'I La Galigo' unaffordable<\/p>\n
The headline of your Dec. 2 front-page story, 'I La Galigo'
\nfinally back home, struck me as somewhat ironic given that
\nIndonesian audiences will be charged Rp 250,000 (US$25) to Rp
\n750,000 ($75) for a ticket to view a piece of their own culture.<\/p>\n
Such prices are understandable in Singapore or New
\nYork or Amsterdam or Paris, where this wonderful production
\ngarnered rave reviews and much prestige. But the cost is totally
\nbeyond the means even of middle-class Indonesians, who will be
\nexcluded from the experience of seeing their own culture on stage
\nat Taman Mini from Dec. 10 to Dec. 12.<\/p>\n
With all due respect to the high production standards of this
\nshow, why do theater lights need to be hired from Germany for Rp
\n2 billion ($200,000) for three performances? Why does culture --
\nparticularly a performance based on a 14th-century indigenous
\nIndonesian poem -- need to be so exclusive, to the point that it
\nis totally unaffordable to everyone but Jakarta's richest,
\nmany of whom flew to Singapore to see the production last year
\nanyway?<\/p>\n
Instead, wouldn't it be wonderful if a local light supplier
\ncould be hired (the lighting at many rock concerts I've seen
\nhere, or at Prambanan temple performances for that matter, has
\nbeen superb), and the extra $200,000 used to subsidize ticket
\nprices so that ordinary Indonesians could experience the show for
\na tenth of the current price? Wouldn't it be wonderful if this
\nproduction could be staged in Monas Park, so that Jakartans could
\nenjoy theater as a community, just as New Yorkers enjoy free
\nshows in Central Park? I La Galigo would then truly belong to the
\npeople of Indonesia and -- equally important for the producers --
\nwould be viewed by tens of thousands of people instead of just an
\naffluent few.<\/p>\n
The upcoming Jakarta International Film Festival (JiFFest) is
\nan example of how even high culture need not be exclusive.
\nTickets to world-class films cost just Rp 10,000 each, and over
\nhalf of the screenings are totally free, making the film-going
\nexperience accessible to anybody in this city. This despite the
\nfact that JiFFest is sadly and consistently underfunded. Making
\nculture accessible to society at large is always possible. It is
\nmerely a matter of attitude and commitment.<\/p>\n
DANIEL ZIV
\nJakarta<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/i-la-galigo-unaffordable-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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