Contemporary Indonesian Film Indonesian
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This highly informative book explores the world of Post- film Indonesian Contemporary Soeharto Indonesian audio-visual media in the exiting era of Reform. From a multidisciplinary approach it considers a wide variety of issues such as mainstream and alternative Contemporary film practices, ceremonial and independent film festivals, film piracy, history and horror, documentary, television soaps, and Islamic films, as well as censorship from the state Indonesian film and street. Through the perspective of discourses on, and practices of film production, distribution, and exhibition, this book gives a detailed insight into current issues of Indone- Spirits of Reform and ghosts from the past sia’s social and political situation, where Islam, secular reali- ties, and ghosts on and off screen, mingle or clash. Dr. Katinka van Heeren was born on 7 January 1973 in Jakarta Indonesia. She has been a student of Indonesian Languages and Cultures since 1995. Over the years she built up a specialization in Javanese culture, Indonesian Islam, and contemporary audio-visual media. In 2000 she obtained her Masters degree at the University of Leiden with a thesis on media, identity politics and socio-political influences of New Order rule in Indonesian culture in the analysis of two Katinka van Heeren van Katinka Indonesian films. From 2001 to 2005 she was member of the Indonesian Mediations research project. This project was part of a larger Dutch KNAW research project of Indonesia in Transition. In June 2009 she obtained her doctorate. Between 2001 and 2010 she has organized several film screenings in the Netherlands and Indonesia, as well as took part at different film festivals as a member of the jury. She is affiliated to ASEAC, which bi-annually organizes the South- east Asian Cinemas Conference, and KSI, a group of Indone- sian scholars who study recent developments in Indonesian audio-visual media. ISBN 978-90-6718-381-9 Katinka van Heeren 9 789067 183819 CONTEMPORARY INDONESIAN FILM Southeast Asia Mediated This series considers media forms and practices, processes of medi- ation, and the complex evolving and intersecting media ecologies that characterize Southeast Asia whether in contemporary or his- torical circumstances. Editors: Bart Barendregt (Leiden University) and Ariel Heryanto (Australian National University). VERHANDELINGEN VAN HET KONINKLIJK INSTITUUT VOOR TAAL-, LAND- EN VOLKENKUNDE 277 katinka van heeren CONTEMPORARY INDONESIAN FILM Spirits of Reform and ghosts from the past KITLV Press Leiden 2012 Published by: KITLV Press Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies) P.O. Box 9515 2300 RA Leiden The Netherlands website: www.kitlv.nl e-mail: [email protected] KITLV is an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) Cover: Sam Gobin ISBN 978 90 6718 381 9 © 2012 Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde KITLV Press applies the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCom- mercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/) to selected books, published in or after January 2011. Authors retain ownership of the copyright for their articles, but they permit anyone unrestricted use and distribution within the terms of this license. Printed editions manufactured in the Netherlands Contents list of acronyms and abbreviations vii preface xiii introduction 1 part 1 film mediation practices 1 new order and surface 25 Production: The attempt to produce Provokator the New Order way 26 Distribution and exhibition: Trade and charade in cinemas and film formats 32 Exhibition and consumption: Film festivals as forums for national imaginations and representations 40 Conclusion 48 2 reformasi and underground 51 Reformation in film production: Kuldesak and film independen 52 Distribution and exhibition of new media formats: ‘Local’ Beth versus ‘transnational’ Jelangkung 59 Alternative sites of film consumption: Additional identifications and modes of resistance 67 Conclusion 76 part 2 film discourse practices 3 histories, heroes, and monumental frameworks 81 Film history: New Order patronage of film perjuangan and film pembangunan 81 Film and historiography: Promotion and representations of New Order history 88 ‘Film in the framework of’: G30S/PKI and Hapsak 96 Conclusion 103 | Contents 4 post-colonial histories, common people, and commercial frameworks 107 Counter-history: Changes and continuities in post-Soeharto modes of engagement 107 Post-colonial histories and identities: film islami 115 Film in the framework of Ramadan 122 Conclusion 129 part 3 film discourse practices 5 the KYAI and hyperreal ghosts: narrative practices of horror, commerce, and censorship 135 Horror films under the New Order: