RECEPTION ANALYSIS OF BROMANCE IN “RUN BTS!” VARIETY SHOW ON VLIVE VIDEO PLATFORM Eka Perwitasari Fauzi and Rahmadya Putra Nugraha Fakultas Ilmu Komunikasi, Universitas Mercu Buana, Indonesia ABSTRACT This study entitled reception analysis of bromance in “Run BTS!” variety show on vlive video platform. This study was a qualitative research with reception analysis method. The findings showed that the meaning was categorized in three positions of meaning i.e dominant, negotiation, and opposition. In this study, the meaning of bromance in general, nine out of eleven informants were in a dominant position. While in the position of negotiating, four informants interpreted that not all bromance interaction of Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS) boy band members were pure and spontaneous, the four informans assessed there were some interactions that were parts of the program script to satisfy fans who mostly like bromance interactions that showed closeness among Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS) members. In the position of opposition, five informants interpreted that the bromance interaction in the Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS) boy band was very excessive and inappropriate for fellow men. Keywords: reception analysis, bromance, variety shows, vlive video platform INTRODUCTION Friendship among men initially had obstacles because of stereotypes and hegemonic concepts of masculinity. Men are always associated with the concept of masculinity both in terms of appearance and behavior. According to Donaldson in his research entitled “What is Hegemonic Masculinity?”, men were associated with power and wealth. Heterosexuality and homophobia were the basis of the concept of hegemonic masculinity. Men are encouraged to become homophobia and given awards in the form of social support. In other words, heterosexual male identities are affirmed on the basis of hatred and fear of gays. As the time goes by, the culture of homophobia in the community began to disappear. This allowed men to express emotions, physical contact and intimacy with their male friends without worrying about being seen as homosexuals (Craig, 1992: 25). One of the effects of starting the loss of homophobic culture in society is the emergence of the bromance phenomenon. In a study conducted by Adam White, heterosexual men no longer relied on traditional homosexual boundaries that had previously restricted same-sex friendship. Bromance concept is used to describe a new form of friendship between men based on intimacy (White at all, 2017: 2) . The word bromance itself in the Oxford Dictionary has the meaning of a nonsexual close relationship between two men. According to Chen in Nills Hammar én and Thomas Johansson’s research entitled “Homosociality: In Between Power and Intimacy”, in popular culture, the concept of bromance (which combines the words brother and romance) has been introduced, discussed and debated. Bromance refers to close and intimate nonsexual and homosocial relationships between two (or more) men (Hammar én & Johansson, 2014: 6). Bromance emphasizes love, exclusive friendship, and intimacy that are not based on competition and are often described as “shoulder-to-shoulder friendship”, for example, IJRDO - Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research ISSN: 2456-2971 Volume-5 | Issue-4 | April, 2020 114