Power and Leadership in The King (2019): A Semiotic Analysis of Henry V

Abstract

This study examines how The King (2019) represents power and leadership through the character of Henry V, and how the film both constructs and challenges the image of an ideal king. The research problem concerns the tension between Henry’s public authority as king and the personal burdens, isolation, and moral consequences associated with leadership. Using a descriptive qualitative approach and Roland Barthes’ semiotic theory, the study identifies signs of power and leadership, interprets their cultural meanings through denotation, connotation, and myth, and analyzes how these signs shape Henry’s image as a ruler. The data consist of selected scenes, dialogues, camera framing, character positioning, costumes, settings, and other relevant visual elements. Fourteen scenes were purposively selected because they contain signs or narrative situations relevant to power and leadership. The findings are organized into five themes: hierarchy represented through physical elevation; psychological burden and leadership isolation; domination and punitive justice; identity transformation and institutional gravity; and strategic centrality and intellectual authority. The analysis shows that visual and narrative elements represent Henry as an authoritative leader while also revealing responsibility, institutional pressure, violence, and moral conflict. At the level of myth, the film associate’s sovereignty with military power and decision-making, presenting Henry as an exceptional ruler. However, it complicates the heroic image of the ideal king by depicting his vulnerability, exhaustion, isolation, and the consequences of his decisions. The film thus presents leadership as a tension between institutional authority and personal responsibility.