Allusion, Volume 06 No 01 February 2017, 1-8 Pragmatic Nationalism through Cultural Identities in Good News From Indonesia Instagram Account Annisa Rochma Sari Diah Ariani Arimbi English Department, Universitas Airlangga Abstract The mainstream media in Indonesia has blatantly exposed unbalance coverage towards phenomena across the country. Inevitably, it leads to the pessimistic response from the citizens, which affects their nationalism spirit. Emerging as an alternative media, GNFI eagerly provides ‘the good news’ to counter such hegemony of mass media. This study aims to show how GNFI Instagram account constructs alternative discourse to raise the spirit of nationalism through its images. Besides, this research uses a theory of imagined communities by Benedict Anderson and new media by Denis Mc Quail combined within critical visual analysis to discern the images. The result shows that GNFI has been consistently portraying cultural identities in a form of good news since it was actively engaged with audiences in Instagram. Secondly, GNFI also re-contextualizes particular issues in the images to fit with current regime as well as global circumstances. As for the last, GNFI also maximizes its online platform to reach wider audiences; particularly the Indonesians not living in the territorial yet believe that they are part of imagined communities of Indonesia. In conclusion, the efforts of GNFI to portray such cultural identities resemble the notion of pragmatic nationalism in which highly focuses on solving the problems in Indonesia without losing the identity of being Indonesian. Keywords: GNFI, instagram, pragmatic nationalism 1. Introduction Indonesia’s mainstream media provide less space to depict the actualization of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika and Pancasila through socio-cultural practices in the entire territorial area of Indonesia, from Sabang to Merauke. Their justification is because of its lack of conflict, issues, and sensationalism. The mainstream media is unevenly assumed themselves as the watchdog of the government; so it could prioritize and blow up certain issues to be consumed in the country. However, numerous media scholars see it as media commodification caused by the political figures in maintaining their domination of power and the capital owners who purposefully gain the maximum profits (Heryanto and Adi 330; Sen and Hill 69). Therefore, Indonesians (particularly those who live in urban areas and consume the mainstream media) are lacking of references on how to accentuate their identities of being Indonesia. Moreover, the reality depiction in media could ensure the audiences to think that there is no hope in the country because most of the elite conflicts are not well solved. Malihah stated that 80% of Indonesian youth feels negativity towards Indonesia archipelago to describe contemporary Indonesia (Malihah 150). She conducted a phenomenology to interview 100 students and to find how they perceive Indonesia. From the respondents’ answers, she found that the cause they feel negative about Indonesia was characteristics of the people that closely linked with violence and moral degradation. These characters would severely affect Indonesia’s future and goals to be Golden Indonesia in 2045. Participants frequently answered that they perceive Indonesia mainly from the mainstream media sources. They watch, listen, and analyze news about bombings, rape, free-sex activities, terrorism, narcotics consumer, and criminal events in their daily live. Otherwise, the alternatives are limited from infotainment gossip program, music-reality shows, or any other inessential programs with abundant numbers of advertisements. They realized that they only consume ‘trash’ rather than useful information. 1 Allusion Volume 06 No 01 (February 2017) | Annisa Rochma Sari; Diah Ariani Arimbi The mainstream media also expands their outreach within internet through their media portal (Sen and Hill 113). On one hand, it significantly decreases the function of internet in providing high-quality alternative contents since the mass media holds on its ideology tightly. Indonesians who have been so pessimistic to the country would be more frustrated due to uncontrollable commentaries and responses given to particular news only because they could throw any comments with any reasons. On the other hand, there are several initiatives from the society to grow digital activism to resist the hegemony of mass media. Lim (125-130) discussing about the digital activism in Indonesia proves that it successfully mobilizes mass support if it only carries low-risk activities with basic narratives underlying the nation building such as nationalism and religiosity. She suggested that in order to fruitfully raise awareness and gather the