Magazine taps into urban youth culture

Magazine taps into urban youth culture

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

For some people, anything mainstream is frightening. Because
mainstream could mean bubblegum pop, boybands, Hollywood schlock
-- in short, the products of the big fat capitalist pigs.

In other words, it's boring and uncool, lacking any redeeming
characteristics whatsoever.

Some people become mainstream-phobic, doing anything against
what the majority do to show they are not part of the system.

The result is sometimes more pretentious than excellent, like
the Indonesian movie Pasir Berbisik (Whispering Sands), for
example.

And sometimes, the harder effort they make to be cutting edge
and different, the more mainstream they become.

Gustaff H. Iskandar swears, however, that Trolley magazine,
where he is the chief editor, is very much in the mainstream,
even though some of its content seems to go against conventional
values.

"I mean, what is mainstream or not mainstream? We're very
mainstream, you know. There's nothing new in what we write and
present. It's just that it hasn't been explored yet," said the
28-year-old graduate of the School of Arts and Design of the
Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

"We never mean to be eccentric or unusual. It's just plain
economics. If you want to sell something, then you've got to sell
something different. That's pretty mainstream, isn't it?"

Indonesian monthly Trolley is not exactly a new magazine, as
it was established in November 2000 and has so far published
eight editions.

However, the content and its development make it an
interesting topic of discussion.

The flashy cover, high quality paper, arty and unconventional
layout is one thing. It is the content that has attracted
thousands of readers, most of whom are aged between 15 and 30
years old.

The focus of the magazine is basically on urban culture,
spanning music, fashion and the arts. Its angles, however, are
nothing like what most media present.

When it comes to music, for instance, it's more about the
underground scene. The fashion pages are filled with real people
wearing their own style. And there are no limitations for the
arts. High, low, pop, classical -- the only criteria is that the
works are excellent and reflect urban culture.

There is also analysis, opinion, portfolios of unknown artists
or translated items from the Internet.

"We only record what happens in our daily lives. The good
thing is, we have enough energy to do that," Gustaff said.

The idea to establish Trolley emerged when Gustaff and his
colleagues realized they were bored with what existing media had
to offer.

"There are so many things that are missed by the media. Like
an arts exhibition by a friend of mine. It was excellent but no
media covered it. And, for example, I like music and used to play
in a band, but there was no suitable media with which we could
have worked with," he said.

Many publishers turned down their proposals, and so with
capital of only Rp 250,000 (US$25) and an acquaintance with a
printing company, they finally published the magazine, which now
sells for Rp 15,500.

Trolley is aimed at becoming a symbol of urban society, in
line with the purpose of the magazine in being a platform of the
local cultural scene as an industry.

"We realized that the local industry had the potential to
establish local communication that is economically and
politically independent. We want to be the mediator for the local
industry so that they can exist better," Gustaff said.

With 35 people involved in the magazine, including both
permanent staff and contributors, the circulation of the magazine
has now reached 15,000, which is five times higher than the first
edition's circulation.

The magazine is mainly sold in big cities, at record stores
and boutiques. Demand is also emerging from smaller cities and
towns, like Tasikmalaya and Majalaya in West Java.

"Actually, you'd think what do people in those (small) cities
have to do with u? I think that it's the logical consequence of
(development in the) city. It's very interesting," Gustaff said,
adding that there have also been inquiries from Singapore,
Malaysia and Australia.

The readers are not just young people, some university
lecturers also subscribe.

"I think people read our magazine because it represents the
era. It represents something that doesn't fit in the mainstream,"
he said.

Despite increasing readership, the staff do not want the
magazine to become a mass-market product.

"It's not that we have become a hard sell or exclusive. We're
also doing business. It's just that we want to focus. We position
our readers as passengers, who use our magazine as a reference,
who understand it really well. That way, we're also being
responsible with our advertisers, like our readers, although
they're few, but they influence others. We want to be in that
position so that Trolley becomes important," Gustaff said.

"Besides, something that is said to be market demand is
actually uncertain. We don't want to be trapped in such an
illusion. It's not the market who determines the economy, but
investors."

Journalism-wise and in writing style, Gustaff admitted work
was needed as "none of us has the journalistic or writing
background".

"One more thing, we also don't take sides, or are concerned
about moral issues. Not having any drugs jargon, for example, is
bulls***. Drugs are wild here."

He dismissed criticism that the magazine has no real identity
and is western minded.

"What is Indonesia's identity anyway? What is western minded?
Do we have to wear batik all the time?"