Gatotkaca Mutung: An Identity Project Transforming Pulung Gantung into a Platform for Gatotkaca in Sandosa Cinema

Abstract

Pulung gantung is an event that is believed by the people of Gunungkidul to be the trigger for self-harming. An event that is said to have occurred centuries ago, so it is enough to be considered a normal occurrence in Gunungkidul. However, when the number of suicides is dominated by teenagers, the identity of pulung gantung is multiplicated. The myth of pulung gantung is used by the homicide perpetrator's parents as a cause, to cover up problems between parents and children. This multiplicity of identities has a high chance of amplifying suicide among teenagers. Based on these problems, I created a sandosa cinema work that pairs two media, a movie with a traditional shadow puppet show. The central character in this work is Gatotkaca. In the design, I used the identity project approach on Gatotkaca's character. Among the perpetrators of hanging themselves, they have the same motive, they do not have the same opportunity to communicate intensely with their closest family members, including their parents. In some interpretations, Gatotkaca is a character who experiences an identity crisis. Thus, the choice of Gatotkaca as the main character in this work has a common thread with the teenager who hanged himself in Gunungkidul. This sandosa cinema work with the play Gatotkaca Mutung tells the story of Gatotkaca escaping from the world of puppets after being made a sacrifice by his family and the kingdom of Mayapada (Nirvana) to the giant nation of Pracona. With the help of Krisna's weapons and magic, Gatotkaca manages to cross the dimensional boundaries of time and space to Gunungkidul. Upon arriving in Gunungkidul, he was regarded as Pulung Gantung who caused people to hang themselves all along.