mass, so to speak, digital platform must not demand high-risk sacrifices from its audiences. Instead of Facebook as what Lim has analyzed, this study attempts to analyze an Instagram account of Good News From Indonesia which consistently provides positive contents to balance the negative depiction in mainstream media. It was 2009 that a group of progressive and concerned youths led by Akhyari Hananto established GNFI in www.goodnewsfromindonesia.org even though he thought about the idea since 2007. Its founders extend to reach more viewers through social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Line, Youtube, Instagram, and Tumblr. Being an alternative in the midst of Indonesian media, GNFI strictly carries a belief of “good news is good news” underlying its jargon, “Restoring Optimism”. According to web statistics from Alexa.com in 2012, GNFI website was visited by 2000-2500 visitors, mostly Indonesians, and young adults age 18-24 years old (Widodo 7-8). Akhyari Hananto, about re- developing optimism through online media, was eventually chosen as one of Youth Women Netizenawardees honored by The Marketeer foundation (Ayu). The latest one, GNFI was chosen to achieve and AKI (Anugerah Komunikasi Indonesia) award in 2015 (Metro TV). Since the sense of nation’s belonging depends on creative process done by the actors, the time, and space surrounding it (Arimbiet.al 9), I believe that creative process by GNFI would eventually lead to the spirit of nationalism for the audiences. I choose GNFI Instagram account amongst its online media as the object of study because of the following reasons: there has been a statistical research analyzing its Twitter account (Widodo 1) and Instagram has its exceeding qualities on promoting ideas through attractive pictures and captivated captions. It provides viewers with varies pictures range from sports, academic, engineering, traveling, education, and culinary spots, and a caption explaining the images. The captions attempt to captivate audiences by portraying positive information to echo the spirit of what the pictures have said. GNFI deliberately portrays the pictures resembling the national cultures and cultural identities of Indonesia in digital world within its usage of new media platform or internet. Developing nationalism discourse of contemporary Indonesia, this study looks critically into a gap drawing how nationalism is represented within the internet. Because alternative media conveys resistant journalism against the mainstream media, there might be distinguished cultural identities to be appeared explaining the notion of Indonesian-ness (Menayang et.al. 153). They bravely expose ‘hidden’ truth viewed from another lens; so that it reshapes what society views towards information. In the past, kingdoms in what then known as Nusantara ambitiously explored and exploited the islands with various motivations, such as searching for gold and spices and taking a grip of other kingdoms. However, after European troops settled down, they soon recognized their public enemy that brought other values of life, modernity, that clashed their traditional believes and truths. Many kingdoms considered that the colonizers would take over their lands; yet, some of them, particularly the opposition of ongoing administration, allied with the Europeans to destroy the Kingdom. The colonizers built forces with an agreement from the opposition parties; so that they would understand the weakness and opportunities of the inlanders (Lombard 46). It seems that threat towards their sovereignty was a great cause to increase the awareness in forming national allies; forming the cultural roots as a nation. However, Indonesians, mostly the upper class or blue-blooded natives, to expand their power, also benefited the development in transportation, education, and western-style administration by colonizers. Hence, the spirit to form a nation appeared near 1928. Hundred-years of coalition amongst kingdoms unite their descendants within political parties and movements such as Jong Sumatranen Bond, Jong Java, 2 Pragmatic Nationalism through Cultural Identities in Good News From Indonesia Instagram Account and Jong Celebes. Later, they conducted the first national youth congress in October 28, 1928 to formulate Sumpah Pemuda text or the Pledge of Youth. It declared three short verses symbolizing unity as a nation, unity in language, and homeland unity (Arimbi et al 18). Future Indonesian generations mark this historical phenomenon conspicuously to trigger nationalism spirit of Indonesians. Those become national identities of pre-independence day fueling other braveries from the youth to declare Indonesia’s freedom from centuries of colonization. According to Barker (208), the verses are imageries representing symbol and practices of