Social Inequality In The White Tiger Movie: A Sociological Literature Analysis

Alfin, Patrisius (2026) Social Inequality In The White Tiger Movie: A Sociological Literature Analysis. S1 thesis, Universitas Kristen Indonesia.

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Abstract

Penelitian ini menganalisis ketimpangan sosial dalam film The White Tiger (2021) karya Ramin Bahrani dengan mengkaji hubungan antara unsur-unsur struktural film dan realitas sosiologis masyarakat India kontemporer. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah: (1) menganalisis representasi ketimpangan sosial melalui unsur-unsur struktural film yang meliputi penokohan, alur, latar, mise-en-scène, dan sinematografi; serta (2) menjelaskan bagaimana representasi tersebut mencerminkan struktur kelas dan konteks sosial di India. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode deskriptif kualitatif dengan pendekatan sosiologi sastra Alan Swingewood. Analisis didukung oleh teori struktur kelas Max Weber dan konsep hegemoni Antonio Gramsci. Sumber data primer penelitian ini adalah film The White Tiger (2021), sedangkan data sekunder diperoleh dari buku, artikel jurnal, dan laporan resmi. Data dikumpulkan melalui observasi, dokumentasi, dan pencatatan, kemudian dianalisis dengan mengidentifikasi unsur-unsur struktural film dan menginterpretasikannya dalam konteks sosiologis. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa ketimpangan sosial dalam The White Tiger dibangun melalui interaksi antara unsur naratif dan sinematik. Penokohan, alur, dan latar menggambarkan hubungan yang tidak setara antara kelas atas dan kelas bawah, sedangkan mise-en-scène dan sinematografi memperkuat perbedaan tersebut melalui kontras visual. Selain itu, film ini merefleksikan realitas sosial India pada periode 2007–2010, termasuk segregasi permukiman, kerentanan hukum pekerja informal, korupsi struktural, dan degradasi martabat manusia akibat kondisi sosial berbasis kelas. Temuan ini menunjukkan bahwa film tidak hanya berfungsi sebagai media hiburan, tetapi juga sebagai kritik sosial yang mengungkap keberlanjutan ketimpangan kelas dalam masyarakat India kontemporer. Penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa The White Tiger merepresentasikan ketimpangan sosial sebagai fenomena struktural dan kultural yang dipertahankan melalui kekuasaan ekonomi, praktik kelembagaan, dan dominasi ideologis, sehingga mobilitas sosial yang bermakna sulit dicapai dalam sistem sosial yang tidak setara. / This study analyzes the social inequality in The White Tiger (2021), directed by Ramin Bahrani, by examining the relationship between the film’s structural elements and the sociological realities of contemporary Indian society. The objectives of this study are: (1) to analyze how social inequality is represented through the structural elements of the film, including characterization, plot, setting, mise-en-scène, and cinematography; and (2) to explain how these representations reflect the class structure and social context of India. This research employs a qualitative descriptive method using the sociology of literature approach proposed by Alan Swingewood. The analysis is supported by Max Weber’s theory of class structure and Antonio Gramsci’s concept of hegemony. The primary data source is The White Tiger (2021), while secondary data are obtained from books, journal articles, and official reports discussing sociology, film studies, and Indian social conditions. Data were collected through observation, documentation, and note-taking techniques and analyzed by identifying the film’s structural elements before interpreting them within their broader sociological context. The findings reveal that social inequality in The White Tiger is constructed through the interaction between narrative and cinematic elements. Characterization, plot, and setting portray the unequal relationship between the upper and lower classes, while mise-en-scène and cinematography reinforce these differences through visual contrasts in space, lighting, framing, costume, and camera techniques. Furthermore, the film reflects the social realities of India during 2007–2010, including residential segregation, the legal vulnerability of informal workers, structural corruption, and the degradation of human dignity through class-based social conditioning. These findings demonstrate that the film functions not only as entertainment but also as a social critique that exposes the persistence of class inequality in contemporary Indian society. The study concludes that The White Tiger represents social inequality as a structural and cultural phenomenon maintained through economic power, institutional practices, and ideological domination, making meaningful social mobility difficult to achieve within an unequal social system.

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