Social Background and the Meaning of Marriage for Javanese Women in the Films Gadis Kretek and Rara Mendut

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-503-4_66How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Gadis Kretek film; Rara Mendut film; Ian Watt’s literary sociology; social background

Abstract

Aspects of social life refer to human interactions. This is evident in the films Gadis Kretek and Rara Mendut, both of which can be analyzed using the lens of literary sociology. In relation to this field, Ian Watt outlines three main components: (a) the social context of the author, (b) literature as a reflection of social life, and (c) the social function of literature. This study focuses specifically on the second component—literature as a reflection of social life—by examining how social realities are portrayed in the films Gadis Kretek and Rara Mendut. The research employs a sociological approach to literature, which enables a better understanding of literary works in relation to social realities and societal structures. The research data objects are the films Gadis Kretek and Rara Mendut, while the data analyzed consist of relevant information—words, phrases, clauses, sentences, and visual imagery—related to aspects of social life. Data collection methods include documentation and note-taking techniques. The data analysis method used is qualitative descriptive analysis. The findings of this research on the reflection of social life in Gadis Kretek and Rara Mendut are as follows: a) The films depict different social issues. Gadis Kretek reflects mid-20th century Indonesian society, particularly the male-dominated clove cigarette (kretek) industry, where women were relegated to labor-intensive roles. The social setting portrays the competition within the kretek business in Central Java during the post-independence period. In contrast, Rara Mendut is set during the era of the Islamic Mataram Kingdom under the rule of Sultan Agung. It tells the story of Rara Mendut, a beautiful young woman from a coastal village in Pati, Central Java, whose beauty becomes widely known and sought after by nobles seeking marriage. b) The films present different interpretations of marriage for Javanese women. In Gadis Kretek, the protagonist Dasiyah challenges societal traditions that hinder her aspirations to become a skilled sauce blender. She also resists an arranged marriage orchestrated by her parents. Ultimately, Dasiyah is able to find love on her own terms after rejecting the forced marriage. Rara Mendut, on the other hand, tells a powerful and tragic story of love, dignity, and resistance to oppression. Through sensual and symbolic scenes (such as selling cigarette butts), the film portrays Rara Mendut as a brave Javanese woman who resists a forced marriage imposed by authority figures. The story ends tragically with her and her partner’s death, a consequence of their defiance.

Copyright

© 2025 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  - Sukarjo Waluyo
AU  - M. Hermintoyo
AU  - Khoridatun Nayyiroh
AU  - Evi Yanti Agustin
AU  - William Bradley Chritianto
AU  - Nadzira Inas Waluyo
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/19
TI  - Social Background and the Meaning of Marriage for Javanese Women in the Films Gadis Kretek and Rara Mendut
BT  - Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Culture and Sustainable Development (ICOCAS 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 571
EP  - 582
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-503-4_66
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-503-4_66
ID  - Waluyo2025
ER  -