(Original title: Identity and Pleasure: The Politics of Indonesian Screen Culture) 

Author Ariel Heryanto/ Translator Eric Sasono

Published by Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia (Jakarta, 2015), 350 + xvi pages

Strengthening Identity, Chasing Pleasure

The issue of ‘identity’ has long plagued academic and activist circles in the age of uncertainty, following the throes of globalisation and political upheavals. Along with this, “pleasure” has become a goal to be pursued relentlessly by consumers and hedonists in the midst of global capitalism. Yet, these two seemingly unrelated issues are part of Ariel Heryanto’s, a professor for the Australian National University, recent book title, which was released for the first time in an English edition a year ago. 

Through a four-year-long intensive research (2009-2013), Ariel expounded on the identity struggles as well as pleasure experienced by Indonesian young urban middle class during the first decade of the 21st century in eight chapters. The struggles experienced by these youths are investigated through the screen culture that is currently on the rise in Indonesia. 

The intersection between identity and pleasure is most obvious in the first chapter of this book regarding the emergence of pop Islam and the seventh chapter on the Asian wave brought forward by the Korean pop culture (K-Pop). The rise of young Muslim middle class with consumerist aspirations has created a distinction from previous generations. To these youths, there is no longer a conflict between practicing godliness and chasing after earthly pleasures. As such, Ariel rejected a relatively simple argument which compares mainstream Islam to the commercialisation of Islam, as well as the Islamisation of popular culture. 

Instead, Ariel presented the concept of post-Islamic culture (adapted from Asef Bayat’s ideas) where the culture prevalent among elite circles as well as the general public is often expressed through entertainment and popular lifestyle. Examples range from the rapid growth of Muslim fashion industry and the increasing popularity of Islam-themed films such as Ayat-Ayat Cinta (The Verses of Love, 2008).

In addition, K-Pop fans admitted that they do not find a clash between being a practicing devout Muslim and a K-Pop group member’s fan. Thus, to Ariel, post-Islamic culture along with the reception to K-Pop, signalled a change within inter-ethnic consolidation, and the increasing influence of the urban middle class towards cultural and moral aspirations, including lifestyle and a new ethos.    

It must be acknowledged that Ariel’s astute analysis is apparent in the fourth, fifth and sixth chapters regarding the representation for the 1965 violence and Chinese ethnicity, which can be attributed to his long and intensive study into these two issues. Though the post-Reformasi period has witnessed many non-governmental organisations and former political prisoners actively producing films on 1965 mass violence, there remains an absence of big film companies making feature films on the historic mass violence. In other words, the Indonesian cinema has not become a collective learning space for a past that was deeply enmeshed with brutality.  

It is worth noting that Ariel’s analysis on Joshua Oppenheimer’s hit film Jagal (The Act of Killing) parallels that of premanisme (gangsterism) in Medan. These butchers, who are often part of organised criminal gangs, would spend their time murdering those who are suspected of being communists.  This was because they saw the Left’s boycott of American films as threats to their part-time occupation as ticketing vendors. Interestingly, the manner in which these butchers executed their killings mimicked the style of Hollywood films. This is reminiscent of the philosopher Slavoj Žižek’s writing for the New Statesman magazine (12 July 2013), which viewed these butchers as people who experienced reality itself as a fiction more than adhering to a barbarian’s code of ethics. Meanwhile, several films, which represented the Chinese ethnicity in the past few years, display a growing awareness towards acceptance of different ethnicities among the middle class, despite the looming gap between different social classes. 

Although “screen culture” is part of the book’s subtitle, there is an unfortunate lack of sufficient conceptual rundown. In fact, the term itself is glaringly absent in the index page. A brief explanation merely stated screen culture as part of the social institution and practice commonly referred to as popular culture. This explanation itself is unable to show the uniqueness of screen culture, including the similarities and differences it shares with visual culture. Moreover, “pleasure” as a key concept is not explored conceptually and is almost neglected in the write-up on the representation of 1965 mass violence and the Chinese ethnic minority.   

As a translated work, it is understandable that this book contains several flaws. The translator is inconsistent in translating the term “cultural politics” from its original texts: using several terms such as “politik kebudayaan” (p.3), “politik budaya” (p.21) and “budaya politik” (p.32), which should not be interchangeable. There is conceptual difference between “political culture” and “cultural politics.” While political culture is closely associated with the influence of culture on political practices, cultural politics looks at culture as politics itself. 

Furthermore, the translation for the phrase “under erasure” into “something that has been erased” in the sixth chapter did not follow its meaning. The concept, which originated from the French philosopher Jacques Derrida (who was not referenced in the bibliography), is intended to highlight the state of something being inaccurate though it should be said while its origin can only be known as a trace. 

While this book is academic in nature, it is written in a refreshing manner, replete with clear explanations. As such, it is accessible to those who wished to learn more about contemporary Indonesian cultural politics. Despite its flaws, the translation attempt for this book is worth commending for filling in the gap on the study of media, popular culture and contemporary Indonesian society. 

This review was originally written in Bahasa Indonesia and first published in TEMPO magazine on 28 December 2015 / Translated by Alma Delia Sukma