Trivial Representations of Chinese Indonesians in Cinema Post-Suharto

• In Event: Media, Politics, and Social Change in Contemporary Indonesia

Abstract

Throughout the Suharto regime’s thirty-two year ‘New Order’ (1967-1998) government, only two films were made about Chinese Indonesians. Following the demise of the New Order, films depict Chinese Indonesians is found, at least, an average of one film circulated in cinema per year. Stem from this phenomenon of the “reappearance” of Chinese Indonesians in contemporary films, the study explicates the dominant characteristics of the representations of Chinese Indonesians characters as well as their sheer presence in almost 30 films which circulated in cinema alone. It also compares the depictions of Chinese Indonesians in different periods to determine how these patterns have changed since the reformasi. Applying the concept of framing to the films in this study, I argue that films frame Chinese Indonesians in a typical fashion and form. Further, I argue that the frames portray Chinese Indonesians in an optimistic manner, but somehow the portrayals are often lack of in-depth discussion and tend to be trivial.

Keywords: Representations, Cinema, Chinese Indonesians, Post-Suharto Indonesia

Author

• Julia Julia, Leiden University Institute for Area Studies