Teletubbies in Paradise: Tourism, Indonesianisation and Modernisation in Balinese Music

Abstract

Among all cultures, perhaps none were more promoted as artistic and natural paradise than Bali. Fusing the mysticism of the East with the physical splendor of the South Seas, this former “isle of bare breasts” received layers of romantic accolades over the last eighty years, not only from the tourist industry but also from such respected figures as Margaret Mead, Gregory Bateson, Walter Spies, Miguel Covarrubias, and Colin McPhee. These scholars spoke of Bali as a “special paradise”, how all Balinese are musicians and dancers, and how they are in perfect harmony with their environment and so graceful that every movement is like a dance (see DeZoete and Spies 1973 [1938] and McPhee 1970 [1938]). Such statements typified the romantic orientalism of the time. Mead (1970 [1940]: 340) later reflected upon Bali's allure: Many Americans in the 1920s sought for an escape as single individuals from a society which denied them self-expression. Many in the 1930s sought for a formula by which we could build our society into a form which would make possible … both simple happiness and complexity of spiritual expression. Of such a dream, Bali was a fitting symbol.