Citizens’ resistance against repressive state apparatuses through music: a critical discourse analysis

Muhammad Fachri Shandika Iman

doi:10.25139/jsk.v9i3.10504

Authors

Muhammad Fachri Shandika Iman

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25139/jsk.v9i3.10504

Keywords:

critical disocurse, protest music, repressive state apparatuses, semiotic, symbolic action

Abstract

Although democracy promises civil liberties, the police often exert coercive power that generates public distrust. In Indonesia, this condition has sparked counter-discourses, one of which is expressed through the punk band Sukatani’s song ‘Bayar Bayar Bayar’. This study examines how lyrics construct a discourse of resistance and how the song operates as a symbolic action within social movements. Adopting a critical paradigm, this study applied a critical discourse analysis, integrating Althusser’s theory of repressive state apparatuses, Barthes’ semiotics, and Burke’s symbolic action. Textual analysis of the lyrics and audiovisual documentation of demonstrations were used to collect data. The findings indicate that the song deconstructs the police myth as protectors, reframing them as agents of systemic repression. Furthermore, its performative use during protests demonstrates how music operates as a collective symbolic act of defiance. This study contributes to scholarship by highlighting the role of cultural texts in shaping political resistance and critique.

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