'Sinetron' popular despite cynical view
'Sinetron' popular despite cynical view
By Rita A. Widiadana
Some love it, others call it garbage. The fact is, Indonesian sinetrons have been able to capture large TV audiences, both here and in several neighboring countries. The following story examines the booming sinetron industry: its history, its problems and its future. More stories on Page 7.
JAKARTA (JP): They are tacky, low-standard products. They are vulgar. They have no artistic or social value. They are garbage.
In spite of all these, Indonesian television dramas, locally known as sinetron, are extremely popular among local viewers.
Despite the negative general view, local TV stations air many sinetron during prime time, attracting large audiences and lots of advertising. Current TV ratings even reveal that the sinetron may challenge the dominance of action-packed Hollywood films and telenovelas (Latin soap operas) as the most popular TV programs.
Anita Haryadi, a mother of two, says she always browses through all TV programs in newspapers and tabloids to read the summaries of the sinetron screened on TV.
"I will not miss my favorite sinetron such as Si Doel Anak Sekolahan (Doel, The School Boy), Buku Harian (Diary) or Warisan (Inheritance). Even my maids know exactly where and when these sinetron are screened," Anita said.
Thousands of people share Anita's enthusiasm for these light and easy-to-digest programs.
Agus Suharyadi, a young banker, says he watches sinetron to relieve stress. "It is fun, although sometimes the stories are silly. But most sinetron actresses are young and beautiful. It is really refreshing," he said with an apologetic smile.
Marina, a university student, says she watches sinetron because they are free. "There are hardly any good Indonesian films in movie theaters nowadays. Sinetrons are the best alternative. We just turn on our TV sets and we can choose any program we like. Sometimes I get fed up with western films, so I watch sinetron," she explained.
Sinetron came at the right time when Indonesians were looking for something that could fill the gap left by a dying film industry.
Undoubtedly, the growing sinetron industry is strongly linked to the successful launchings of the five private stations, Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia (RCTI) in l989, Surya Citra Televisi (SCTV) in l991, and most recently Televisi Pendidikan Indonesia (TPI), Andalas Televisi (ANteve) and Indo Visual Mandiri (Indosiar) in l994.
As a matter of fact, it was the state-owned TVRI which initially introduced the sinetron, previously known as television drama. In the early l970s, TVRI screened works by Teguh Karya's Teater Populer, Putu Wijaya's Teater Mandiri, Sanggar Prativi, etc. The works produced in this period were set in TV studios under the stage concept. A decade later, a number of directors experimented with outdoor-setting TV dramas for such works as Tuanku Tambusai (My Master Tambusai) by the late Irwinsyah and Rumah Masa Depan (Future Home) by Ali Shahab. The new idea became a hit.
The dawning of a new era in private television has resulted in soaring demand for local television dramas. Sinetron production dramatically increased from less than 100 in the l980s to around 1,000 in l994. Between August 1994 and August 1995, about 2,970 television drama episodes were aired on state-owned TVRI and the five private stations. This boom is also linked to the government requirement that 80 percent of the programs aired by local TV stations are locally made.
Starting last year, RCTI has been producing a daily sinetron program. The station also has a special program called mega sinetron every Saturday night during prime time. In l994, TPI ran 991 sinetron with a duration of between 30 to 60 minutes, while SCTV aired 364; AN-Teve and Indosiar also screened a large number of sinetron. (see diagram on Page 7)
A number of popular sinetron managed to stay at the top ratings spots for months. Flamboyan 108 screened by Indosiar Visual Mandiri every Saturday night has the highest ratings through last month and this month. Gara Gara, Bella Vista and Senja Makin Merah, all aired by RCTI, are also drawing considerable number of fans.
Polling by Tiara lifestyle monthly magazine last April shows that a majority of respondents enjoy sinetron. The magazine drew 114 respondents: professionals, businessmen, students and housewives. The polling reveals that 60 percent of respondents say that the booming sinetron industry is a good thing. About 59.9 percent like sinetron because of their original story lines. More than 50 percent say they watch sinetron because of the artists.
The fact that sinetron have attracted huge audiences has made their production more complicated. The production of a sinetron involves many different parties, including production houses, investors, TV broadcasters, audiences, the media and ratings institutions.
Ashadi Siregar, a communications expert from the University of Gadjah Mada, said in a seminar on sinetron in Yogyakarta early this month that sinetron have become gold mines for film workers, TV broadcasters and businessmen.
A number of large-scale film producers such as PT Parkit Film and PT Soraya Intercine have turned to producing sinetron. Movie artists, directors, cameramen, screenwriters and many others also benefit from the sinetron boom.
Top movie artists like Marissa Haque, Meriem Belina, Roy Marten, Lidya Kandow and Rano Karno see sinetron as a promising venture. Marisa has been successful both as an artist and producer. Her film company, Ratna Artha Mulia, has produced good sinetron such as Masih Ada Kapal Ke Padang, (There is still a ship for Padang), Salah Asoehan (Poor Upbringing). The latter won best television drama, best director and best art director awards at the National Sinetron Festival last year. Rano Karno with Karno's Film produced the most popular sinetron Si Doel Anak Sekolahan (Doel, the graduate) which grossed a profit of around Rp 13 billion (US$6.2 million) during the repeats of the 1994 series this year.
For TV broadcasters, high-rating sinetron mean lucrative commercials. In 1993, for example, RCTI charged between Rp 8 million and Rp 10 million for a 30-second commercial; TPI went even higher at Rp 18 million while SCTV at between Rp 6 million and Rp 8 million. Each station allocates 12 minutes of advertising time for a 60-minute sinetron. Each episode may attract around Rp 80 million to Rp 120 million worth of commercials, while the production cost of each sinetron only range from Rp 25 million to Rp 50 million.
Such high profits have attracted many production houses to focus on sinetron.
The rush to join the sinetron business has resulted in poor products. Garin Nugroho, a young and talented director, says that most sinetron are rubbish.
Ali Shahab, a producer and director, adds that the Indonesian sinetron has nowhere to go. "There are no proper rules for the game. Anyone can produce a sinetron purely for the money," he said.
Despite the recent harsh criticism, there have been good sinetron. In the 1980s, TVRI ran a number of high-quality TV dramas such as Losmen (Hostel) by the late Wahyu Sihombing and his wife Tatiek Maliyati, as well as Aksara Tanpa Kata (Words with no letters) and Sayekti dan Hanafi (Sayekti and Hanafi) by the late Irwinsyah.
There are also efforts underway to improve the quality of sinetron. One is the annual sinetron festival which started last year. Aside from selecting high-quality television productions, it also tries to set establish standards for sinetron production. Last year, 500 sinetron were selected for the festival. This year, the number has increased to 600. Many top film figures question the validity of this festival, but for some, it is a start towards paving the right path for the Indonesian sinetron.