Research Week Day 1, organized by the Media and Cultural Studies Program at Universitas Gadjah Mada, took place on Monday, 23 February 2026, from 13:00 to 15:00 West Indonesia Time in an online format. Carrying the theme “Visibility and Recognition in Visual Culture,” the session featured two speakers who explored issues of visual representation, popular culture, and the dynamics of film production within broader social and cultural–political contexts.
The event was moderated by Dr. Kusnul Fitria, who facilitated the discussion interactively. The two speakers in this session were Abd. Haris Nusa Bela, M.A. and Naufal Shabri, M.A., each presenting their research on visual culture and the film industry.
In the first session, Abd. Haris Nusa Bela, M.A. presented a study titled “Crossing Realities: The Remediation of the Queer Gaze in the Thai Boys Love Series Lovesick (2014) and Lovesick (2024).” In his presentation, Haris— as he is usually called— explained that Thai Boys Love (BL) series function not only as popular entertainment but also as spaces that present diverse representations of identity and gender relations. He highlighted how the concept of the queer gaze can be used to understand visual perspectives that depart from the heteronormative norms that have long dominated mainstream media. By comparing the 2014 and 2024 versions of Lovesick, the research demonstrates shifts in strategies of representation and visual aesthetics. These changes also reflect how the media industry responds to evolving discourses on identity and the growing acceptance of diversity in Southeast Asia.
The second session featured Naufal Shabri, M.A. with a presentation titled “The Production and Distribution Practices of B-Movies within the Framework of the Politics of Taste: A Case Study of Kolong Sinema.” In his presentation, Naufal discussed how B-movies are often positioned as alternative cultural products outside the mainstream film industry. Through the case study of the Kolong Sinema community, he explained how the processes of production, distribution, and consumption of B-movies are shaped by what can be described as the politics of taste: cultural preferences formed through relations of power, social class, and access to media. The research also shows that B-movies should not merely be understood as films produced with limited resources; rather, they can serve as spaces for creative exploration as well as a medium for critiquing the standards of the commercial film industry.
Through different yet interconnected topics, Research Week Day 1 opened a space for discussion on how visual representation, identity, and media production practices intersect in shaping contemporary culture. The event also served as the opening of the Research Week 2026 series, which is expected to continue providing a platform for the exchange of ideas and the development of interdisciplinary research in media and cultural studies, as well as introducing the kinds of research that can be conducted in this field.
If you missed the event and want to watch the discussions, you may join us via our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAvKn6oIxJQ
Contributor: Averoes Fitria Maryam