Low-class theaters resort to erotic films to lure moviegoers
Low-class theaters resort to erotic films to lure moviegoers
JAKARTA (JP): Watching a movie at a low-class theater might be
a boring experience for those not interested in the kind of film
that showcases an abundance of nudity and sex.
Such movies often do not have clear storylines, but compensate
with plenty of sex, which is typical of the pornographic film
industry as a whole.
An example of such a "cheap" movie could be seen Saturday at
the Kramat I cinema, which is located at the notorious criminal
hangout, Senen, in Central Jakarta.
By paying Rp 2,000 (24 US cents) for a ticket, one could enjoy
a "blue film" Nafsu Dalam Cinta (Sexual Desire in Love), a one-
and-a-half-hour movie without a clear plot and featuring women in
underwear and bikinis, along with scenes of sex.
Within the first 30 minutes alone one was bombarded with five
scenes of sexual activity that sometimes involved acts of
masochism.
Such movies seem to be in great demand by people frequenting
lower class cinemas.
The interest in seeing the movie was not in any way impeded by
the hot and muggy theater or the uncomfortable seats; nor by the
poor picture quality and less than stellar speaker system.
Unlike movie theaters catering to middle to high-class
society, such as those operated under the 21 Group giant cineplex
company, moviegoers at Kramat I cinema and similar cinemas prefer
to see porno films in secret.
During the showing on Saturday, some purchased their tickets
just seconds before the film began and then rushed into the
theater.
This is probably because they did not want to be caught
watching an erotic movie.
A moviegoer named Andi, who claimed to be a vocational course
teacher, said he was not attracted to the eroticism of the film
alone.
"I just want to kill the time," he said.
Ticket seller Wiwik said the number of moviegoers was higher
on Saturday.
"About 100 tickets were sold today. Usually, we sell less than
30 tickets if we play Western movies or serious dramas," she
said.
Even worse conditions could be seen at Wira I cinema in Tebet
area, South Jakarta.
Eti, another ticket seller, said there were only about 10
moviegoers on average during the week, unless the film was about
sex or eroticism.
"We should show these films, especially the national ones, if
we want to draw in more customers," said the woman, who could
only sell seven tickets on Saturday afternoon for an imported
film titled The Girls from Beijing.
She said the number of theatergoers has decreased lately due
to the lack of erotic movies.
"Many times we had to cancel the movie because we could sell
only five tickets," she said.
Chairman of the Executive Board of the Indonesian Union of
Cinema Owners (GPBSI), Djonny Sjafruddin, said the number of such
movie theaters in the city was about 50.
"It is somewhere around 60 percent of the total in the city,"
he said.
Djonny said GPBSI was actually concerned that these theaters
had a tendency to show erotic films and would have a bad
influence on the people.
Reports show that such erotic movies have driven people to
commit acts of rape.
"It (the existence of the erotic movie) is actually the
responsibility of the Movie Censorship Body (BSF). Ethically,
cinema owners cannot refuse the movies which have passed BSF's
regulations," he said.
Djonny said that in this case cinema was just like a kiosk
where film distributors displayed their products.
"It is the distributor who determines that certain movie
theaters play certain films, based on the market interest. Cinema
owners only "sell" the product.
"So, it should be a collective arrangement if we want to
improve the market's taste (in film)," he said. (ind)