<![CDATA[Representations of resilient women have become increasingly prominent in popular culture, yet little is known about how female audiences interpret and negotiate these portrayals. This study aims to examine how Generation Z women interpret women’s resilience as represented in the music video Girls Never Die. Using a qualitative descriptive design, the study combined Roland Barthes’ semiotic analysis with Stuart Hall’s reception analysis. Semiotic analysis was first used to identify the preferred readings embedded in the video, followed by in-depth interviews with five Generation Z women who regularly consume K-pop content. Interview data were analysed deductively based on the identified preferred readings and classified into dominant, negotiated, and oppositional positions. The analysis identified four preferred readings: resilience develops through difficult experiences, solidarity among women strengthens resilience, women are capable of recovering from adversity, and the phrase Girls Never Die symbolizes women’s endurance. Most participants adopted dominant and negotiated readings. While they generally accepted the portrayals of resilience and female solidarity, several questioned whether the video simplified the complexity of women’s real-life struggles. Interpretations of the phrase Girls Never Die ranged from dominant to oppositional readings. The findings show that these five participants actively negotiated media meanings through their personal experiences and social contexts. The study highlights the value of examining both media representations and audience interpretations when understanding contemporary narratives of women’s resilience and empowerment in popular culture.]]>
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