Cultural Politics of Contemporary Cinema in Indonesia and Malaysia
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EMANCIPATING DESIRE, EMPOWERING FANTASY: CULTURAL POLITICS OF CONTEMPORARY CINEMA IN INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA BUDI IRAWANTO (B.A. (Hons.), Gadjah Mada University (M.A.), Curtin University of Technology A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2014 EMANCIPATING DESIRE, EMPOWERING FANTASY: CULTURAL POLITICS OF CONTEMPORARY CINEMA IN INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA BUDI IRAWANTO DEPARTMENT OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2014 DECLARATION Hereby I declare that the thesis is my original work and it has been written by me in its entirety. I have duly acknowledged all sources of information which have been used in this thesis. This thesis has also not been submitted for any degree in any university previously. ______________ BUDI IRAWANTO 19 September 2014 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Like credit titles rolling in the end of any film screening, this thesis has incurred many debts to numerous institutions and individuals whose invaluable contributions make the thesis writing process more than pleasurable. First and foremost, I would like to express to my gratitude to the National University of Singapore (NUS) that has awarded me a research scholarship to pursue my PhD program and enabled me to conduct fieldworks in Indonesia and Malaysia under the Graduate Research Support Scheme (GRSS). In addition, Gadjah Mada University (Yogyakarta-Indonesia) has granted a teaching leave during my study at NUS and provided a supplementary funding in the final stage of my PhD candidature. In particular, I would like to thank to Prof Dr Pratikno (Rector of Gadjah Mada University) and Dr Erwan Agus Purwanto (Dean of Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Gadjah Mada University) for their inspiring advice and generosity. I also would like to thank to Dr Nico Harjanto (Chairman of Populi Center) for helping me to resolve my financial matters prior to my oral examination. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Dr Goh Beng Lan for sharing generously her passionate and thoughtful views of various aspects of Indonesian and Malaysian culture and society beyond her formal role as my supervisor. Since the inception of this thesis, I have received many constructive and critical feedbacks from Professor Chua Beng Huat (Department of Sociology, NUS) and Dr Maznah Mohamad (Department of Malay Studies, NUS), particularly during the qualifying examination. Also, I received some friendly comments on chapter outline and a warm invitation to share my early findings in his class from Dr Jan van Der Putten, a former lecturer at the Department of Malay Studies, NUS. My intellectual endeavor of this research has been less lonely since I found a iii spirit of camaraderie from fellow researchers of Indonesian and Malaysian cinema: Thomas Barker (University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus), David Hanan (Monash University) and Khoo Gaik Cheng (Australian National University). Meanwhile, the graduate research student life in NUS was far from dull and gloomy as I had a chance to meet and share my anxieties and hopes in doing research with fellow graduate students: Arthur Chia, Pitra Narendra, Katy Rainwater, Andrea Montanari, Ryan Gordon Tan, Phan Phuong Hao, Tan Lee Ooi, Somrak Chaisangkananont, Xin Guang Can, Chung Ye Sun “Sophie”, Kanami Namiki, Lina Puryanti, Kanbee Nguyen, Yoshihide Sugimoto and Sol Dorotea Rosales Iglesias. Moreover, Mdm Rohani Sungib has assisted me to deal with research administrative matters in a less-stressful way. Outside the academia I would like to thank Philip Cheah for his infectious love and passion of Asian cinema as well as his critical thoughts (completely free from academic jargon) of contemporary Southeast Asian cinema. In addition, Teo Swee Leng and Sam I-Shan for making me keep abreast of the development of Southeast Asian cinema by allowing me to attend all film screenings (for free!) at the Southeast Asian Film Festival (SEAFF) organized by the Moving Image Gallery, Singapore Arts Museum (SAM). During my fieldwork in Jakarta (Indonesia) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) I received much sincere help and assistance. I would like to thank several people who made my research in Indonesia pleasant: Mas Budi and Mbak Mimah, Garin Nugroho, Gotot Prakosa, Arda Muhlisiun, Alex Sihar, Abduh Aziz, Lalu Rois Amri, Lintang Gitomartoyo, Seno Joko Suyono, Seno Gumira Adjidarma, Hanung Bramantyo, Rudi Soejarwo, Ifa Isfansyah, Ajish Dibyo, AS Laksana, Jusra Abdi. I also received generous hospitality from several people during my fieldwork in Malaysia: Amir Muhammad, Hassan Muthalib, Nandita Solomon and Dain Iskandar Said (Apparat Film), U-Wei bin Haji Saari, Effendee Mazlan and