DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2024.v12i02.004

Pages: 54-67

This research aims to describe two main things, namely: 1) the form of Western image hegemony in the aesthetic representation of food advertisements in Indonesia; and 2) the factors causing the existence of Western image hegemony in the aesthetic representation of food advertisements in Indonesia as intended. The method used in this research is a qualitative type with a critical perspective of weltanschauung. The data of this research is in the form of digital type advertisements or those on the internet, especially those with Western imagery in the aesthetic representation of food advertisements in Indonesia. The main instrument of this research is the researcher himself, who is assisted by documentation guidelines. The data analysis technique uses a qualitative descriptive model, with the stages of data reduction, presentation and discussion, and conclusion drawing. The results of this study are as follows. 1) The form of Western image hegemony in the aesthetic representation of food advertisements in Indonesia, namely in the form of promoting various foods that come from or have a Western image, for example: Pizza Hut, Burger, Fried Chicken, Spaghetti, Steak, Salad, Macaroni, Lasagne, Ratatouille, Hot Dog, and so on. The various foods with western characteristics or origins are presented in the discourse of advertisements in Indonesia, in the form of representations of the sign system both based on visual texts, namely in the form of pictorial forms and also verbal words written as a unified message; and 2) The factors causing such a strong hegemony of Western images in the aesthetic representation of food advertisements in Indonesia are intertwined with complex domains, one of which is related to the discourse on the colonisation treatise of new colonialism in the postcolonial era, which is carried out by influencing the mental realm of public consciousness through cultural determination, including in the context through advertising in the mass media.