Reorienting Cindo Gen Z’s Visual Identity: Recontextualization Strategies of Chinese-Nusantara Culture

Amidst the rise of local cultures among Generation Z in Indonesia, the Chinese-Indonesian (Cindo) group is still experiencing stagnation, facing a crisis of identity and tradition. This problem is very complex, starting from the political repression and terror carried out by the New Order regime against all forms of oriental culture, which resulted in the severance of cultural transmission between generations among the Cindo (intergenerational gap), and is now exacerbated by the massive onslaught of global pop culture through the internet. Generation Z Cindo lacks an understanding of the meaning, philosophy, and traditions of their ancestors, so these things become mere formal routines or aesthetics without depth. This qualitative study aims to analyze the transformation of the symbolic meaning of Chinese-Nusantara culture and recontextualize it to make it relevant for Cindo Generation Z. With a systematic review of the literature on 20 scientific articles, this study analyzes and maps four main findings, namely (1) The history of Chinese-Nusantara cultural acculturation, which resulted in (2) The richness of Oriental visual motifs in Indonesia (Liong, Fenghuang, Mega Mendung, Peony, Tou Kung, etc.), the process of desemantization and inculturation of its spiritual and supernatural elements, (3) The pragmatic views of Cindo Generation Z, and (4) The role of Visual Communication Design as a postmodern visual narrative medium as a digital interactive communication that is more suitable for Generation Z than conventional indoctrination efforts. The result of this study is a strategic framework based on hybrid narratives to revitalize the cultural identity of Cindo Generation Z in a sustainable manner.