This document is downloaded from DR‑NTU (https://dr.ntu.edu.sg) Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Youth culture and mass media in

Darmanto Jatman.

1987

Darmanto J. (1987). Youth culture and . In AMIC Seminar on Youth Culture and the Media : Bangkok, Aug 13‑15, 1987. Singapore: Asian Mass Communication Research and Information Centre. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/86116

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Youth Culture And Mass Media In Indonesia

By

Darmanto Jatman

Paper No.5 ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library YOUTH CULTURE AND MASS MEDIA IN INDONESIA ^.AP^ ^ J>^ s* (If- 51 ^\X ' '

t Indonesian culture ia a young culture,emerges from many many ethnic groups with her motto "Unity in diversity",encountering foreign cultures - sometimes called universal cultures,sometimes despised as imperialistic cultures.Conmunica- tion process and system are responsible of the "birth of this net-: culture.TJhen young people in Indonesia declared the "Soerapah Penoeda" in 1923,that they ere of the same country,nation with the seme language Indonesia,Indonesi- was not yet "born free and independent.As bureccracy,military,raonetery system,rn.--.sr medic h.--s a great contribution to the development of this nrtion r-s a culturrl system. As. an oceanic country rith over 3000 islands rnd 176 millions people,mrss media is becoming more and more important. is the center of the whole net­ work of communication activities including the medio e.g television,r=dio,film, news papers and magazines.Intensive interaction among varieties of ethnic groups and also foreigners within the framework of economic activities,social,political and even military,set up Jakarta into a new cultural entity,basicaly urbcn.The language of the Jakartan,is the language of the young elites throughout the whole of the nation spread out by mass media. Jakarta is becoming the model of many cities in Indonesia with her way of life,partly metropolitan,partly primordial.Uith a back­ up of modern technology,Jakarta can reach alomost every piece of land in Indonesia. Kost of all leading and magazines published in Jakarta.Anc in order to be able to control the market throughout the country,pop culture emerges,?nd so "sinyo" or neztiso" culture,beside "Indojawa" culture e.g the culture of those Indonesian from Javanese ethnic group.The influence of Javanese culture should be mention here,since it is now becoming the cere of. the Indonesian culture or spirit, as Franz Von liagnis Susenc mentioned in his study about "Javanese Ethics". It is worth to mention,that the middle clrss in Indonosir is still just a very thin layer,beside the stronger elites and the gr~ssroot.30;1 of the people in Indonesia lives in rural area,however step by step mass media,especially rrdio,csn reach remote area.

MASS MEDIA 117 I3LCE2SIA.

Forrr.lly there are three basic functions of Indonesian mass medir- : To dis­ tribute information,to educate the people and to entertain them.For years the third function seems to be very dominant,but little by little the two other func­ tions are becoming more and more important.In rural areas education becoming more functioning,while information seems becoming more functioning in thi urban rre.~ . Jakob Cetsma,founder and editor of "",the biggest news p-pers ever publisher in Indoncsi- with about 50C.CC0 of circulations ,mentions sever-1 oil:" functions of Inacneria:: mass modi- :

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-. To secure the national integration - To educato people,distribute information and entertain them. - As the extension of man,media for their expressions and r-tpiration - To stimulate creativity - Social mobility. And for come people to tell others who (s)he is.'."ho is Ifang v:ho read "Kompas" or "Suara Fembaharuan" as her , "Tempo" , "Sari nab" or "Fehdna" or "X-rtini" or "Famili" or "Pertivi" r.s her magazine ? Ifang is ,of course,an intelcctual,a carreer woman from a big city. Yes J Kanr.^ing mass media is becomi'ng more a business th- n s politic.'1 .- ci-.on.J.'a- nagers are now becoming as important as editors and so publishers.I'edie market should be explore and exploit efficiently.Many research hrve been don to open this silent mass.Youth,especially who are well educated,from middle to upper class le­ vel,usually live in the cities,are- potential market.Some big news papers devote • some of their pages for the youth.Some of them publish magazines for youth,as "Kom- pas" did by publishing "}Iai".And now there are many magazines for young people in Indonesia,mostly published in Jakarta. Just to mention several name : "hri","Gadis", "Nona","Kode" and may others which couldn't survive for a longer time. liany of these magazines sell dreams and fantasies of an exotic life with .. lipstick,.'nd a model of young Jakartan Metropolitan way of life with a strong pattern of consumptive behavior."Lupus",for example,is a serial stories which is very popular among the young readers.Lupus talk in Jakartan language,walk in Jakrrtr-n wry of walking... "Lupus" is written by a youngster.Titi Said,the editor of "Famili" thinks that "Lu­ pus" is becoming a succes story because it is written by the young people for the young.people.lt is not so pretentious as many other stories written by elders to educate the youngsters.Fidelity is still the most important value for the youth as Sri!< Srikson once said,and so in writing stories end publishing magazines. VJhile television dedicate some of the programs for the young people - in Indonesia there is only one television network run by the government - radio,espe­ cially the non government one,dedicate almost all of their program for the youth. Tommy Hernowo,one of the most succesful manager for a non government radio "3.2T", find that 90% of his listeners are young people.However "3.2T" is in , its most popular program,"Opera ",using Jakartan language.Other most popu­ lar non government radio "SS",on air with QO,J of its program music only.And other radio, "Jathayu",shows a strong Javanese flavor to win the heart of its listeners. •Its worth to mention the succesful story of a weekly TV "Ilonitor" with a fantastic number of circulation for Indonesian standard,over than 500.000,telling its readers the other side of the 17 shows,ehich maybe under strong censorship.Its appeareance stimulates the young reader to read further and turn on their television. ".'hile many film directors show their attention to youth culture,youth way of life,film producers perceive the potential market of these young people in Indo­ nesia. Together they produces many film about young people life ,love - f fairs ,g-nef., and even marriages.'purine the Indonesian Film Feat.lv 1 1' '7j ":'-•" O'-^I'-'h d'ru .:au - kutenakap" ( Run ; ftar nrj.I c- tch -rou ) .• JomccV-- film about •••f>;;nr .• o ale '-•• a " aco->j=> ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library 3.

