The Representation of Mother and Child Figures in Indonesian Children Books Illustration

Abstract

This study discusses mother-child interactions in Indonesian children books published in 1973 until 2013. In the early 1970, the government started giving much attention to early childhood education in Indonesia; and in the 2010s children book industries have escalated considerably. In this time frame, an apparent social dynamics occurred and, consequently, representation of mother figure has shifted along with the alteration of socio-cultural context in society. The problem is that in 1970s, the traditional social role of a mother which was considered only in domestic area has extended to public area. Thus, it is essential to comprehensively observe and analyze both explicit and implicit meanings of the representation of mother-child interactions in children book illustrations. Illustrations are pieces of visual information which enable readers to be involved in a plot and bring them to the real experiences. This portrayal is vital to discuss since the representation of a mother in children’s picture books is closely related to shaping a mother’s figure in children’s social life. This study aims at identifying the representation of mother figure in children books visually; finding how a mother and her child interact using Content Analysis and Social Semiotics. The results show that some changes in the interactions of mother and child are found in illustrated children books published in 1973-2013. In the early period (1973-1982), a mother was frequently presented wearing a “kebaya” (traditional clothes) with serious facial expression.  Besides that, the mother-child interaction commonly took place in the kitchen and outdoor settings. In terms of age, the pre-adolescence children were more frequently portrayed. Meanwhile, in the transitional period (1983-2002), the spatial distance between a mother and her child was closer. The mother was described more relaxed and flexible in wearing clothes. On the other hand, in the last period (2003-2013) a mother was illustrated younger rather than the one in previous period; and the children were commonly under ten years old. The description showed the mother’s companionship in children activities, such as studying and recreation, but the physical distance was not as close as the prior period. Most of the books in the 2010s presented a mother and her child wearing religious clothes.

Keywords: Mother, Child, Illustrations, Children’s Picture Books.