Culture is back on the film agenda

Culture is back on the film agenda

Fabio Scarpello, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Eliana-Eliana, loved by the public and critics alike, is only one
of the few movies produced locally this year; barely noticeable
in the midst of the 200 imported. But underneath this gloomy
statistic, Indonesian cinema has started to fight back.

Government and filmmakers are going back to school! A shift in
the theoretical approach is at the base of a (re)evaluation of
films as an educational tool and a medium to strengthen national
identity.

Hadi Artomo, the dean of the School of Film and Television at
the Jakarta Institute of Arts (IKJ), underlines the need to
change the industry's frame of thinking -- from less emphasis on
commercial interests to more emphasis placed on cultural
concerns. "Films record human life with a combination of motion
pictures and sounds. When behind the camera lens we have to
concern ourselves not only with esthetics but also ethics and
local values".

I Gede Ardika, Minister of Culture and Tourism, shared this
concern recently, saying: "When I talk about films my interest is
with the content, which is culture. The basic concept of culture
is identity and my responsibility is how to assert our identity".

This communal ideological platform is needed. Indonesia is a
diverse country with 300 ethnic groups and 14 distinct main
languages. Also, since the fall of president Soeharto it has
entered a phase of political and social change. An important
aspect of this struggle is the re-defining of national identity
in which the media, and film in particular, play an important
role.

Currently, the country's 600 movie theaters are flooded with
imported films -- mainly from the U.S. -- that are filled with
ideological content. This leads to a degree of cultural
imperialism. Through the stereotyped images represented, young
people identify with the depicted lifestyles, and gradually start
accepting values and beliefs they would otherwise not entertain.

But it would be a mistake to attack Uncle Sam. The real issue
is strengthening Indonesia's ideology through film, rather than
preventing Spiderman from reaching Jakarta.

"Based on the Constitution we are an open nation," said
Ardika. "We can gain confidence from the fact that our nation has
absorbed, digested and assimilated aspects of other cultures. I
am aware that there will be some aspects of American culture that
we have assimilated, and I know there is a degree of risk, but
the risk would be greater if we stopped importing (films). This
would jeopardize the process of democratization in the country".

Hadi consented, saying: "We don't have to worry about
influences from other countries. Indonesian culture cannot
isolate itself. We have to accept progress, and progress comes
with cultural exchange. We have to concentrate on our production.
Twenty-five films a year would be enough to reinforce our
national identity, but at the moment this is not happening".

The annual level of production is a particularly sore point
for a country that, in its heyday during the 1970s, averaged 130
titles a year, while last year it only managed two. Many theories
have been put forward on why this decline has happened. It has
been attributed to various causes: monopoly in distribution,
Indonesia's entry to the Motion Pictures Export Association of
America (MPEAA), the growth in television film production, the
increase in video piracy and a decline in quality movies.

With money unavailable the buzzword is education.

"Education is multi-layered," said Ardika. "The curriculum is
the first layer, followed by personnel (teachers, lecturers,
assistants) and than equipment (buildings, books etc.). At the
moment we are still discussing the first layer."

Things are starting to move. Media studies is soon to be
introduced in schools for students as young as 14, with the
curriculum provided by the IKJ. This move is aimed at triggering
a two-fold effect: To improve people's "appreciation" of art
movies and to facilitate the step into higher education within
the creative media.

Another crucial point currently being discussed is the need
for another Art University. In a country with 210.6 million
inhabitants, 20 graduates a year is simply not enough.

"We need competition. We need more qualified personnel
striving to achieve." But the problem is deeper than film says
Ardika: "I would like to see Indonesian be more courageous, take
more risks, experience more with their creativity, be more
daring. At the moment this is not happening. An educational
system geared at giving instructions rather than putting
initiatives and creativity into action has surely not helped".

This is evident, even in the newborn dialogue between the
filmmakers and the establishment. On one side we have a community
that is reluctant to take the initiative and - based on past
experiences -- are still suspicious. On the other side we find
the difficulty that the government - wary of the community's
perceptions - is facing in fulfilling its legislative role. The
effect is paralyzing.

"We need a new paradigm, a new frame of mind based and shared
on confidence and trust - says Ardika - we are here to listen and
facilitate whenever we can, but the community has to take
responsibility for that. They are in the film business and they
have to tell me what they need from me."

Notwithstanding the communication barrier, the dice have been
thrown and the ball has started rolling. Other important issues
at stake is the proposal by the film community to review its
censorship criteria with the introduction of an age-graded system
for films, and to change the Cinema Advisory Bureau; from a state
organ aimed at advising the government to a public company aimed
at serving the filmmaking community.

Improving the cultural leverage of Indonesian films is not
going to happen tomorrow. It is a long and tortuous road, but it
is the right road.