DISCOURSE : Indonesian Journal of Social Studies and Education
Vol. 3 No. 3 (2026): July

The Creative Transformation of Public Criticism in Indonesia: A Ricoeurian Discourse Analysis of Kiky Saputri’s Roasting Performance

Abdul Pirol (Universitas Islam Negeri Palopo)
Aswan Aswan (Universitas Islam Negeri Palopo)



Article Info

Publish Date
27 Jul 2026

Abstract

This article examines the creative transformation of public criticism in Indonesia through the case study of comedian Kiky Saputri’s roasting of political figures in the television program Lapor Pak. In a socio-political environment characterized by a low tolerance for dissent, the study applies Paul Ricoeur’s three-stage hermeneutic model prefiguration, configuration, and transfiguration to analyze how political critique is reshaped through humor and storytelling. The findings reveal that roasting serves as a discursive strategy that shifts criticism from confrontational protest to a narrative form that blends satire, entertainment, and public engagement. This transformation aligns with Ricoeur’s concept of semantic autonomy, in which the meaning of a text is determined by its audience rather than its origin. While roasting opens a space for creative dissent, the study also identifies its potential for depoliticization as it becomes embedded within commercial entertainment logics. Thus, the transformation of criticism into popular media content reflects both discursive innovation and ideological tension in contemporary Indonesian public life.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

djosse

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Social Sciences Other

Description

DISCOURSE : Indonesian Journal of Social Studies and Education is a blind peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the publication of quality research results in the empirical research field of Social Studies and Education. This journal provides direct open access to its content on the principle that ...