EKSPLORASI LITERASI MULTIMODAL MELALUI WEBTOON

Abstrak

Penelitian ini bertujuan mengeksplorasi praktik literasi multimodal dalam webtoon populer yang dikonsumsi remaja, termasuk The Secret Angel (True Beauty), A Child Who Looks Like Me, Suddenly I Became a Princess, The Second Marriage, dan Operation: True Love. Penelitian menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif deskriptif dengan analisis isi dan studi literasi digital. Data dikumpulkan melalui deskripsi panel webtoon, kutipan dialog, narasi batin, dan tanggapan pembaca di ruang digital. Analisis difokuskan pada empat mode multimodal, yaitu visual, verbal, spasial, dan emosional-digital. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa: (1) mode visual mengekspresikan emosi dan karakter tokoh melalui ekspresi wajah, gestur, dan warna latar; (2) mode verbal menyuarakan refleksi internal, dialog, dan narasi yang tidak sepenuhnya tersampaikan secara visual; (3) mode spasial membangun ritme baca dan hubungan antar tokoh melalui tata letak panel, skala, dan jarak antarpanel; dan (4) mode emosional-digital memperluas makna naratif melalui respons dan identifikasi pembaca di kolom komentar. Integrasi keempat mode tersebut menegaskan bahwa webtoon merupakan teks multimodal yang menuntut pembaca menggabungkan berbagai sumber makna secara simultan. Penelitian ini menggarisbawahi peran webtoon sebagai media literasi multimodal yang relevan dalam konteks budaya digital remaja.

This study aims to explore multimodal literacy practices in popular webtoons consumed by teenagers, including The Secret Angel (True Beauty), A Child Who Looks Like Me, Suddenly I Became a Princess, The Second Marriage, and Operation: True Love. The study used a descriptive qualitative approach with content analysis and digital literacy studies. Data were collected through webtoon panel descriptions, dialogue excerpts, inner narratives, and readers' responses in the digital space. The analysis focused on four multimodal modes: visual, verbal, spatial, and emotional-digital. The results show that: (1) the visual mode expresses the characters' emotions and character through facial expressions, gestures, and background color; (2) the verbal mode conveys internal reflections, dialogue, and narrative that are not fully conveyed visually; (3) the spatial mode establishes reading rhythm and relationships between characters through panel layout, scale, and inter-panel spacing; and (4) the emotional-digital mode expands narrative meaning through reader responses and identification in the comments section. The integration of these four modes confirms that webtoons are multimodal texts that require readers to simultaneously combine various sources of meaning. This research underscores the role of webtoons as a relevant multimodal literacy medium in the context of youth digital culture.