Representing Narcissism in Sempurnanya Aku by NPD: A Roland Barthes Semiotic Analysis
Keywords:
NPD, narcissism, semiotics, song lyrics, popular cultureAbstract
Digital culture continues to evolve, transforming songs from mere forms of entertainment into powerful media for conveying meaning, ideology, and social representation. One notable example is Sempurnanya Aku by the vocal group NPD, whose lyrics contain expressions that represent self-image, superiority, and the pursuit of social validation. This study aims to analyze the denotative and connotative meanings of the song's lyrics and to uncover the myths of self-perfection and narcissism using Roland Barthes' semiotic framework. Employing a descriptive qualitative approach, the study collected data through documentation of the song lyrics. Data were analyzed using Barthes' three levels of signification: denotation, connotation, and myth. The findings reveal that, at the denotative level, the lyrics portray the persona of "I" as confident, attractive, popular, and worthy of being the ideal choice for others. At the connotative level, the lyrics represent self-superiority, the desire for social validation, and the tendency to position oneself as the center of attention. At the mythological level, the song constructs ideological narratives of self-perfection, portrays popularity as a measure of social worth, reinforces individual superiority, and emphasizes public recognition as a symbol of success within contemporary digital popular culture. Therefore, Sempurnanya Aku functions not only as entertainment but also as a cultural text that reflects the construction of identity and self-image in the age of social media.
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