Television, Nation, and Culture in Indonesia

Philip Kitley Political Science/Media Studies Kitley “T in Indonesia is that of a country invent- T elevision, Nation, and Culture in Indonesia ing itself by promoting a national cultural identity. Philip Kitley, who is not only a media scholar but has also worked as a diplomat in Indonesia, shows how important television has been to both the oﬃcial and popular imagination since its beginnings in the early s. It’s a fascinating tale, with implications going well beyond re- gional specialists, since the use of popular media to promote nation, citizenship, and identity is common to many countries, new and old. “As Indonesia attracts increasing international attention in the post-Soeharto era, it is important to understand the cultural as well as political issues that have led to the current turbulent situation. Kitley’s book is a well-researched, wise, and elegantly written ac- count of the forces, dreams, and policies that link public and private life in and after ‘New Order’ Indonesia.” —John Hartley, Dean of Arts, Queensland University of Technology Philip Kitley is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Humanities and International Studies, University of Southern Queensland. Research in International Studies Southeast Asia Series No. elevision, Nation, and Culture in Indonesia ISBN 0-89680-212-4 T ,!7IA8J6-iacbce! Television, Nation, and Culture in Indonesia This series of publications on Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia is designed to present significant research, translation, and opinion to area specialists and to a wide community of persons interested in world affairs. The editor seeks manu- scripts of quality on any subject and can generally make a decision regarding publication within three months of receipt of the original work. Production methods generally permit a work to appear within one year of acceptance. The editor works closely with authors to produce a high-quality book. The series appears in a paper- back format and is distributed worldwide. For more information, contact the executive editor at Ohio University Press, Scott Quadrangle, University Terrace, Athens, Ohio 45701. Executive editor: Gillian Berchowitz AREA CONSULTANTS Africa: Diane Ciekawy Latin America: Thomas Walker Southeast Asia: William H. Frederick The Ohio University Research in International Studies series is published for the Center for International Studies by the Ohio University Press. The views expressed in individual volumes are those of the authors and should not be considered to rep- resent the policies or beliefs of the Center for International Studies, the Ohio Uni- versity Press, or Ohio University. Television, Nation, and Culture in Indonesia Philip Kitley Ohio University Center for International Studies Research in International Studies Southeast Asia Series No. 104 Athens © 2000 by the Ohio University Center for International Studies Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved The books in the Ohio University Center for International Studies Research in International Studies Series are printed on acid-free paper TM 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 5 4321 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kitley, Philip, 1946– Television, nation, and culture in Indonesia / Philip Kitley. p. cm. — (Research in international studies. Southeast Asia series ; no. 104) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-89680-212-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Television broadcasting—Indonesia. 2. Television broadcasting policy— Indonesia. 3. Television programs—Indonesia. I. Title. II. Series. HE8700.9.I6 K58 2000 384.55'09598—dc21 99-086405 for Yvonne, Ben, and Clare Contents List of Figures ix List of Tables xi Preface xiii Spelling and Translations xviii Chapter 1. Introducing Indonesian Television 1 Part I. The First Phase of Television in Indonesia: Building a Monopoly 19 Chapter 2. State Monopoly Broadcasting, 1962–1981 21 Chapter 3. Television and Its Historical Audiences 73 Chapter 4. Serious Puppet Plays: Television Models the Child 112 Chapter 5. The Rahmat Family: Soap Opera Models the Community 146 Chapter 6. Good News: National Development and the Culture of News 178 Part II. The Second Phase of Television in Indonesia: Breaking Up the Monopoly 213 Chapter 7. The Monopoly Breaks Up: New Television Technologies 215 Chapter 8. Commercial Television News and the Culture of Diversity 250 Chapter 9. Regulating Ownership and Control 268 Chapter 10. Regulating Television Content and Policy 296 Chapter 11. Conclusions: The Cultural Politics of Television in Indonesia 330 Appendixes 345 A. Signi¤cant Dates in the Development of Indonesian Television 347 B. Exchange Rates for the Indonesian Rupiah, U.S. Dollar, and Australian Dollar, 1962–1996 351 C. Si Unyil Episodes Analyzed 353 D. The Flow of Si Unyil and Ria Jenaka 356 E. Keluarga Rahmat’s Setting and Characters 357 F. The Corpus of Keluarga Rahmat Episodes Analyzed 360 G. Recording Dates during December 1991 362 H. Categories of News Items 363 I. Seminars on Television, 1993–1996 365 Notes 369 Works Cited 385 Indonesian Legislation Cited 405 Figures 2.1. Number of Television Receivers Registered in Jakarta, on Java, and outside Java, 1967–1978 47 2.2. Television Receivers Registered, 1962–1981 58 2.3. Television Receivers Registered, 1962–1981 (Data Trend) 58 2.4. Domestic Manufacture of Television Receivers, 1971–1981 58 2.5. Domestic Manufacture of Television Antennae, 1971–1981 59 2.6. Imports of Television Receivers, 1975–1980 59 2.7. Cartoon: Indonesian greets Prime Minister Tanaka 65 2.8. Cartoon: Don’t buy lipstick . 