Representation of Balinese Women in Caste and Patriarchal Relations in the Film Noesa Penida (1988)

Abstract

This study examines the representation of Balinese women in the film Noesa Penida (1988), particularly within the context of caste hierarchies and patriarchal relations as sociocultural constructions that shape women's identities, bodies, and choices. The primary data consisted of selected scenes from Noesa Penida (1988) featuring Gusti Ayu Pandansari, a woman of Ksatria noble descent raised in a Sudra family. This study aimed to analyze how Balinese women are represented through visual signs, narrative structures, character interactions, and social symbols associated with caste hierarchies and patriarchal authority. The data were analyzed qualitatively through textual film analysis, applying Stuart Hall's constructionist approach to representation and Roland Barthes's semiotic framework of denotation, connotation, and myth. The findings revealed that women in Noesa Penida (1988) were portrayed not only as narrative subjects but also as subjects of caste-based regulation, sites of patriarchal contestation, and symbols of social honor. Women's bodies, identities, and mobility were constructed and regulated through lineage, social status, and decisions made by male figures exercising domestic and aristocratic authority. Although the film reproduced existing caste hierarchies and patriarchal structures, Pandansari's representation also provided opportunities for critically examining Balinese women's agency in negotiating and challenging the sociocultural boundaries that constrained their autonomy.