The pressure of hustle culture and the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) in the digital era have triggered an escalation of academic burnout among students, demanding alternative psychological recovery interventions beyond verbal clinical approaches. This research aims to explore the creation of alternative Cyanotype photography as a medium for catharsis and resistance against toxic productivity. Utilizing a Practice-Based Research methodology with an autoethnographic approach, data were extracted from the researcher’s subjective experiences and transmuted into a visual artifact series titled “Metamorfosis yang Lelah”, “Beban di Paruh Waktu”, “Padma di Tengah Kebisingan”, and “Ekspektasi di Ujung Sarang”. The cultural studies approach and wabi-sabi aesthetics are specifically applied to dissect visual elements in the Prussian Blue luminescence, asymmetrical winged butterfly figures, and branch circularities, which represent the discourse of mental fragility and unproductive rest.
This study examines how fashion culture and lifestyle, understood as modes of self- presentation, social performance, and everyday practice, operate as tools of identity construction and resistance in Eka Kurniawan’s Beauty is a Wound. The objective is to reveal how beauty, personal choices, and public perception function as symbolic capital in negotiating gendered power relations, class hierarchies, and political constraints. Using close textual analysis, the research explores how female characters, particularly Dewi Ayu, mobilize appearance, behavior, and life decisions to challenge dominant ideologies and redefine their roles in society. The findings show that fashion culture in the novel extends beyond clothing to encompass socially coded forms of visibility and influence, transforming beauty into a strategic site of agency. Lifestyle choices, from unconventional work to defiant relationships, emerge as acts of resistance that blur the boundary between personal autonomy and collective struggle. These results position the novel as a literary example of how aesthetic and cultural practices can function as vehicles for social activism.
This book review examines the fourth edition of Sarah Pink’s canonical work, Doing Visual Ethnography, which pioneers a methodological paradigm shift towards collaborative visual ethnography. The book deconstructs the positivistic assumption that positions the camera merely as an objective recording instrument, offering instead a framework of reflexivity wherein participants are elevated as co-producers of knowledge within the complexities of the contemporary digital ecology. This review critically evaluates Pink’s methodological contributions by highlighting ethical negotiations and the risks of extractive objectification in fieldwork. Furthermore, the review contextualizes the relevance of Pink’s approach specifically for the discipline of Cultural Studies, positioning it as an essential epistemological instrument to unpack power relations, bodily performativity, and spatial dynamics that are frequently lost under the hegemony of textual transcripts. In conclusion, this review recommends Pink’s book as an emancipatory treatise that invites researchers to dismantle textual bias in favor of a reflexive, ethical, and multimodal research praxis.
In real practice, political text translations are in line with a country’s main foreign policies. Thus, an in-depth understanding on communicative strategies employed in translating political texts, e.g. press statements, is essential. The paper analyses the translation of press statements from the Source Text (Mandarin Chinese) into the Target Texts (English and Indonesian). To elaborate, this study uses van Dijk’s Political Discourse Analysis at the macro (contexts) and micro (texts) levels. By considering Newmark’s equivalent translation concept, as well as metaphor and annotated translations, the analysis reveals that the translation from China’s perspective uses metaphors and China’s socio-cultural values within the techniques of (i) equivalency of message and form, and (ii) active- passive. Overall, this study will be beneficial for analysts, translators, and the public who are curious about studies on the translation of press statements delivered by the Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Javanese culinary is the intellectual intelligence of the Javanese people hidden in signs and symbols. The aim of this research is to explain how culinary representations in Ki Narto Sabdo’s songs promote a cultural identity based on the values of harmony and togetherness. Five songs (Gudeg Jogja, Cucur Biru, Serabi Solo, Jamu Jawa, and Rujak Jeruk) became the research corpus, which were analyzed qualitatively using descriptive and objective approaches. Stuart Hall (2007) used gastronomic theory (color, taste, values, benefits, form, ingredients, and manufacturing processes) to analyze the song lyrics data. In addition, Stuart Hall (1997) used the concept of the cultural triangle (identity, symbol, and tradition) for the combination of the two: (harmony, aesthetics, and functionality). The final results show dominant components as markers such as unen- unen and wewaler, which represent Javanese cultural identity. Further analysis revealed aspects of the values of order, harmony, balance, and usefulness to realize harmony and togetherness. This study shows that the intellectual intelligence of Javanese people plays an important role in building local identity, which is represented by cultural symbols.