67 2.9. Cartoon: Man snoring 70 2.10. Cartoon Strip: Public television show 71 3.1. Cartoon: Television sponsorship 79 3.2. Cartoon Strip: Bung Joni 89 3.3. Cartoon: This Year’s Festival 95 3.4. Cartoon: I’m still interesting, aren’t I? 96 3.5. Cartoon: Public Taste 97 3.6. Cartoon: Oshin and Kartini 104 7.1. Cartoon: Globalization 237 7.2. Cartoon: Malay diplomacy 240 9.1. Cartoon: Advertisement 281 9.2. Ads for Categories of Goods and Services on TPI and RCTI, 1991 and 1993 283 Tables 2.1. Television Broadcast Stations Commissioned, 1962–1978 37 2.2. TVRI Program Categories as a Percentage of Total Broadcast Hours, 1962–1972 39 2.3. TVRI Program Times, Weekdays and Weekends, 1963–1967 and 1971–1981 40 2.4. Distribution of Public Access Television Sets, 1978/79–1991/92 57 2.5. TVRI Broadcast Range and Population Covered, 1962–1981 60 2.6. Domestic and Foreign Productions as Percentage of Total TVRI Programming, 1968–1981/82 68 5.1. Percentage of Domestic versus Foreign Productions on TVRI Programming, 1983/84–1991/92 152 6.1. Frequency of Different Categories of News Items 182 6.2. Frequency of Appearance of State Of¤cials in Key Roles in News Items 184 6.3. Setting of News Items in Jakarta or Elsewhere 185 10.1. Variables Affecting Media Impact on Television Policy and Regulation 318 Preface Having me around the house in 1968 after I had completed my undergraduate studies was obviously too much for my mother. She encouraged me to take a summer course in Indonesian language offered by the University of New England. I was one of nine students lucky enough to be taught by that inspired teacher from Sydney University, the late Hedwig Emanuels. That course set me on a path of study, research, and involvement with Indone- sia that has greatly enriched my life. At the conclusion of this project, a wholly unanticipated outcome of those early days, I thank both my late mother and father for nurturing in me a love of language and an interest in other cultures and people. I never expected to write about television, for unlike most of my generation, I grew up in country New South Wales without television. Three “television moments” led me into this project. At Robb College, at the University of New England, I watched the events of the Vietnam War unfold on television and for the ¤rst time became impressed with the power of the medium. In 1969/70 I began research on modern batik art and spent some months in the house of Bambang Oetoro, one of the pioneer modern batik artists in Yogyakarta. Every Friday night, Mas Bambang placed his black and white television set on the verandah of his house in Babadan, Gedongkuning, for members of the village to enjoy. I watched with everyone else and enjoyed the national news, which enlarged my knowledge of the archipelago, and I remember how bizarre it seemed to be watching the American spy series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in Central Java. I remember, too, that the villagers enjoyed the program greatly, though I don’t know why. I did not xiii think to ask—“reception analysis” was not part of my critical rep- ertoire in those days. And then from 1986 to 1989 I was posted to the Australian Embassy in Jakarta as Cultural Attache, during which time my children, Ben and Clare, watched TVRI as un- comprehendingly, I often thought, as the villagers in Babadan had watched The Man from U.N.C.L.E. They enjoyed Si Unyil, as I did, and some of the other cartoon programs, but found every- thing else boring. For three years they alternated their consump- tion of TVRI with countless videos, which gave me a ¤rst-hand understanding of how televisual products, mostly imported, were booming “off screen.” These experiences were in¶ected further by the so-called Jen- kins Affair in 1986, and the Australian Embassy’s decision to use the popularity of the Australian prime-time soap Return to Eden as a way of mending fences after David Jenkins’s Sydney Morning Herald article had plunged the Australia-Indonesia diplomatic relationship to an all-time low. The popularity of the Australian series, which had enjoyed only limited success at home, increased my interest in television in Indonesia and in the media relations between our two countries and led eventually to this research.

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