'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.