Transforming the Herd Motif in Abu-Abu yang Memudar
A Comparative Analysis of Dramatic Utterances in Jim Lim’s Badak-Badak
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21009/ishel.v2i1.58441Keywords:
dramatic adaptation, herd motif, dramatic utterances, adolescent conformity, bullying, Badak-Badak, Abu-Abu yang MemudarAbstract
This article examines the transformation of the herd motif in Abu-Abu yang Memudar, a youth-oriented adaptation of Badak-Badak, Jim Lim’s adaptation of Eugène Ionesco’s Rhinoceros. The study begins with a shift in the dramatic representation of collectivity. In Badak-Badak, the transformation of humans into rhinoceroses functions as a symbol of conformity, collective pressure, and the normalization of social transformation. In Abu-Abu yang Memudar, the rhinoceros is no longer retained as a literal dramatic figure. Its function is relocated to the social world of adolescents through school circles, bullying, the pursuit of recognition, and social-media exposure. Using a qualitative comparative content analysis, the study examines paired dramatic utterances identified in the two scripts. The utterances are analysed by identifying their dramatic functions, determining the forms of transformation occurring in the adapted text, and interpreting the social context produced by those transformations. The analysis shows that the adaptation does not reproduce the rhinoceros motif at the level of image or event. Instead, it transfers the motif’s dramatic function into patterns of verbal pressure, group affiliation, social exclusion, and symbolic violence among adolescent characters. The “herd” therefore emerges not as a physical metamorphosis but as a social process through which characters negotiate popularity, belonging, and recognition. These findings indicate that the adaptation operates not only through changes in characters, setting, and plot, but also through the recontextualization of the social function of dramatic utterances. Abu-Abu yang Memudar can consequently be understood as an adaptation that transforms the social absurdity of Badak-Badak into a narrative of adolescent group consciousness situated in the contemporary school environment.
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