Purwokerto, June 2, 2025 – The Guest Lecturer Class programme was held again by the Sastra Inggris Study Programme, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman on Monday, June 2, 2025 at 09:00 WIB in the Auditorium of the Faculty of Animal Science. Featuring the theme “Film and Semiotics”, this activity presented Dr. Wulan Tri Astuti, S.S., M.A., a film studies lecturer and researcher as the main speaker, with Dr. Lynda Susana Widya Ayu Fatmawaty, S.S., M.Hum. serving as moderator. A total of 150 Sastra Inggris students enthusiastically filled the room from the morning.
Dr. Wulan Tri Astuti, S.S., M.A., presenting material on semiotics in film media during the general lecture themed “Film and Semiotics” (Photo: Sasing Unsoed)
The event was officially opened by Vice Dean for Academic Affairs, Dr. Chusni Hadiati, S.S., M.Hum. In her remarks, she emphasized the importance of semiotic knowledge and urged students to utilize the resource speaker as a “repository of knowledge” for the academic community. “Make use of the resource speaker, explore their knowledge to understand literary works, language, and culture. Hopefully this guest lecturer class can bring benefit and blessing,” she said, met with applause from participants.
The enthusiasm of Sastra Inggris students at FIB Unsoed in attending the general lecture “Film and Semiotics”. This activity is part of efforts to build critical awareness toward understanding signs. (photo: Sasing Unsoed)
Beginning her presentation, Dr. Wulan emphasized that film is essentially a universal medium that can become an object of interdisciplinary research: linguistics, translation studies, and literature. “We live in the midst of an architecture of signs,” she said, while explaining that the meaning of signs is contextual and is formed through cultural agreement. Therefore, semiotic analysis requires researchers to understand the culture behind symbols that appear not only in film, but also in games, literary works, and various digital platforms.
Dr. Wulan Tri Astuti, S.S., M.A. (left) and Dr. Lynda Susana, S.S., M.Hum. (right) during the general lecture titled “Film and Semiotics” held at the Auditorium of the Faculty of Animal Science, Unsoed. This activity served as a collaborative forum to discuss the system of signs in film (photo: Sasing Unsoed).
Further, Dr. Wulan mapped micro elements within film texts: props, gesture, lighting, color palette, camera work, and aural signs such as sound and montage as an interlocking system of signs. She emphasized the importance of sensitivity to every visual and sound detail because all of these contribute to meaning. Additionally, the concept of intertextuality was discussed, namely how one text influences or transforms into another text through the process of adaptation (film adaptation).
On the other hand, film studies cannot be separated from contemporary issues such as gender, identity, and ideology. Researchers, according to her, need to select precise theories and relevant references so that analysis does not get trapped in an accumulation of literature. “What matters is not how many references, but how appropriate they are,” she affirmed.
A thirty-minute question and answer session concluded the guest lecturer class, in which students posed questions about techniques for reading visual symbols in modern Indonesian film. The Guest Lecturer Class themed “Film and Semiotics” is expected to encourage students to become increasingly critical in interpreting signs in cultural texts and to be motivated to conduct interdisciplinary research that is beneficial to science and society. The organizing committee plans a follow-up activity in the form of a workshop on film semiotics-based research proposal writing at the beginning of next semester, so that the enthusiasm built today can continue in concrete academic work.
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