Teacher Transformation in the Film Budi Pekerti by Wregas Bhanuteja: A Critical Discourse Analysis from van Dijk’s Perspective

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-613-0_31How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Transformation; Film; Critical Discourse Analysis; Teun A. van Dijk; Teacher

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the transformation of the teacher’s role in the film Budi Pekerti, directed by Wregas Bhanuteja, by using Teun A. van Dijk’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach. The background of this research arises from social phenomena indicating that teachers, as educators, often face difficulties in maintaining their dignity and function in the digital era, where social media and public opinion can influence how society perceives the teaching profession. The method used in this study was a qualitative approach with a descriptive-analytical method. The object of this research was the film titled Budi Pekerti. The data consisted of scenes, dialogues, and cinematic symbols related to the representation of the teaching profession. The data were collected through documentation studies and film text analysis. The data analysis process followed van Dijk’s Critical Discourse Analysis model in three stages: (1) text structure analysis to examine macro, super, and microstructures; (2) social cognition analysis to explore knowledge, beliefs, and social attitudes; and (3) social context analysis to identify power relations and social issues influencing the discourse presented in the film. The results of this study indicate that, at the text structure level, the film presents a macrostructure in the form of social criticism concerning the powerlessness of the teaching profession within a viral culture, a superstructure that constructs a conflict narrative through the character of Bu Prani, and a microstructure consisting of word choices and cinematic symbols that emphasize the injustice in the representation of teachers before the public. In the dimension of social cognition, the film reflects the collective knowledge of society regarding teachers as moral exemplars, which is closely related to public beliefs and perceptions when evaluating teachers based on fragments of events circulating on social media. Meanwhile, in the social context, the film reveals the power relations among the media, society, and educational institutions, which often position teachers as vulnerable parties lacking adequate structural support.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Lukman Hakim
AU  - Agustan Agustan
AU  - Juniati Juniati
AU  - Ketut Alit Saputra
AU  - Ulinsa Ulinsa
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/04
TI  - Teacher Transformation in the Film Budi Pekerti by Wregas Bhanuteja: A Critical Discourse Analysis from van Dijk’s Perspective
BT  - Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Linguistics and Cultural Studies (ICLC-6 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 385
EP  - 401
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-613-0_31
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-613-0_31
ID  - Hakim2026
ER  -