Spectacles of Sustainability in Indonesian Environmental Documentaries

Through compelling narratives and persuasive strategies, environmental documentaries shape the audience’s perceptions of sustainability. This research aims to explore the plurality of strategic ecological narratives represented in four documentaries from Indonesia: Plastic Island (2021), Tenggelam dalam Diam (2021), Semesta (2020) and Our Mothers’ Land (2020). By examining the strategic narratives, the goal is to understand how each documentary engages the audience’s pre-existing values to persuade them to take action. Findings show that these documentaries present visual spectacles of environmental destruction and consequential messages through strategically selected narrators. They also portray grassroots movements while emphasizing the role of marginalized or “small” actors in local environmental activism. They also employ the David-and-Goliath narrative to highlight how these marginalized actors confront powerful entities. Through these strategies, eco-documentaries in Indonesia illustrate the broad spectrum of narrative approaches used to portray environmental challenges.