Entertaining Illusions: How Indonesian Élites Imagine Reality TV Affects the Masses

Abstract

Among the new genres of Indonesian television broadcasting, real-life crime and supernatural reality TV are of particular interest, because they were exceptionally popular for a time and aroused grave concern among intellectuals and the political élite. A close examination of both kinds of programming, however, suggests that their narrative structure is largely conservative and about reaffirming the social order against threat. In which case, why are élites so worried about such programmes? An analysis of broadsheet commentary reveals some remarkable preconceptions among the élite about the masses in Indonesia. Finally, a consideration of how Indonesians understand and engage with theatre—and so potentially television—indicates previously unconsidered radical possibilities.

Keywords:

• Indonesian Reality Television
• Crime
• Supernatural Broadcasting

Acknowledgments

My thanks go to Philip Kitley and Richard Fox who, as reviewer and co-editor, respectively, made useful comments on this piece.

Notes

1. Sen and Hill (2000, pp. 80–107) note the singular liveliness of radio in the late New Order, a vitality which has now spread to the point that conservative groups, notable among them Islamists, are pushing for the reintroduction of censorship, in the guise of anti-pornography laws under discussion in Parliament as I write.

2. Reputedly, at the time, these were the top rated programmes on terrestrial channels. However, reliable viewing figures are hard to come by from ACNielsen Indonesia or other sources.

3. Regulation reins in TV content (2006, March 2), The Jakarta Post.

4. Where relevant I shall use the Indonesian terms because they have distinctive senses in Indonesia.

5. By the summer of 2002, programmes devoted exclusively to crime and violence were already a significant feature of scheduling for the main commercial channels.

6. Grierson's (1932, p. 8) definition as ‘the creative interpretation of actuality’ neatly suggests the ambiguity and constructed nature of the genre.

7. I am referring to who is allowed to speak and say what within highly structured genres, not to what audiences make of the programmes, which is an entirely different matter.

8. I once remarked on how cooperative the suspects seemed in almost always confessing, until an Indonesian friend kindly pointed out what happened if they did not.

9. Two series, Jakarta Underground, with its spin-off, The Underground, both on Lativi, were particularly innovative. While their mainstay was what seemed a rather voyeuristic exploration of prostitution, homosexuality and other previously undiscussable topics, sometimes they offered good coverage of underworld scenes, where people were allowed to talk at length with minimal editing.

10. Oddly the ghosts often looked like particularly hirsute Dutchmen—an instance of transcendental post-colonialism?

11. The appearance of realism, as with other genres like hard news, is necessary to disguise the degree to which broadcasters impose cultural conventions upon labile actuality.

12. Pornoaksi is public indecency. I use the Indonesian terms, because their connotations are distinct from the English.

13. This article is not intended as a survey of Indonesian print media commentary on kriminal and mistik. So I have not engaged in a detailed analysis of the inflections of coverage over the years across relevant print media. My concern rather is with how politicians, intellectuals and media producers use selected broadsheets to enunciate on such subjects. The two most relevant publications for these purposes are Kompas, which is the leading platform for public pronouncements, and Republika, which aims to offer a distinctly Islamic voice. Neither newspaper takes a single line; and the differences of accent within and between newspapers is complex and changing. I concentrate on Kompas here because there was a long-running intermittent debate about the pernicious effects of television, especially from 2002 onwards.

14. Articles citing the code of media ethics on 3 February and 1 July 2004.

15. Unless otherwise stated, all parentheses are mine.

16. Commercial television and the opinion survey (2003, September 8), Kompas.

17. By contrast Baudrillard once remarked that every time he watched television he was a member of the masses. After all, by definition, it is a mass medium.

18. That is, it mocks the existing order of power and constitutes the antithesis of production, accumulation and privilege.