One Piece Symbols in Journalistic Photography of the 2025 Madagascar Protests: A Visual Culture Analysis through Participatory Culture

Abstract

Journalistic photography in contemporary visual culture no longer functions merely as a medium for documenting events, but also as a site of meaning production that represents social identity, ideology, and the cultural practices of the digital generation. This article aims to analyze the photograph “Madagascar’s Gen Z Protests” by Luis Tato through the perspectives of visual culture and Henry Jenkins’ theory of participatory culture. This study employs a qualitative approach using visual analysis methods focusing on photographic elements such as composition, framing, body gestures, visual artifacts, and the relationship between subjects and protest space. The analysis interprets the use of popular culture symbols, particularly the Jolly Roger from the manga One Piece, within the context of the 2025 student protests in Madagascar. The findings reveal that the One Piece symbol in the photograph represents the appropriation of transnational popular culture as a visual language of Gen Z resistance. Through the concept of participatory culture, the photograph demonstrates practices of global community affiliation, creative expression, symbolic digital circulation, collaborative problem-solving, and connections between fictional narratives and political realities. Luis Tato’s photograph not only documents a student protest but also captures the transformation of visual culture among digital generation, in which popular culture symbols function as instruments of contemporary political articulation. This study argues that contemporary journalistic photography can be understood as a visual cultural practice actively shaping the production of social meaning within the global media ecosystem.