Chinese-themed movies hit local TV
Luas Samudera, Contributor, Jakarta
Many blame the Dutch colonial government for giving Indonesians of Chinese descent privileges over native Indonesians, a policy which created a long-lasting resentment toward the Chinese-Indonesians which is still prevalent today.
Shortly after Jakarta accused Beijing of complicity in the alleged 1965 communist coup, Chinese-Indonesians were almost totally banned from holding public positions, a ban which lasted for about three decades.
But recent waves of political reform and openness have paved the way for increasing acceptance of Chinese and their culture. There are now more than five Chinese-language newspapers and one Chinese-language radio station. Chinese lion and dragon dances can now be performed at almost any social functions.
As times change, so do the content and titles of television programs. Television stations make the openness campaign stronger by broadcasting striking titles of Chinese-related films, such as "Ing, No Need to Shed Tears" (Ing, Tak Perlu Menangis) and "Don't Call Me Chinese" (Jangan panggil aku Cina) both made-for-TV movies which were scheduled for broadcast on SCTV respectively on Feb. 8 and Feb. 12 (Chinese New Year).
A six-episode miniseries entitled "Love Hits the Wall" (Cinta Terhalang Tembok) ran earlier starting on Jan. 29 as a curtain- raiser to the event. The miniseries is broadcast weekly every Tuesday and written by famous playwright Nano Riantiarno.
According to Buyung Mawardie, SCTV local acquisition manager, the station supports the idea of multicultural society. As a programming strategy, the titles of the movies and series are a selling point for the station.
"We create a programming slot for tv movies and we pick up a certain theme coinciding with a special event. For example, we introduced religious tv movies during the recent fasting month of Ramadhan. And now, we release Chinese-related stories for the upcoming Chinese New Year," Mawardie said.
"Ing, No Need to Shed Tears" is the story of former Indonesian female badminton player Ivana Lie. As one of the best Indonesian shuttlers then, Lie who plays herself as the leading actress in the movie, struggled to defend the country's Uber Cup team at a time when the country showed reluctance to admit her nationality.
When greeted by former president Soeharto at a party at the palace to welcome the winning team, Lie admitted that the biggest trouble in her life then was she did not have an ID card since she was a Chinese-Indonesian. Also playing in the movie is Verawaty Fadjrin, former badminton champ who is married to an Indonesian businessman.
"Don't Call Me Chinese", featuring popular actor Teddy Syah (as Yusril) and teenage singer Leony (as Olivia), is set in the matriarchal society of West Sumatra.
Yusril, a medical doctor whose marriage with his cousin has been prepared by his mother, falls in love with a Chinese- Indonesian girl. Facing hard times from both families, Yusril and Olivia must find a way to materialize their dream as a happy couple.
Long before airing the series and movies, SCTV had in 1996 screened a Chinese-related series Ujang dan Aceng (Ujang and Aceng) but without considerable success. It is a story of friendship between a Sundanese and his Chinese-Indonesian friend.
But the tradition of running TV movies for Chinese New Year was initiated by the first commercial station RCTI which last year aired Lo Fen Koei.
Based on a novel by Guow Peng Liang, Lo Fen Koei is an eventual triumph of love over evil story about an infamous Betawi businessman and drug dealer Lo Fen Koei. It was the co-winner of Best Cinematography (Long form) at the Asian Television, Technical and Creative Awards 2001 in Singapore.
RCTI spokesman Teguh Juwarno said for this year's Chinese New Year RCTI would screen The Making of Ca Bau Kan, a behind the scenes look at a movie based on a novel under the same title by Remy Silado (cabaukan.mweb.co.id.), using the same actor who plays Lo Fen Koei (Ferry Salim, who himself is a Chinese Indonesian). Ca Bau Kan is the story of the life of a Betawi girl who was married to Chinese-Indonesian Tang Peng Liang while Indonesia was still under the Dutch occupation. It will have its theatrical premiere release on Feb 17.
How do Chinese-Indonesians react to such series and movies?
"Quite interesting. But stations must not picture the ugly side of Chinese-Indonesians only as shown in one of the programs. Indonesian laymen will be easily trapped into a generalization accusing all Chinese-Indonesians of sharing the same trait as the bad guy," Hendrik Linan, the head of the Foundation of South Sea Indonesian chapter, an organization for people with roots from Hainan island in China, who also chairs Chinese-Indonesian Chamber of Commerce.
"Many of us were born in Indonesia and we consider ourselves as locals. Many of us who were born here do not even speak Mandarin. We must dedicate ourselves to the unity of the nation."