. Additionally, the study highlights the strategic use of inter-agency collaborative content and hashtags as symbolic framing devices that reinforced institutional legitimacy and collective identity. The findings demonstrate that Instagram functioned as a multi-dimensional space for legitimization, emotional management, and reputational protection. This research contributes to the literature on digital crisis communication in tourism by providing empirical evidence from a conservation-based destination involving international stakeholders, concluding that institutionalized digital literacy is a fundamental capability for crisis governance in high-risk environments.