Comedy, sex, and religion 136 Horror films for television: New narratives and debates on their bounds 141 Horror films for cinema and television: Developments of Reformasi 147 Conclusion 155 6 the celebrity KYAI and phantoms of the past: tussling with the bounds of indonesian moralities, realities, and popularities 157 The ban on Kiss me quick!: The kyai, the foreigner, and Indonesia’s morality 161 Censorship from the street: The authority of religion 168 The post-Soeharto dispute over censorship: Spirits of Reform and ghosts from the past 176 Conclusion 182 conclusion 185 glossary 203 bibliography 205 filmography 225 index 231 vi List of acronyms and abbreviations AAK Aliansi Anti-Komunis (Alliance of Anti-Communists) ABG Anak Baru Gedhe (teenager) ABRI Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia (Armed Forces of the Republic of Indonesia) AMAP Aliansi Masyarakat Anti Porno-Aksi (Alliance of Peo- ple against Pornographic Acts) Asirevi Asosiasi Importir Rekaman Video Indonesia (Indo- nesian Video Recording Importers Association) BP2N Badan Pertimbangan Perfilman Nasional (National Film Assessment Board) BSF Badan Sensor Film (Film Censor Board) DFN Dewan Film Nasional (National Film Council) DGI Dewan Gereja-Gereja di Indonesia (Council of Churches in Indonesia) DVD Digital Video/Versatile Disc FBR Forum Betawi Rempug (Betawi Brotherhood Forum) FFAP Festival Film Asia Pasifik (Asia Pacific Film Festival) FFB Forum Film Bandung (Bandung Film Forum) FFD Festival Film Dokumenter (Documentary Film Festival) FFI Festival Film Indonesia (Indonesian Film Festival) FFII Festival Film Independen Indonesia (Indonesian In- dependent Film Festival) FFVII Festival Film dan Video Independen Indonesia (In- donesian Independent Film and Video Festival) FKLD Forum Komunikasi Lembaga Dakwah (Communica- tion Forum of Dakwah Institutions) FLP Forum Lingkar Pena (Pen Circle Forum) FPI Front Pembela Islam (Islamic Defenders Front) FSI Festival Sinetron Indonesia (Indonesian ‘Electronic Cinema’ Festival) Gasfi Gabungan Studio Film Indonesia (Indonesian Asso- ciation of Film Studios) | List of acronyms and abbreviations Gasi Gabungan Subtitling Indonesia (Indonesian Asso- ciation of Subtitlers) Gerwani Gerakan Wanita Indonesia (Indonesian Women’s Movement), GPBSI Gabungan Perusahaan Bioskop Seluruh Indonesia (All-Indonesian Association of Movie Theatre Com- panies) GPHMI Gerakan Perempuan Hindu Muda Indonesia (Indo- nesian Young Hindu Women’s Movement) Hafsi Himpunan Artis Film dan Sinetron Indonesia (Indo- nesian Film and ‘Electronic Cinema’ Association) Hafti Himpunan Artis Film dan Televisi Indonesia (Asso- ciation of Indonesian Film and Television Artists) Hapsak Hari Peringatan Kesaktian Pancasila (Day of Com- memoration of the Sacred Pancasila) Hifki Himpunan Film Keliling Indonesia (Association of Indonesian Mobile Cinema) HMI Himpunan Mahasiswa Islam (Association of Islamic Students) HPBI Himpunan Pengusaha Bioskop Indonesia (Indone- sian Association of Movie Theatre Agents) HT Hizbut Tahrir (Party of Liberation, an international Sunni pan-Islamist political party) IIPA International Intellectual Property Alliance IKJ Institut Kesenian Jakarta (Jakarta Art Institute) IMF International Monetary Fund Jiffest Jakarta International Film Festival KFT Karyawan Film dan Televisi (Union of Film and Tele- vision Employees) KFT-ASI Karyawan Film Television – Asosiasi Sineas Indonesia (Film and Television Employees – Association of In- donesian Cineasts) KISDI Komite Indonesia untuk Solidaritas Dunia Islam (Indo- nesian Committee for Solidarity in the Islamic World) Kismis kisah misteri (mystery tales) KKN korupsi, kolusi dan nepotisme (corruption, collu- sion and nepotism) Konfiden Komunitas Film Independen (Community of Inde- pendent Film) Kopassus Komando Pasukan Khusus (Special Forces) viii List of acronyms and abbreviations | KP2N Komite Peduli Perfilman Nasional (National Com- mittee of Concern for the National Film Industry) KPAI Komisi Perlindungan Anak Indonesia (Indonesian Children Protection Commission) KPI Komisi Penyiaran Indonesia (Indonesian Broadcast Commission) KPPU Komisi Pengawas Persaingan Usaha (Business Com- petition Supervisory Agency) KWI Konferensi Waligereja Indonesia (Indonesian Bish- ops’ Conference) LD Laser Disc LEKRA Lembaga Kebudayaan Rakyat (Institute of People’s Culture, the key cultural mass organization affiliated to PKI LPI Laskar Pembela Islam (Warriors of Defenders of Is- lam) LPPD Lembaga Pengkajian dan Pengembangan Dakwah (Institute for the Study and Development of Dak- wah) LSF Lembaga Sensor Film (Film Censor Institute) mafin mahluk film independen (independent-film crea- ture) MAPPI Laskar Masyarakat Anti Pembajakan dan Pornografi Indonesia (Indonesian Paramilitary Unit of People Against Piracy and