Religiotainment: Tinjauan Semiotika dan Literasi Media Terhadap Animasi Nussa

Abstract

This article discusses the religiotainment in Indonesia by the animation 'Nussa' which firmly adopts Islamic values and symbols in the midst of secular cartoons domination. Using new media platforms such as Youtube and TV, Nussa is here to accommodate the urban middle-class Muslim market. Two questions posed in this article are: how do new media create the possibility of representation of Islam? The author finds that the democratization of the media has encouraged people to voice out what was previously suppressed and even repressed under the Suharto's militaristic power, including the voices of Islam. On the other hand, the diversity of Islam itself causes the process of Islamization more dynamic. Nussa is one of many agents that enliven the contestation since the process of Islamization in Indonesia is in fact not controlled by any party. As a consequence, Nussa is not only received rave reviews from some Muslims, but also received unwelcome accusations from other Muslims at the same time.