Discourse on Miss World Controversy in Indonesia

Abstract

This study is concerned with the Indonesian government which has bowed pressure against the protest by hard-line groups so that it cancelled the contest ’final stage’ of Miss Universe 2013 switched all the pageant events in Bali. The objective of the study is to describe meta-functions of the text on the issue and explain why the decision was made in the way it was. The research method referred to systemic functional linguistics approaches. The result of this study suggests that the language use which realizes the ideational, interpersonal, and textual meanings of the text were influenced by the subject matter, the participants and the channel used. There have been contesting ideologies represented in the text of Miss World 2013 in Indonesia. On the one hand it is believed that the contest is “immoral event” and that it was an excuse to expose the contestants’ bodies, despite the organizers having confirmed that there would be no bikini contest and all activities would conform to the host country’s culture, norms and religious values. On the other hand it is believed that the event can help polish the country’s image on the global stage as a peaceful and beautiful place with over 17,000 islands and home to more than 700 ethnic groups that honor differences while preserving its rich culture and history. By bending to pressure, the world may think otherwise.

Key words: discourse, language meta-functions, social and cultural context, social-practice,ideologies.