Indonesian 'sinetron'

"A house, a wife and a singing bird" and "a mobile phone, Mercedes Benz and a luxurious house".

When I was working with USIS in the late fifties in Surabaya, East Java, I was part of a team in the cinematography section showing films in various towns. The two films I liked best were Tanglewood Story and "A house, a wife and a singing bird" starring Bambang Hermanto as a Yogya peasant. The film depicted Bambang living in a modest bamboo house, with a well, and his singing bird, a small turtle dove. His well was unhygienic and Bambang became ill.

Enter USAID, helping him with an ordinary water pump. Bambang and wife lived happily ever after, with his singing bird chirping. I've seen this film so many times. I'll never forget it.

When I came back home, I was surprised to see Indonesian soap operas depicting a luxurious house, a mobile phone and a Mercedes Benz, while about 40 million people are living below the poverty line, some of them unemployed, glued to their TVs watching this utopian Indonesia.

Why can't Indonesian soap opera producers produce films depicting Indonesian/Malay legends like Hang Tuah, Hang Lekir, Hang Kesturi, Hang Jebat or the heroine Christina Tiahahu, our heroes like Teuku Umar, Imam Bonjol, Prince Diponegoro and Pattimura?

AGOES SOEJONO

Jakarta