Jakarta, Mental Landscape, and Social Issues : Case Study of Rindu Kami Pada-Mu

Abstract

Abstract. Although Jakarta seems to be the most favorable setting for Indonesian films, most Jakarta films are not about the city or its people, but rather about a large town with no name (Jufri (eds.) 1992: 23). Asrul Sani highlights the importance of showing physical pictures such as prominent buildings and adequate clothing, and a mental landscape. In Andre Bazin’s term, the mental landscape shows the "spiritual vitality" of one city on-screen, which construes s specific indications referring to that particular city. Some social and gender issues within the films will be revealed and questioned by exploring the mental landscape. This paper will discuss Rindu Kami pada-Mu (Of Love and Eggs, Garin Nugroho, 2004). I try to answer the question: how does Rindu Kami represent post-Reform Jakarta and its social and gender issues? I argue that Rindu Kami pada-Mu represents the backdoors of Post-1998 Jakarta. Not only depicting the physical and mental landscape of lower-class society, such as a slum market, the film also portrays the psychological developments and achievements of urban people. They struggle against the remaining ideology of the New Order (State Ibuism, military-political system) and its concrete implementations (domestic violence, demolitions) in social issues. By doing textual analysis, using theories of Mental Landscape and Stuart Hall’s Representation, I will elaborate on "the other side of Jakarta" and its social issues, namely solidarity and communication Issues. Gender issues, such as the depiction of negative male characters and masculine militarism, will be discussed.