It Keens that pop culture,promoted by iat.se media Kith r "businesslike manage­ ment style,has a very strong impact upon the Indonesian youth.Ignis Kleden," young intelectual,think that pop culture is not premature culture.Pop culture apprecia­ ted "by many social elites,"but not cultural elites.It is F. pity,that it impact upon young people in rural area,shows more in a consumptive way of life rather than productive.lt seems that the process of -Institution*ligation cf media culture in Indonesia is going hand in hand Kith the institutionalization of pop culture.Even science and religion become so ."pcppish" when they do the package for the young people through that special program for youth.

MEDIA CULTURE.

To Kin the heart of its audience,the public media in Indonesi-,turn to be so attractive,exotic.Some general principles for mass media,-s ".- ctuality", "punc- tuality","proximity","magnitude","significance","prominence",turn to be ? KFV of thinking,r Kay of life at least for its producers,a culture."Celebrity",is one of the most prominent "character" of the media.They produce their own world Kith their autonomous value,commitment,ethics.They produce ~ n idol rather than e resl m~n.A hero rather than a common people.A st^ri To meet Kith youth culture,there is no trouble for mydia culture,especially in Indonesia Kbere modern media culture is still very youngi&till seeking its i- d.entity,its role and position in the society.There are many youngsters "who find their "idola" from mass madia,especially film,and make their idol- r.s their model in their personality development.That's why many educators Kant to trko fdventage of this reality by using film as a media for youth education beside of ue ny other messages from many other elders who feel responsible for their youngsters,including politics.Hovrever,many mass media which are able to avoid these burden,unable to avoid promoting -'nevr" values : Fame and richness.As for film mrkers,profit is be­ coming a powerful god,as beauty WE before. The development of media culture linkage with capitel growth.Hot only in­ formation means business,entertainment means business,but media merns business toe. Kedia culture then has its own "logic".To onlive this rnedi? culture,somebody should have strong emphety,or "mobile personality" r.s Daniel Lerner ever mar.ticned.Proffe- sional ethics for media workers shows a glimpse of the medi? culture,its cc~plexit^ in dealing with "the privr.te" and "the public".Some of these madia v: lues or norms leaks into organisation,group and oven personal life,such as privatisaticn,simpli­ fies tion,?ctual. ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library t '

SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF IKDONESIAH YOUTH CULTURE

Some "rebellious" expert try to show hoi.- youth culture in Indonesia de- velope within the framaaork of strong paternalist.They try to show this culture as repressed end submitted to the so called "just" culture,which dominated hy el­ ders elite.In Javanese culture,seniority means r lot.There are many t:."boos to pre­ serve this so. Junior not onlj' have to respect their senior,but to obsy.Kass meci- help to create s new equality between those seniors and Juniors.A pity that even in the media people can still find this unequal t3?eatment due to the norms which still going strong in the society.Youth culture look as a prenu tur-e culture,infer­ ior to the dominant culture.There are several kind of attitude toward this "high" culture : Submit,against,or just trying to get along peacefully. Tliis kind of atti­ tude can be found in their encounter with foreign culture.However,acculturation ,inculturation,assimilation happened during their interaction.Among youth itself, there are a lot of varieties due to differences in religion,ethnic groups ,educa­ tion,rural/urhan,man/woman,rich/poor. A poem written hy a young poet,a youth,may help to catch s glimpse of In­ donesian youth culture : BiarinJ ( I don't care J )

You say,life is just rotten,I say I don't care You say,life is meaningless,I say I don't care You say,I have no character,I say I don1 You say,I have no insight,I say I don't care!

I'ell.If don't say that,what I gonna do then Killing ray self ?1 That's more rottening then let life gonna it- it is ( Yudhistira Ardhi Kugraha ).

