Regions and Regional Societies and Cultures in the Indonesian Cinema

Abstract

This lengthy chapter explores in their historical contexts six innovative feature films made in and about diverse regional societies in the Indonesian archipelago between 1953 and 1994. The societies depicted in the films are West Sumatra (a matrilineal, largely Islamic society); East Java; the Betawi sub-culture around Jakarta; the strongly Islamic province of Aceh; and the megalithic but partly Christianized island of Sumba. The chapter aims not only to illustrate the diversity of Indonesia, but the richness of conceptualization involved in describing each society, both its traditional customs and forms of expression, and its social structure. The chapter emphasizes the different approaches of each film to the society in which its story is set. Directors whose work is discussed include Djayakusuma, Asrul Sani, Nya Abbas Akup, Eros Djarot and Garin Nugroho.