Staging Empathy: Affective Representation in Public Communication during Disaster Contexts
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12928/commicast.v7i2.16368Keywords:
Empathy, Digital public communication, Dramaturgy, Disaster communication, InstagramAbstract
Empathy is widely regarded as a crucial element of public communication, particularly in disaster contexts that demand sensitivity toward affected communities. In digital media environments, however, empathy functions not merely as an expression of concern but also as a mediated and performative practice shaped through audiovisual representations. This study examines how empathy is constructed and performed in Instagram videos published by public actors, specifically @zul.hasan, Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, and @bramastavrl, a member of the House of Representatives (DPR RI), during the 2025 Sumatra floods. Employing a qualitative audiovisual analysis, the study examines visual, narrative, and interactional elements through Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical perspective. The findings identify four dimensions of staged empathy: embodied empathy, represented empathy, relational empathy, and legitimizing empathy. These dimensions demonstrate how empathy is performed through bodily expressions, narrative construction, symbolic interactions with affected communities, and representations of institutional authority. The findings suggest that empathy functions as a performative communication practice through which political actors negotiate moral positioning and public legitimacy in digitally mediated disaster contexts. Theoretically, this study contributes to communication and digital media scholarship by proposing a four-dimensional analytical framework of affective empathy that extends existing discussions of empathy beyond interpersonal emotion toward its representational and performative dimensions in digital disaster communication.
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