When this youth says "I don't careJ",it expressed many kind of rttitude.So:-entir;es it looks so permissive,so defensive,sometimes it locks so ;ggresive tow-rd others e.g elders,the "oppressor.These kind of attitude could be found amor.- youth who live in "big cities especially in slums area rwhere hostile attitude toward foreigners and juvenile delinquency can he easily found. "I don't carei" is net only nn ex­ pression of permissiveness,hut it is & "wisdom", an art of living in "Ir Vicr •' ( Os­ car Lewis ) situation. However,among their own peer group,>:e can find that fidelity,solidarity, conformity,loyalty,are still regarded as great values and commitment for Indonesian youth.Family environment,school environment,village environment,ss=^s to he mere influential then mass media to develop such positive attitude among youth.I'ohtar Buchori in his research among 5 ethnic groups finds that "well educ- tion",rnd ''rcci social status" are strong aspiration among the youth. In this raci-; rcci--. 1 ch'r.ga. value confusion seems to be the most terrible eneny for youth in Ir.-'cner ir-. To face the uncertain situation,many youth :'run" to religion and formal ec;c; ticr.,"hile some of them creator that "I don't c~re'; culture. ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library

I'any experts try to design a kind of cultural engineering for these youngs­ ters by introducing achievement orientation or self-actualisftion orientation is D.vid IIcLlelland and Abraham liaslow did before. However, study by lioeljani I!?rtarr'.r h among Javanese youth sbov.'s that solidarity is still the most import; nt v lue be­ fore achievement and power.While study by John ITimooona shows the: t ths tehrvior of cc called middle cl.'iss people in Indonesia, just an imitation of the elites. And study by Sudjoko shows that most of the television >rogram, expose the life of these middle £: upper class rather than the poor.And Jim Sup- ngk' t found th'1 sticker with "Hambo" picture ? nd :; girl opening her blouse with szvov 1 . crds ( le patient! ) are sold to many many youngsters' in Indonesia,vhlch shew th-t mass media has ^-responsibility in creating ;-. pop culture for the youngster.

SC"3 QIESTIC^S TO 13 PU3SU2D BY 5SSSA33B

These questions are basically sorted from layman's especially youth who need clarification to confirm their attiturlo or opinion : - '..'hat kind of media youth in Indonesia need ? - How does youth in Indonesia use media as their morns of expressions ? - i-.re youth in Indonesia critical to their media ? - How decs media influence youth Some other Questions,concerning the media as it ir new,may "prcvo'te" • nother re­ search, such a.s : - Content analysis on leading . news pa per r and r.r-g.-Fines in Indont:si;: about youth news - Market policy of youth mega sines - Advertisements which sell product for youth in Indonesia

This paper in just a brief paper to be followed by .? more dot' iled study en the subject "Youth C-jLture and Mass Madia in Indonesia".

To bo submitted to AMI 1 Tienin?.r on "Youth Culture rnd the media", August,12-15,1937. Chul'l: r.ckorn -TJni ver si ty.£•' ng :ok. ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library 6.

Boels&rs, Y,£epri"ba.dian Indoner.ia,1934,Grarr.edia,Jakr.rta Erikson,3rilc E,The Shallence of Youth, 1965 ,Doubled-y Anchor ,U.L.;. Gurevitch,I'ickael ( ed ) ,2ulturc, Society and the I'.odia ,1932,Hethuen,London '• :"eir Ycr' Oetama, Jakob,Per spc'ctif Pert Indonesia,1937,LP53S,Jakarta SchilJT,Herbert I,Communication and Cultural Domination,!976 ;"*E; Shrrpe Inc,"c" York Sire£&r,A£h~di ct al ,Bagsiraana llenjadi Penulis Kedi.- Mr ESK ,I£-ryr Uniperr ,If 3? Soer.r.ntc, iPtrid,rend?.pat Umu;2,1975»Sin"oiptF ,Er.ndun£:,Ini"on-3si<~ Frierna,Zebudayaan Pop,?.:ei 1937 ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library

CU>RICULU;: VITAE

D- nn: utc J' tru.n Lorn in J-b'rta,August 16,1942 Lecturer ;.t the Department of Communication Science,Faculty of Social £; Politic: 1 Science?.,Diponegoro University at Sera;rang,Central Java,Indonesia.

Poet,Columnist,psychologist

Graduated from the F-rculty of Pcychology,Grd.jah llrdc Univercity,19u3. B=sic Hunr.nities,Eest V.Tcst Center - University of ITM-raii ,1972/1973 Development Planning,University College Lenden,1977/1973

Books : Literature,Psychology ond Society, 1?35,Alumni ,7;.- ndung,Indonesia The Problems of Culture, 1936,Alumni,Bendung,Indonesia In Search for the Concept of Kanin. Indonesia, Erlangga, J- kart* -,1935

Seminars i Quality of. Man in Indonesia ,Palerabang,JHFIIS, 19 34 Communication To"1.:; rd Ttke Off Era in Indonesian Development,ISKI,S;;.::r-:Tig,1935 Toward tho Future,EIFIIS,Ujun£ Pandang,1936 Engineering of Human Resources,Semarang,IiOnP-£AFPEDA,1937

He searches : Pattern of communication craon£ fisherman along the north coast of-J?va, 1935 Content An-lysis on 3 Indonesian Xetrsp'-pere Concerning Environment,19 36 Mental Resilience of 2 Indonesian Ethnic Groups,1936 Social' Crg^nirrtionc in 5 Provinces,1937