National Identity And Imagined Communities: An Analysis Of Yogyakarta Independent Film Industry In Post-Reformation Era

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Date
2019-08
Authors
Idola Perdini Putri
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Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
Since the post-reformation era, the creative industry in Yogyakarta, specifically, the independent film industry, has been taking a prime role in producing controversial films which challenge the meaning and interpretation of national identity amongst its society. As such, the independent film community exudes its own culture of imagined community (on national identity), which resides within the multi-faceted supply chain of the film/creative industry community. This creative industry actively builds a media agenda on national identity discourse, such that the industry acts as catalyst for the diverse communities to experience the ‘sameness’ and evolved ‘sameness’, of their own mental/emotional construction of national identity(ies). A qualitative research was conducted in Yogyakarta and the primary source of the data collected in this study were four selected film texts. Textual analyses included a descriptive analyses of each of the text based on the elements of film’s theme and issues, film’s main character and characterization, film’s setting and film’s symbols as well as a narrative analysis of binary oppositions along five national identity lenses (ethnic identity, cultural identity, religion identity, language identity, and community kinship). Data collected from the in-depth interviews from within the independent film community, served as a contextual supplement to the description of the binary opposition meanings unearthed from the different lenses. This study then utilized the Benedict Anderson (2006) imagined community concept, to analyse the notion of national identity, within the dimensions of collective memory (historical memory and horizontal comradeship) and geographical boundaries (consisting of sovereign and dynastic realm dimensions). The significant findings indicated that the past historical meaning of Pancasila which underscored a requirement for homogeneous identities within the society, contrasted with the evidences found in all four films texts which demonstrated the evidences of diversity or heterogeneous identity. Moreover, within the horizontal comradeship dimension, the notion of multiple interpretations of national identity, were highlighted through the issues on diversity of ethnic identity, modernisation, Islamic fundamentalist organization, the promotion of local language, and the community attachment to the nation’s symbols. Within the context of the geographical boundaries dimension, the regional attachment within the territory where the communities live, implied the important role of Yogyakarta Monarchy system and as a sovereign power of a Special Region, in influencing the diverse interpretations of national identity. The main theoretical contribution of this research is with respect to the binary oppositions demonstrated in the presence of multiple interpretations of national identity, seen through the national identity lenses (of ethnic, culture, religion, language and community kinship). The diverse binary oppositions and meaning attached, highlighted the manisfestations of imagined communities of national identity amongst the society, depicted through the independent film texts and perception of the independent film community, which consequently, point towards the demonstration of banal nationalism concept as experienced in the day-to-day living of the society, and the important role of the independent film community, and the creative industry, in the (continuous) formulation of national identity in Indonesia. The stark implication of this finding is that while the creative industry plays a prominent role in the economic growth of the Yogyakarta city, at policy and practical value level, it plays a more important role in harmonising any eventual conflicts which comes forth from the multiple interpretations of national identity, and especially, in aligning with the Pancasila philosophy.
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Keywords
Nationalism , Communities
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