Victitious character Bogler voice of regular Balinese<\/p>\n
I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali<\/p>\n
Mead, Bateson, Geertz and Covarrubias, or their contemporaries
\nlike Vickers and Picard, might have been able to describe Bali
\nand the Balinese to the world in various scholarly ways. None of
\nthem, however, could beat Made Bogler's clarity and simplicity in
\nportraying the contemporary Balinese.<\/p>\n
Bogler is a fictitious cartoon character that has been
\nbaptized as the official mascot of the country's only cartoon
\nmagazine, Bogbog, which celebrated its second birthday in April.<\/p>\n
On the island, where cultural identity and existence depends
\non its age-old rice-growing agriculture and communal agrarian
\nvalues, Made Bogler is an embodiment of the contemporary
\nBalinese, who are torn apart by the waves of modern development
\nthat have eaten away at the island.<\/p>\n
Yet, instead of falling apart, the contemporary Balinese have
\nworked hard at finding a new balance, a new paradigm, to enjoy
\nthe modern world's comforts and luxuries without having to throw
\nout their cultural roots. It's a matter of being a techno-yuppie
\nmember of the World Trade Organization and a cultured farmer of
\nthe local banjar, or village, at the same time. Sometimes the
\nBalinese succeed, sometimes they don't. As a result, paradoxes
\nabound on Bali.<\/p>\n
Made Bogler is the designated, ultimate paradox-spotter of the
\nmagazine, despite the fact that he sometimes indulges in
\nparadoxes himself.<\/p>\n
\"The magazine is not only trying to make people laugh, but
\nalso to lead people on a journey of self-reflection by making
\nthem laugh at themselves, their mistakes, hypocrisies and
\ninconsistencies,\" said Bogbog's chief editor Jango Paramartha.<\/p>\n
In all fourteen editions of the magazine, Bogbog and Bogler
\nlaugh at the Balinese, and thus at themselves, on various
\nmatters, from the over-abundance of golf courses to the
\nBalinese's never-ending fear of superstitions and black magic --
\neven in this age of space exploration -- to the mass-tourism
\npolicy that chips away at the backbone of local culture, defined
\nby rice fields, communality and the Balinese's obsessive fixation
\non grand religious ceremonies that forces spirituality to go into
\nhiding.<\/p>\n
\"After two years of publishing, we realized the Balinese are
\nvery tolerant of criticism, particularly when they are delivered
\nby fellow Balinese in a comical manner. Bogler is a Balinese, and
\nno doubt, he is a humorous little fellow. Perhaps that's why most
\npeople are not offended by his censures,\" Jango said.<\/p>\n
Made Bogler was created by leading Balinese cartoonist Cece
\nRiberu, who, curiously, happens to be a dark-skinned, curly-
\nhaired, Balinese of Flores origin.<\/p>\n
\"In my mind, Bogler is a naive and carefree boy -- not a city
\nboy, but a boy who is brought up in a rural setting, where
\nvillages are dotted with paddy fields and rituals take place on a
\ndaily basis. His belly is bigger than usual, since mine is, too,\"
\nCece said.<\/p>\n
\"He is certainly naive, but also mischievous. Balinese usually
\ncall a mischievous boy 'Dogler', so that's why we decided to call
\nour mischievous mascot Bogler,\" said one of Bogbog's editors,
\nPutu Ebo.<\/p>\n
The character's first name is Made, a generic identifier for a
\nsecond-born child in Bali, because the funny guys at Bogbog
\nwanted to be humble in sending the message that somebody wiser
\nand smarter than them exists somewhere out there.<\/p>\n
In an indirect way, they also wanted to convey the message
\nthat Bogbog and Bogler do not represent the voice of the elite,
\nthe haves or the powerful, but the voice of the ordinary
\nBalinese.<\/p>\n
Says another editor, Surya Dharma, \"It means that there is
\nsomebody who came before him, somebody older and wiser. Bogler
\nand Bogbog are not the first. We are Number Two, but we try
\nharder.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/victitious-character-bogler-voice-of-regular-balinese-1447893297",
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