Looking at both sides of the national cinema

The 30th of March marks the birth of Indonesian cinema.  It was on this date, in the year 1950, that the first Indonesian film, Darah dan Doa (Blood and Prayers) was directed by an Indonesian native, produced by an Indonesian production house and shot in Indonesia. Consequently, ever since 2007, the 30th of March has been proclaimed by the Indonesian film industry as National Cinema Day, to celebrate the highs and lows and the triumphs and turbulence that the country’s cinematic industry has endured.
During its 60 years of existence, the nation’s film industry can be compared to a fruitful tree.  Starting out as a single seedling, Indonesia’s cinematic business is still growing, producing more and more movies as it matures.  The industry has consistently been more productive in producing films. In 2004, the industry only released 21 titles.
However, in the span of three years, that number has grown 152 percent when in 2007, the industry successfully released 53 titles.  In 2008, it produced 87 titles, and in 2009, the industry successfully reached a new landmark, releasing more than 100 movies in a single year. Things are looking bright for the industry’s future. According to a publication released by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, there are more than 1,025 active local production houses as of 2009.


The industry’s productivity and size is still relatively smaller if compared to the likes of India, Korea or Thailand. But, despite this fact, it has made a respectful contribution to the growth of the nation’s economy. In 2009, it is estimated that Indonesian theaters have sold 15-20 million tickets.
Calculating the average price of a single ticket is around Rp 20,000 (US$2.2), then you would find that the cinemas contribute Rp 400 billion to Indonesia’s economy.
It doesn’t stop there. The government’s regulation that mandates a minimal 60 percent of theater’s to be allocated to domestic films give screenwriters, producers, directors, and production houses an added incentive to keep generating more movies. The development of the film industry will no doubt ensure more greater, positive contributions from the creative industry for the growth of the national economy. It also promises more jobs.
Amid the potential of the film industry, there are still certain issues that need to be addressed. Ever since the resignation of president Soeharto, the country has gone through significant reform spanning many industries including the media. Freedom of expression has vociferously been exercised during the reformation, not excluding the film industry.
Nowadays, many movies have exercised that right. However, one may think that several movies have pushed some limits. One issue related to that right is many movies are filled with scenes deemed vulgar by many.
Some producers have taken advantage of the right of freedom of expression to make films that have no inherent moral message.
Rather, they see the right as a means of increasing movie profit through rather shallow movies, selling themselves through improper scenes depicting sexual content not in line with Indonesian values.  Much controversy has stemmed ever since these types of movies have been released.
However, some producers actually thrive on this controversy, because the media publicity provides them with a cheap way to promote their film, rather than having to spend lots of money through conventional ways of promotion.
The message that these movies send in turn change the public perception of what is and is not accepted as “appropriate”.  Some viewers might end up thinking that what is portrayed in the films reflects reality and what is deemed acceptable by society.  Scenes such as kissing in public or even mild sexual scenes no doubt has an effect on teenagers.
In the long-term, there may be a change of values and morals, as many of the more liberal Western values are acculturated into the Indonesian public. Some have worried that the long-term effect of such negative movies may ensue in a younger generation not aware of their national identity.
The issue needs to be addressed clearly.  Not only are the producers of films responsible, but all elements in the film industry need to be more proactive in handling this problem. The rules published, enacted and reinforced by the Film Censorship Institute need to be reviewed again.
If not, then local films will continually be associated with shallow films, selling sex rather than a genuinely good storyline. All parties must think about how to use their abundant creativity to make a quality movie with a different theme without having to use vulgarity as a selling point.
National Film Day should be used as a day to re-evaluate the entire film industry that is currently tarnished by overly pragmatic values.  It’s not good enough to improve the quantity of films, the quality of the films produced and released also needs to improve. Only through that can the film industry reflect the identity of the nation. Long live Indonesian cinema.


Nova chairil, The writer is a student at the Faculty of Economics, the University of Indonesia and co-producer of  movie Children of Dream.
Opini The Jakarta Post 29 April