YOUTH FILM CONSUMPTION CULTURE: REPRESENTATIONS OF COMMUNICATION STYLES ON THE @KEPINHELMY TIKTOK ACCOUNT

Abstract

Film reviews have shifted from long-form textual criticism toward dense, dynamic audiovisual narratives with the rise of TikTok; amid dominant fast-paced, emotional review styles, the account @kepinhelmy stands out for its contemplative, poetic tone and soft, deep-toned voice. While prior semiotic studies have examined self-image construction or humor on social media, few apply Ferdinand de Saussure's structural semiotics to a film-review creator's personal communication style, and existing literature tends to treat verbal and nonverbal elements separately rather than as one integrated sign system shaping digital persona and authority. This study analyzes the signifiers, signifieds, and their relations in representing @kepinhelmy's verbal and nonverbal communication style in reviews of Para Perasuk, Dusun Mayit, and Hoppers. Using a constructivist paradigm and descriptive qualitative method grounded in Saussure's framework, data were gathered through video documentation, verbatim transcription, and field notes on ten top-performing contents from October 2025 to March 2026. Findings show verbal signifiers appear through contemplative-poetic diction, analytical-philosophical narrative structure, and simplified technical terms, while nonverbal signifiers emerge through a soft intimate tone, measured tempo, direct eye contact, and medium close-up talking-head format—jointly constructing signifieds of philosophical reflection, emotional intimacy, and academic credibility. Theoretically, the study extends Saussurean semiotics into new media by revealing how digital parole works multimodally; practically, it offers content creators strategic guidance for building authentic persona through deliberate alignment of verbal and nonverbal signs.