Audience Reception Analysis of Dating Violence in the Film Heartbreak Motel

Devi Heriawati (Universitas Pembangunan Veteran Jawa Timur)
Aulia Rahmawati (Universitas Pembangunan Nasional “Veteran” Jawa Timur)

International Journal of Social, Economic, and Business
Vol. 3 No. 1 (2026): September 2026

Dating violence is a growing social problem in Indonesia, with 445,502 cases of violence against women recorded by the National Commission on Violence Against Women in 2023. The normalization of violence in intimate relationships is often reinforced by media portrayals, including films, which indirectly shape viewers’ perceptions of romantic relationships. This study analyzes audience perceptions of violence in romantic relationships in the film Heartbreak Motel (2024) by Angga Dwimas Sasongko. This study employs a qualitative descriptive approach using Stuart Hall’s encoding-decoding reception framework, which categorizes audiences into three interpretive positions dominant-hegemonic, negotiated, and oppositional. The data was collected through online focus group discussions involving six female participants aged 18- 30, who were divided into three groups based on their backgrounds as activists, students, and members of the genral public. The research findings indicate that all informants perceived Malik and Ava’s relationship as an unhealthy one that involved verbal, emotional, digital, and even physical abuse. A dominant-hegemonic position was found primarily among informants with backgrounds as activists and survivors, who consistently identified patterns of control, manipulation, and power imbalances in the film. The negotiated position emerged among informants who accepted the film’s core message but negotiated certain aspects, such as the level of realism in some scenes. The oppositional position was not found, no informant normalized or romanticized Malik’s behavior. This study concludes that Heartbreak Motel successfully conveys an anti-violence message that is critically received by female audiences from diverse social backgrounds.  This film serves as a cultural text that offers a counter-narrative to the normalization of violence in Indonesian popular culture, while also providing a medium for viewers to reflect on how to recognize warning signs and the importance of psychological support for victims.