TV mystery shows a mystery to me

Myths and legends exist all around the country. A variety of stories of the spirit world have, for generations, added a certain spice to the way of life in this part of the world.

So the increasing trend for television shows to represent, or at least attempt to show, the spirit world is only to be expected among superstition-hungry viewers.

With titles like Dunia Lain (Other World) and Saksi Misteri (Witness to Mystery), to name but a few, these shows apparently present encounters with ghosts and ghouls.

"Apparently" would seem to be the most appropriate and operative word, because much of what is on display in these shows seems to be, at best, of an extremely dubious nature. There are "apparent" mediums and "apparent" ghosts and ghouls caught on camera. All of this, to the more skeptical viewers, will look rather humorous, but to the more gullible -- apparently a lot of people -- may seem quite frightening.

The mediums are often convulsed by spasms as a result of their apparent ability to communicate with "the other side". Their voices may change, typically to high-pitched hysterical tones, which mean their faces contort into often quite comical expressions and we are expected to accept that this is all part of their communicative ability.

For those who are liable to believe in this sort of thing, all of this must be quite eerie and even troubling. But to those with a little more in the way of skepticism, or even just plain critical thought, the sense of comedy cannot be avoided.

The element of comedy is accentuated when these programs purport to have caught ghostly apparitions on camera. Always being shot at night, the programs screen dark and grainy images of night photography from often "middle of nowhere places". With appropriately dramatic music, the image will be frozen and then a very vague outline in the dark depths of the picture will be zoomed in on to apparently reveal the presence of a ghostly figure.

This would, naturally enough, be fascinating if only the images being zoomed in on (or should that be being created?) were not quite so dubious. Out of the murkiness of the scenes being shot emerge images that often end up looking like something from a Scooby-Doo cartoon. Was anything really there, other than the imagination of the shows' producers?

In some of these programs unsuspecting members of the public are roped in to try to last up to five hours sitting alone in these apparently haunted locations. Of course, the cameras continue to roll as these people's imaginations get to work as they sit or pace around in the dark of these generally abandoned and ramshackle places.

Some will sit and twitch no doubt at the slightest sound nearby them. Forget the possibility that it might be a mouse on the move or a bat swinging by -- no, these are haunted places and it is the middle of the night and so almost inevitably these people's minds convince them that they have just had a brush with some entity from the other side.

Others, still, will offer prayers to protect them from any rather more possessive spirits that may be nearby but consistently their prayers do not seem to protect them for long enough to get them the cash prize that is on offer to them for passing away enough time in these desolate looking places. Soon enough they are almost hysterically calling out for assistance from the show's host with a paranormal expert in tow.

If there really were any legitimacy to all of this intrigue, it would of course constitute remarkable footage that ought to be receiving the attention of the world's media and expertise. However, it is extremely difficult not feel highly doubtful about the whole "show" going on here. It is, after all, television entertainment.

Certainly Indonesia has a rich history of tales of characters that return from the dead and dwell among the present. These tales add color to locations and cultures around the islands but they mostly exist as folk or fairy tales. Is the recent batch of television shows, based around notions of the paranormal, adding to this color? It is hard to conceive that it is.

Too often these shows seem to be either comical or representing something of a further dumbing-down of television productions. The abundance of game shows and seemingly endless presentations of dangdut singers do not exactly add much sophistication to television entertainment. With the addition of these paranormal presentations, television here may be taking an even further turn for the worse.

Ultimately, though, it naturally enough depends on how the viewing public wants to look at such television. These shows could be set aside as trivial and even comical. Meanwhile, they could also be seen as playing upon people's gullibility and weakness of critical thought. Some people wonder where religion is in amongst all this apparent mysticism.

Whether we wish to be disappointed or bemused by such television, the conclusion may well be the same -- television could be a lot better and more constructive than this.

-- Simon Marcus Gower