Return of the Kyai: representations of horror,commerce, and censorship in post‐Suharto Indonesian film and television 1

Abstract

In about half a decade since May 1998, changes have taken place in the content, production, distribution, exhibition, and discourse of Indonesian cinema. During Reformasi (1999–2001), the rules and regulations of cinema authorized under the New Order government of President Suharto began to be contested and re‐negotiated. The rise of new film genres and changes in concepts about existing genres and formats took place, new discourses emerged, and different communities and institutions arose that identified themselves with certain film genres or which used the medium of film for particular means, such as a medium for advocacy of human rights issues. Five to six years after 1998, it is apparent that besides changes, there are also many continuities: many old film institutions and structures for film production, distribution, and exhibition are still in place, and topics of discourses often recall past discourses of the New Order period or those held in the newly independent 1950s. This paper considers some of the changes in the understanding of genres and formulas within horror films, and discusses modes of representation and constraints in choices of subject matter in narrative practices in contemporary Indonesian cinema.     

论印尼经济发展中的中国成分

近几年来,印尼经济发展迅速,印尼和中国的经贸关系明显得以加强。通过对印尼国内经济以及中印尼两国贸易来往的研究,发现中印尼两国贸易互补性强,领域多,未来将向新能源等领域扩展。但值得注意的是,经济合作密切的情况下,两国在南海上发生了小摩擦。针对以上发现,我国应适时调整投资方向,加强两国政府间的政治对话,加强两国安全互信等。     

印尼民主化进程陷入困境探因

瓦希德就任印尼总结期间，印尼的民主化进程陷入困境，中央权威的失落，经济发展的困境与经济利益政策性分布的不均衡，改革忽视印尼独有的化传统和现实国情是造成这种情况的主要原因。     

Blurred Vision?: Public and Private Higher Education in Indonesia

If, as some have argued, private higher education is now the most dynamic segment of higher education, it is also the case that its growth, partly in response to the increasing mismatch between spiralling demand and limited state capacity, is often ad hoc. The article examines the contours of this trend in Indonesia, where the balance of public and private higher education has shifted sharply over the last two decades. While the private sector has been responsible for much of the expansion in higher education, its role in relation to quality is more questionable. Indonesia’s economic burdens, sharply exacerbated by the effects of the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, make it likely that the trend towards privatisation, including of its public institutions, will continue. Together with the current rise of trans-national higher education, however, this is only likely to sharpen existing difficulties around longstanding issues of quality, equality, and regulatory capacity.     

‘To be professional is a never-ending journey’: Indonesian early childhood practitioners’ views about the attitudes and behaviours of a professional teacher

Focus group discussions with 21 degree-qualified early childhood education teachers in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and individual follow-up interviews with 10 volunteer participants, were conducted to investigate the teachers’ perspectives on early years professionalism. Thematic analysis of the data identified the key elements that made up the teachers’ understandings about professionalism in early childhood practice. This included the idea that the attainment of professionalism was a life-long journey towards achieving an ideal image, that of a role model, or guru. We argue that the notion of role model was a complex one that not only reflected the teachers’ aspirations to achieve ‘a better classroom’ and better pedagogical outcomes for children, but also a broader aspiration to become a better person defined through a number of attitudes – ways of thinking and being – and behaviours that were socially valued within the teachers’ community and work context.     

What do we mean by school entry age? Conceptual ambiguity and its implications: the example of Indonesia

The age pattern of school entry reflects a complex social and empirical reality that is inadequately captured by a single number. Recognising these complexities in national and international research and policy discourse raises important but neglected questions around the identification of vulnerable groups, the relative value of pre-primary and primary education, as well as the normative powers and responsibilities of governments vis-à-vis parents, and the international educational community vis-à-vis both. This is illustrated by the example of Indonesia, where the official age norm for primary school entry is widely disregarded in practice, with a majority of children starting school one or even two years earlier. Crucially, it is the compliant children entering at the statutory age who tend to be from more disadvantaged households, and enjoy no benefit in educational outcomes from their greater maturity.     

‘The fruit caught between two stones’: the conflicted position of teachers within Aceh's independence struggle†

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the challenging situation faced by teachers as professionals and members of the community in Aceh, Indonesia during the province's civil war. It reveals how teachers’ sense of agency during this period was deeply influenced by the economic/material, political and socio-cultural condition at that time – conditions and experiences which today have bearing on a place for teachers in the post-conflict peace-building process occurring in the province. During the conflict, teachers struggled to balance their strategic societal positioning – as civil servants and community members – and found themselves caught in the middle of a complex range of hegemonic and counter-hegemonic forces at play. This position of constraint, we argue, limited the ability of teachers to act as peace-builders during the conflict, and continues to influence teachers’ ability to function in such ways today.     

How do primary school English textbooks teach moral values? A critical discourse analysis

In recent decades, there has been a growing interest in the integration of moral values into language textbooks. This study aims to examine the inclusion of moral values in primary school language textbooks used in a multicultural country, specifically Indonesia. We conducted a critical discourse analysis adopting Martin and White’s (2005) language appraisal theory, Kress and van Leuween’s (2006) visual grammar theory, and Smetana’s (2006) social domain theory (social constructivism) to elucidate the verbal and visual representations of moral values in Indonesian primary school English language (EL) textbooks. The findings show that helping others, being friendly and polite, and tolerance are the most dominant moral values discursively depicted in three primary school EL textbooks in the present study. This suggests that those three values are socioculturally ingrained in Indonesian culture.     

Part-time academics’ perception of their role and academic development: a case study from Indonesia

ABSTRACT

Employing part-time and casual academics is now a widely accepted practice in higher education globally. We explored the issue of the identity of part-time academics in Indonesian higher education through interviews with 14 part-time and 11 full-time academics. Both groups identified more strongly with their teaching roles than with other roles. However, they differed in their perceptions of opportunities to enact their chosen academic roles and of the kind of academic development they needed. The current standardised model of academic development needs to be rethought to offer more flexibility and to invite departments’ participation in the development of their academics.     

当前印尼华文师资瓶颈问题解决对策

本文在文献研究和实地调查的基础上分析了印尼华文师资现状和印尼华文师资存在的数量严重不足、水平偏低、职业化程度低、后继乏人的困境,并对解决制约印尼华文教育发展的瓶颈问题———华文师资问题提出了比较详细的对策。