How military calls the shots in Indonesian cinema

How military calls the shots in Indonesian cinema

Film, Ideologi dan Militer: Hegemoni Militer dalam Sinema Indonesia (Film, Ideology and the Military: The Military Hegemony in Indonesian Cinema); By Budi Irawanto; Media Pressindo-Yogyakarta, October 1999; xxiv + 221 pages.

JAKARTA (JP): Civilian-military relations have experienced changes during Indonesia's short history. Civil supremacy occurred only once, when a stab was taken at a democratic system from 1945 to 1955, a period which is continually referred to when people talk about attempts to make democracy a reality.

What ensued was that the military moved through every order of governance, from domination to hegemony. A historian from Gadjah Mada University, Suhartono, noted the military began to realize it was a peculiar group different from the rest of society when a professional Indonesian armed forces was founded. The seeds of military domination strengthened due to the acknowledgement of the military's achievements in the area of national defense and security. The role intensified and became excessive in the Soeharto era, with military power penetrating into every corner of everyday life.

The rise of Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri to political ascendancy in the relatively democratic elections last year has compelled the military to take a somewhat equal position to civilians. Nonetheless, militarism and military regimentation have not vanished. It is shown, at least, by the many posts available for military members in the Cabinet and legislature, and the use of nonbudgetary funds for its operation. It is, perhaps, a reasonable consequence of the political transformation originating after the previous authoritarian regime. We still have to wait for the results of civilian-military interaction in determining the rules of their social and political practice in this transitional stage.

Budi Irawanto makes an interesting attempt to explore the military hegemony in Indonesian cinema. His book starts from the assumption that politics is not the only way by which power is retained. The other way is the arts, because everything artistic is always political. Power needs monuments, museums, statues, state cemeteries and various icons to arouse collective imaginary in the glory of power.

The author chooses film as the main topic because it "influences society and it is more sensitive to the culture of society than monographs written by historians". On that account, he agrees with Karl Heider (1991) that films provide important clues to understand present-day views of the past. Enam Jam di Yogya (Six Hours in Yogya, 1951), Janur Kuning (The Yellow Coconut Leaf, 1979), and Serangan Fajar (The Dawn Attack, 1981) are the films reviewed in the book. Each film deals with Indonesia's struggle for independence.

The first film was directed by Usmar Ismail in cooperation with the National Film Committee (PERFINI). It was produced when the country was consolidating itself, and when the military and civilian groups were beginning to drift apart. It was the time when the military was establishing itself as an institution with its own interests. PT Metro 77 and PT Karya Mandiri produced Janur Kuning; it was directed by Alam Rengga Surawijaya.

Arifin C. Noer directed Serangan Fajar in 1981 at the recommendation of the State Film Production Center (PPFN) of which Brig. Gen. G. Dwipayana was the chairman of the body as well as a private assistant to then president Soeharto.

The latter two films are interesting because the period from 1970 to 1980 was when Soeharto completed his bid to fortify his political power. Military dominance in all social and political fields became insurmountable, with civilians systematically marginalized. The military kept the people under its thumb by placing military personnel in sociopolitical institutions and other bodies controlling economic sectors. Film was another approach to bolster its unconquerable supremacy over the civilian sector.

It seems that Irawanto is unsatisfied with deductive reasoning usually employed in the content analysis method, using instead the semiotics approach. His view is based on the concept of Graeme Turner that film is unlike other media because it is not merely a representation or even a record of reality, but it constructs and represents reality via codes, conventions, myths and ideologies of its own culture in unique signification practices.

The three films represent the superiority of the armed struggle during the Indonesian Revolution from 1945 to 1949 but they also suggest an attempt to undermine the peaceful diplomacy of the civilian struggle. Underlying Irawanto's argument is the conclusion that Indonesian cinema is not merely a form of entertainment but also a tool to preserve the military hegemony in the country. As Eros Djarot notes in his foreword, the book is a pathfinder for anyone to investigate the intricate design of civilian-military relations in Indonesia.