Fariza Azlina Isahak, Mamat Khalid’s family, Gayatri iv Su-Lin Pillai (ASTRO Tayangan Unggul), Azharr Rudin, James Lee, Woo Ming Jin, Liew Seng Tat, Ho Yu Hang, Khoo Eng Yow, Deepak Kumaran Menon, Shanmugam, Khairil Bahar, Fahmi Reza and Fikri Jermadi. In particular, Wong Tuck Cheong has provided me an opportunity to share my early research findings in Jakarta at a public lecture organized by the HELP University College and Kelab Seni Filem Malaysia. Meanwhile, I would like to thank to Nirwansyah and Bianca Ayasha who have provided me a comfortable place for writing and revising all drafts of my thesis. Also, I would like to thank to Rahayu, Mira and Dhira for being parts of my “family” during my study in Singapore. The unfailing supports from my families in Tulungagung and Blitar (East Java, Indonesia) have provided me spiritual energy during the arduous journey of my study far from my home country. My beloved wife Fifi and my lovely daughter Alma are always wonderful companions and gentle reminders to push my thesis to completion. I dedicate this thesis to my father, Markoep Sastroprawiro, who is no longer with us during my PhD candidature. He has educated me in his own way on how to be a passionate cinephile. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS vi SUMMARY viii LIST OF TABLE AND FIGURES x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Background of the Study 1 Inter-Referencing Mode of Analysis of Asian Cinema Studies 4 Locating Indonesian and Malaysian Cinema in Southeast Asia 13 Conceptual Framework: Cinema and Politics 25 Methodology and Fieldwork 33 Chapter Organizations 42 CHAPTER 2 “REVOLUTION IS BEING SHOT ON DIGITAL CAMERA:” 45 THE CHANGING FILM LANDSCAPE IN INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA Digital Liberation Under the Reign of “Digital Babylon” 47 The “New Generation” in the Digital Era 57 Creating a Vibrant Film Culture through Film Festival and Film Communities 71 The Internet as a New and Open Platform for Film Distribution and Exhibition 92 Conclusion 102 CHAPTER 3 IMAGING UTOPIA/DYSTOPIA: RELIGION, RACE AND SEXUALITY IN INDIE CINEMA 105 The Unfinished Project of Religious and Racial Pluralism in Cinema 107 Islamic-themed Films and Issue of Pluralism and Equality 137 Transgressing Heteronormative Sexuality 146 Conclusion 158 vi CHAPTER 4 INHABITING IMAGINARY SPACE: URBAN AND PERIPHERIAL IMAGIRIES OF CONTEMPORARY INDONESIAN AND MALAYSIAN SOCIETY 161 The Urban Breakdown and Troubled Youth 163 Racialized (Ethnicized) Landscape Within Plural Society 176 The Reverberation of “Regionalism:” Decentering National Narrative 188 Conclusion 207 CHAPTER 5 PLAYING IN THE DARK: CONTROVERSIES, PROTESTS AND FILM CENSORSHIP 209 Controversies and Protests Against “Troubling” Films 211 The Specter of Islamic Morality 231 Censorship as a Political Symptom: Law and Regulation of Film Censorship 246 Resistance against Film Censorship: “Politicizing” Film Scene 257 Conclusion 266 CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION 268 Postscript 276 BIBLIOGRAPHY 278 FILMOGRAPHY 297 vii SUMMARY Political changes since the Reformasi movements in 1998 in Indonesia and Malaysia not only provide fertile ground for an “inter-reference mode of analysis” (Chen, 2010), but also an optic of emerging new visual politics amidst socio-political upheavals in these two countries. This thesis examines the intricate and co-constitutive relationship between cinema and politics within the fast changing socio-political landscapes of contemporary Indonesia and Malaysia since the Reformasi era. Employing an “inter-referencing” method and drawing on Jacques Rancière’s and Alain Badiou’s theories on the potentiality of cinema for progressive social change, I examine new film practices, genres, networks, industry structures and social struggles in Indonesia and Malaysia today which are aided by the advancement in new digital technology. Unlike established film industries in the West, the structure of Indonesian and Malaysian cinema is marked by irregularities of economic activities (absence of film distributors, declining film theaters, rampant film piracy) that allow the emergence of a multitude of amateur and independent filmmakers outside the commercial film circuit who have contributed to the creation of a new mode of indie film production. The interconnections and informal networks formed by a “new generation” of Indonesian and Malaysian filmmakers have facilitated an alternative indie filmmaking whose spread is aided by grass root film festivals and events organized by film communities. Facilitated by the Internet, the new indie filmmaking has flourished given new virtual structures of distribution and expression which enabled it to escape from dependency on oligarchic domination and state censorship. viii While conventional genres still exist, the young Indonesian and Malaysian filmmakers infuse unconventional themes (racial