Indonesians' Fights Through Pop-Cultures

September 13, 2025 | 07:10 pm

By Alberta Christina Pertiwi, adjunct lecturer and the current secretary of the undergraduate program at the Universitas Indonesia’s Department of Anthropology.

In the lead-up to Indonesia’s 80th Independence Day, an unexpected symbol has surfaced across social media: the Jolly Roger. It is the pirate flag from the long-running anime One Piece. For some, it is a reference to pop-cultures. But for many, it is a symbol of resistance. The “Jolly Roger” symbol shows the freedom in the One Piece story. With over 1,000 episodes, One Piece is not merely a pirate adventure, it is a critique of authoritarian rule and systemic injustice. The usage of “Jolly Roger” in Indonesian context can also be seen as a symbol of freedom of expression and identity. 

In the context of social change, pop-cultures have been used as micronarratives that do not only push for change, but also work in various tools to make people more understanding about the power-relation enabling major disparity in society (Bajoghli 2023). 

Pop-cultures are never neutral, it always carries values and political meaning. There are always politics behind its use, from the narratives it carries to the purposes it serves (Tripp 2021). People can use it to challenge the dominant authority, to adhere to the elites, or to show a political stance. For example, during the Indonesian 2024 election, there was K-popfication in showing political support for Anies (Andina, et.al., 2025), while Prabowo-Gibran’s campaign leaned on joget gemoy, meaning a cute dancing, to soften their political image (Pratama, et.al., 2025). 

Even in other countries, pop-cultures have played a major role to enforce social change through protests. In Thailand, many people used The Three-Finger Salute from The Hunger Games as an act of protest against the elites. Then, two cartoon characters, Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore, also became tools to mock Chinese authority due to the censorship regulation. 

In the age of resistance through pop-cultures, it can be a form of subtle demonstration or weapons of the weak, quoting what Scott (1985) has said. In that similar struggle and frustration against the authorities, there is a sense of belonging. It transforms people to participate and act. Being part of a community means sharing concerns, frustrations, and hopes, even when protests feel risky. 

Creating a communal identity changes ideas into action, and helplessness into solidarity. It also includes the similar favoritism towards pop-cultures that can actually gather people to care about certain issues. 

A recent comment from the legislative said that the raising of the Jolly Roger flag is prohibited because it provokes people negatively near the Indonesian Independence Day. This warning from the government can disrupt or even put people into fear. Particularly when this country has regulations that might harm protesters, such as Electronic Information and Transactions Law (UU ITE) and Indonesian Criminal Law Code (KUHP). Both regulations usually tap on defamation and hate speech, two accusations that often frame protesters both in the online and offline world. Not to mention the fear of being doxxed or threatened that can move beyond cyber space.

With many risks and mitigations, doing protests through pop-culture and social media trends can be an alternative yet careful way to keep voicing people’s concerns subtly. For some, pop-cultures are entertainment, while for others, it has hidden meaning behind its playful branding. Moreover, using trends as a way to mobilize social movements can also be a strategy to disseminate information and concern to different people and trigger them to join the bandwagon. 

Nevertheless, sustaining interest-based activism requires continuous effort and challenges the existing activism approach. The movements have different agenda and capacity to act on social causes. Even in the social media realm, there are many criticisms towards people who interact with the movement by only liking or reposting the content. It is often dismissed as clicktivism or slacktivism. Such engagement seems superficial and low-effort. Many argue that those actions should be done in a more impactful way. However, the act of simple clicks can also be the fuel to widen the movement, build momentum, and tackle the counter narrative created by those having power. 

But the question remains: to what extent can these pop-cultures protest influence real political change? What are forms of arts or entertainment that should be explored further by the people to push vertical social change?

Recognizing these patterns helps us to understand society’s shifting demands and how resistance adapts to new forms. Since years ago, pop-cultures could be seen as an effective tool to gather people. It looks harmless yet contains a strong resistance. There is also a possibility that a few years from now, people keep using, modifying, or transforming pop-cultures in accordance with the needs of society, and eventually the need to resist. If pop-cultures are the language many Indonesians speak, then protests must learn to speak it fluently. As long as repression persists, symbols will be subverted. The “Jolly Roger” may be a pirate’s flag in One Piece realm, but in today’s Indonesian society, it flies for freedom. 

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