Cafe au lait: Favorite color in the glam industry
Cafe au lait: Favorite color in the glam industry
By Aida Greenbury
JAKARTA (JP): Taking a toddler with me to the bank one Monday morning was a big mistake. I realized when I saw the never-ending queue, full of people from different backgrounds. A street guy with his dusty flip-flops, a servant with her overloaded shopping bag, to what looked like a mentally disturbed white collar worker who managed to stand far too close to the attractive-looking lady queuing in front of him.
Positioned at the end of the line, while trying to tell my two-year-old daughter that sticking a candy down the back of somebody's pants is not acceptable, I suddenly felt a light tap on my left shoulder.
A woman clothed in a black executive dress stood beside me and she held her hand out to introduce herself.
"Hi, my name is Anna, from 'Young Model Stock Agency'. I've been watching your daughter. She is very pretty. She's mixed, isn't she?
"You are a very lucky mother. A lot of parents would do anything to have their kids on TV. But your kid has a natural look about her. You know that mixed-blood actors and actresses are highly favored on TV, don't you? I could make your kid famous, like those kids in the commercials or sinetron (tv drama series)," said the woman, her attention not leaving my daughter's face for even a second.
Then she continued.
"I'll give you my business card. You just think about it for a day or two. Ring me later, then we'll arrange a time for the shooting and screen test for your daughter."
The woman from the agency left me frozen to the spot -- standing with her name card in my hand. The way she stared at my daughter made me shiver. It was the look of a vulture eyeing its prey.
Was it the right feeling? Should have I been proud that a complete stranger praised my kid as somebody with natural skill, just by looking at her light skin and high-bridged nose? Did I just witness the opening of a gate glowing with success ahead of my two-year-old daughter? Or was it a gate toward the end of her innocent childhood happiness?
I remember a couple of years back when my husband -- a white Australian -- and I -- a Javanese woman -- were blessed with the arrival of our first baby girl. We entrusted a local hospital, run by an international company in West Jakarta, to handle the birth.
After an hour-long Caesarean operation performed on a freezing operating table inside an ice-cold theater, all the pain and discomfort was forgotten the moment I laid eyes on our new-born.
She had a pair of big brown eyes, wavy hair and very pale skin -- too pale, especially compared with that of local babies. I had an argument with my doctor over whether or not she was suffering from jaundice.
There was absolutely no privacy for people who gave birth to a mixed-race baby in that hospital. There must have been a notice posted prominently somewhere that we were the latest free exhibition!
The nurses came in and out of my room as they pleased for no particular reason, without even knocking on the door, to check on my baby. They made comments such as: "What a cute baby, just like her Dad!" Of course, they all considered foreign faces as 'cute' and Indonesian faces as 'plain'. What a bunch of small-minded people!
The most unbelievable comment I heard was from a co-worker in my office. She said to me: "With a face like that, you should consider your daughter a very valuable asset."
To be or not to be? That's the question.
"Nothing we do, in our production company, could possibly traumatize the minors in the slightest, in fact we go to great lengths to ensure a positive experience. As soon as they come into our studio, the staff get them ready -- the shooting process usually takes less than half an hour. We're sure that the young models also have fun while they're working," said Harry, who asked that his real name not be revealed, a long-term American veteran in Indonesian commercials and the movie industry.
But John -- again not his real name -- another expatriate who had been working with Harry in the same industry and residing in Jakarta for more than 10 years, quickly added, "Of course, we don't speak on behalf of all production companies in Jakarta. We all differ in the standard of our business ethics. Lots of less credible companies ignore the correct procedures and let the parents or the nannies of the toddlers take charge.
"Some of the parents scold the kids, some of them stuff chocolate candies into their kid's mouth -- to give them more energy to perform, basically. Some production companies also provide 'substitute star wannabe kids' who are all ready and waiting, if the previous kid doesn't want to perform.
"The sight of these substitutes usually encourages the parents to do whatever they can to make their kids willing to carry out the tasks. All parents think that their children are the best. To have them perform on TV is such a huge ego boost," said John.
Now, after considering the facts, the pros and the cons, would I elect myself as the promoter of my own flesh and blood -- to ensure she would perform, most likely against her will, in front of rolling cameras? All for the sake of my ego -- while ignoring the basic needs of the child?
To build a child's dream or to destroy it, that's the question. Or not?