PERGESERAN STRATEGI CITRA: DARI NASIONALISME MILITERISTIK KE VISUALISASI HUMANIS DALAM KOMUNIKASI POLITIK PRABOWO SUBIANTO (2014–2024)
Abstract
This study analyzes the shift in Prabowo Subianto's political image strategy across three Indonesian presidential election cycles (2014, 2019, and 2024) using a framework of visual rhetoric and political communication. The study focuses on how Prabowo Subianto's media team carried out a rhetorical repositioning from an image grounded in militaristic nationalism toward a more humanized and emotionally resonant visualization, particularly in reaching Generation Z and Millennial voters who dominate the 2024 Permanent Voter List. Employing a qualitative approach with a case study method, data were collected through in-depth interviews with media team members and analysis of visual artifacts. The findings indicate that this image transformation does not constitute a reconstruction of character, but rather a rhetorical adaptation responsive to audience segmentation and the evolving digital media landscape. The "gemoy" image that emerged in the 2024 presidential election was the outcome of a deliberate visual inventio process, in which the previously underexposed humanist side of Prabowo was given a more prominent space for representation. This study argues that visual shifts in political communication are not synonymous with manipulation, but constitute a strategic and contextual practice of selecting and organizing meaning. Keywords: visual rhetoric, political image, political communication, image shift, 2024 Presidential Election