Representasi Kekerasan Fisik Terhadap Tokoh Broken Home (Studi Semiotika Roland Barthes Terhadap Film My First Client Sutradara Jang Gyu-Sung)

Physical violence against children in broken home families is a social issue that often escapes public attention, despite its serious impact on a child's psychological well-being and development. This study aims to analyze the representation of physical violence against a child from a broken home in the 2019 film My First Client, using Roland Barthes’ semiotic approach. The film is based on a true story of a child who became a victim of domestic violence and the injustice of the South Korean legal system.
This research employs a qualitative descriptive method within the constructivist paradigm. Data were collected through documentation and scene observation, while analysis was conducted using Barthes’ two-order signification model denotation, connotation, and myth. The findings reveal that physical violence is explicitly represented through actions such as hitting, kicking, and coercion. At the connotative level, these acts illustrate an imbalanced power relationship between adults and children, as well as the psychological trauma experienced by the victim. At the mythological level, the film deconstructs social myths such as the belief that parents are always right, and exposes how patriarchal ideologies can justify violence as a form of discipline.
Furthermore, the study reveals binary oppositions such as victim vs. perpetrator, safety vs. danger, and highlights the child's symbolic acts of resistance. This research is expected to contribute to the study of visual communication and media, as well as to raise social awareness about child abuse issues often hidden within family power dynamics.