Indonesian Cinema before Reformasi
Indonesian Cinema before Reformasi
Tracing the history of Indonesian cinema up until 1998, this chapter considers the way in which cinema was conceptualised through post-independence nationalism and later by its relationship to the authoritarian New Order regime. Often referred to as film nasional, Indonesian cinema has been subject to a nationalist interpretation which has meant the promotion of a prescriptive idea of cinema as a tool for nation building. By questioning the parameters of film nasional and the veneration of artist filmmakers like Usmar Ismail, this chapter traces the history of Indonesian cinema and the film industry as a complex network of interests and influence that cannot be reduced to the values of individual filmmakers. It shows how throughout the New Order the film industry came under state control before its decline in the 1990s and relegation to the cultural periphery. Here the failures of existing explanatory models are revealed just as the New Order would end in 1998.
Keywords: national cinema, nationalism, national culture, state, Usmar Ismail, New Order
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