Jurnal Pustaka Indonesia
Vol. 6 No. 1 (2026): April

Decomposition of Political Reality through Arthur Asa Berger's Humor Strategy: A Pragmatic Study in Indonesian Stand-up Comedian

Nisa, Elsara Khairun (Unknown)
Rustono (Unknown)
Yuniawan, Tommi (Unknown)
Pristiwati, Rahayu (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
27 Apr 2026

Abstract

Political discourse in Indonesia is currently expanding from the formal sphere to the popular stage through stand-up comedy . This study aims to dissect the mechanism of political reality decomposition through Arthur Asa Berger's humor strategy to reveal political criticism communicated pragmatically. Using a qualitative descriptive design, this study analyzed primary data sources in the form of speeches by stand-up comedians Ridwan Remin, Pandji Pragiwaksono, and Akbar obtained purposively from YouTube channels. Data analysis was conducted using a pragmatic decomposition technique that refers to Berger's four categories of humor techniques: language, logic, identity, and action. The results show that humor strategies operate as instruments of power desacralization. In terms of identity, ideal attributes of leaders are decomposed into trivial labels (caricatures); in terms of language, puns are used to satirize collective corruption; in terms of logic, analogies are used to simplify systemic failures; and in terms of action, visual parodies reduce political rhetoric to ridiculous movements. The conclusion of this study confirms that pragmatic decomposition in stand-up comedy functions as a tool of social control that reduces the complexity of power into a satirical, educational, and critical narrative for society.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

jpi

Publisher

Subject

Education Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media Other

Description

Jurnal Pustaka Indonesia published Three times a year (April, Agustus and December ) as a medium of distributing scientific research in the field of language, literature , and the Indonesian language and literature education. Jurnal Pustaka Indonesia is published in collaboration between the Yayasan ...