Visual Culture in Southeast Asian Web Series: Reimagining Queer Identities and Life after Death Narratives

Abstract

Visuals are never separated from the culture of their creators. This is what is then also contained in the web series in Southeast Asia in depicting Queer identity and life after death. Web series as audio-visual products, not only pack the two realities. But it has made a symbolic transformation of both. The study was conducted to see the new reality presented by the web series about the two realities, for this reason this study uses the thought of Jaques Baudrillard with his theory of hyperreality. This study uses qualitative research in multi-stage. At the first stage researcher using semiotic analysis from Rolland Barthes and in the second stage conducted interviews with each community in Southeast Asia to see the reality of Queer identity and life after death. Researchers see that the actual narrative of reality about queer identity is not actually a basic reflection of reality. In the initial phase of hyperreality reality has experienced the opposite reality, because reflection never fully describes a reality. Including about Queer identity, especially homosexuals who seem to be lulled into acceptance, commonplace and reasonable in web series in Southeast Asia. This also applies to the afterlife narrative which describes the existence of an intermediate world for wandering spirits who have not yet had time to die, to return to the human world to solve the mystery of his death. Web series lovers have experienced ecstasy from mediapreneurs who package web series as an intoxicating entertainment and realize a world without reality