A sorry business

A sorry business

From Jayakarta

The appeal of the Information and Education and Culture ministers that by Aug. 17, 1996 all foreign films should be dubbed into Indonesian has drawn various comments from film producers, the House of Representatives and society at large.

But surprisingly enough film circles are still divided on this matter, even though dubbing has been going on for years, particularly with telenovelas from Latin America.

The reason given is that foreign cultures are not the same as our culture. Well, dubbing keeps translators and dubbers in gainful employ, while the film industry is on its knees. We know by now that western culture is different from eastern culture. But it is not logical to relate the dubbing issue to cultural differences.

To give an example: Rapes are in our papers every day, complete with laughably lenient sanctions. In the western world, rapists may get death sentences. In Bambu Apus, South Jakarta, a man slaughters the entire family of his neighbor, only because the neighbor damaged his shrubbery. A man kills another in a fight over only Rp.100. Whose culture is this please ? So why should there be a fuss about dubbing ?

Maybe there is a hidden interest in the dubbing business. Perhaps some want the dubbing business to be run by a special body of bureaucrats who do nothing but take the money. While the translators and the dubbers go about their work, red tape, bribery, and corruption can run rampant, as it does in business generally. An institution is established under the pretext that it will regulate some sector. Then: monopolies, corruption, manipulation, and speculation.

YONO

Jakarta