CANCEL CULTURE DALAM FORUM DISKUSI PLATFORM X PADA KONFLIK PRA-PENAYANGAN FILM ROMANCE COMEDY INDONESIA (Studi Resepsi Pekerja Muda di Kota Malang pada Film A Business Proposal di Akun @kdrama_menfess)

This study examines how young workers interpret the phenomenon of "cancel culture" surrounding the pre-release conflict of the Indonesian version of the romantic comedy A Business Proposal, which unfolded on the X platform via the @kdrama_menfess account. The objective is to understand how young workers in Malang City make sense of this cancel culture phenomenon based on audience decoding positions. The study employs a qualitative approach within a constructivist paradigm and an interpretive research design. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews with five young workers (aged 21–25) in Malang City, supplemented by online observation of the @kdrama_menfess account on X and digital documentation from various sources. Data analysis utilized the Miles and Huberman interactive model, while the analysis of meaning-making applied Stuart Hall’s Reception Theory, categorizing audience positions into dominant-hegemonic, negotiated, and oppositional, supported by Denis McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory. The results indicate that three subjects held a dominant-hegemonic position, one held a negotiated position, and one held an oppositional position. Subjects in the dominant-hegemonic position tended to accept cancel culture as a legitimate form of social control; the subject in the negotiated position accepted it while considering the situational context; and the subject in the oppositional position rejected it, deeming the cancel culture practices on X excessive and detrimental to certain parties. The study concludes that the interpretations held by young workers regarding the cancel culture phenomenon surrounding the Indonesian romantic comedy on X are diverse, influenced by each individual's experiences, media exposure, and social position, thereby demonstrating the active role of the audience in interpreting media messages.