Representation of Sandwich Generation in the Film “Gampang Cuan”

Abstract

This study aims to examine how the representation of the Sandwich Generation is portrayed in the film Gampang Cuan through John Fiske's semiotic approach. The film highlights the economic struggles of the main character who must support his younger siblings and his ailing mother, depicting the psychological and financial pressures typically faced by the sandwich generation. This research employs a descriptive qualitative method, using John Fiske’s three levels of semiotic codes: the level of reality, the level of representation, and the level of ideology. The researcher analyzes scenes in the film that illustrate the dual burden carried by the main character (Sultan), as well as the characters Bilqis and Aji, who further depict the socioeconomic conditions of lower-middle-class families in Indonesia. The findings reveal that Gampang Cuan represents the sandwich generation as a group trapped in economic pressure and layered responsibilities, often forced to appear successful, make risky financial decisions, and sacrifice personal time. The film also presents moral dilemmas and family relationships through visual symbols such as costume, facial expressions, lighting, and cinematographic techniques. At the ideological level, the film reflects values of neoliberal capitalism, societal pressure on material achievement, and patriarchal cultural expectations of men as family providers.