From Hollywood Flicks to Eradicating Malaria and Visiting the Doctor: Screening Films in Indonesia during the Japanese Occupation

• In Event: 23. Crossing the Medical Divide: Continuity and Change in Medicine in Japanese-Occupied Indonesia

Abstract

Films, the most impressive and important visual media throughout the early 20th century, reflected society and politics of the time, especially when they were made under governmental initiative, censored or distributed by the government. In that sense, there is little difference between the Dutch colonial rule and the Japanese military rule in Indonesia.

In the history of Indonesian film, the Japanese occupation era is still a large blank between the prewar and post-independent eras, both because of paucity of materials and language barriers. In spite of such difficulties, Japanese film making in Java, as well as Japanese film-men and their Indonesian counterparts has been a focus of research. The Japanese military administration made films in Java for the purpose of propaganda, part of which are archived in the Netherlands. However, little attention has been paid to what films, whether produced locally or imported, were screened in Indonesia.

The screening of films, including the choice of films, is as important as the production. This presentation will focus on the screening of films in Indonesia under the Japanese occupation, considering them in contrast to those under the Dutch era, when there were fewer “educational” films in circulation. The aim is to consider the intention, concern and needs of the ruling power behind the films: mobilizing human resources, or conciliating native people or especially improving public health and medicine. It is expected that this presentation will bridge the gap of Indonesian film history before and after the Japanese occupation.

Author

• Kaoru Kochi, Univ. of Tokyo