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?