Review Dick van der Meij : Don't forget to remember me
No matter how many books one reads about a country and its inhabitants, ;orhow many photographs one has seen, there is no better way of experiencing a far-off land than by watching a film. Movies, dramas, documentaries, and even tourist propaganda pictures offer a much more deeply felt insight into another people than any amount of print is able to provide. Documentaries usually have a specific aim in rnind and are geared to a clearly delineated audience and are therefore edited in such a way that the message comes across as clearly and mono-dimensional as possible. Despite all the audio-visual means we have at our disposal at present, the written word is still the most employed vehicle for the dissemination of thoughts and ideas.
Dick van der Meij
DVD. 2008. Production: Henk Seville Nordholl and Fridus Stcijlen
Dnn't forget til remember me. A Joy in the life n[fndone; Based on the Audiovisual Archive Recording the Futun Leiden: KITLV Press. ISBN 978 90 6718 337 6
Novel outlook
The KITLV is known, of course, lor its enormous oulput of just that: printed letters on paper. Some CDs with music have been added In earlier yiublications but they were In support of the written word and not intended to stand on their own. That is to say. this was the sit uation up until 200B. The DVD under discussion is therefore a lucky exception and proves the institute's novel outlook.
The materials shown in the DVD were recorded between 2003 and 2006 and show snapshots of daily life in Jakarta. Kawal (Bintan Island), Payakumbuh (West Sumatra), Delanggu (Central Java), Sintanq (West Kalimantan). Billuang (Central Sulawesi), Ternate (Northern Moluccas), and Surabaya (East Java). Unfortunately, no information is provided on when the filming of individual scenes in these various places took place and so at limes it is not easy to understand where we actually ore. Some scenes seem to link up to the previous one and would have us believe we aie itilt at the same place, but sometimes we appear not to be there anymore. No information about the reason why wo are looking at what we see and not at other things is given and this is 3 pity because it may lead to a distorted picture of what daily tile in Indonesia really is.
Of course, daily life in a country as big as Indonesia is a fluid and fragmented notion. What do we want to show?, Deciding what daily life entails for a big metropolis such as Jakarta is of course much more difficult than for a small place in Central Sulawesi, although the daily reality of the people there is also extremely difficult to understand. The host of anthropological materials on many Indonesian sites sufficiently attests to that.
Hard realities
For me the film shows expertly how hard daily life in Indonesia is for many people; how incredibly hard the people labour to make ends meet; and how small the scale of life for many people is. We need only reflect on the life of the smith who makes the tools for tilling the rice fields. He works on his metal tools from six in the morning until six in the evening, day in day out. And what about the people who process the ice
needed to preserve fish, who have to deal with heavy, cold Fig. i (iup right]
material and yet again day in day uul. we cannot but marvel street to,ibti by
al the dexterity of these men, The film reveals the Importance Flydim«. Courteity
of motorbikes and other means of transport and gives us o(flickr.r.om
the dally reality of the becak drivers who literally live in and
with their bike taxi. The film also shows us the importance of Fig. 1 |inplrrt|
small-scale industry and the role of street side restaurants in Boy wlih water by
sustaining life. It reveals the variability of daily life in the various Henri ivnad,
plates but also the similarities over the vast area of Indonesia. Cnurittr ol Hlrkuo
It is interesting to look at places other than those where Fig, i (middle)
most tourists tend to go. Mo I looking at beautiful Ball but Loading boat
ralher at the harsh conditions in the ice factory is an important b* AndTM Pipa.
contribution to our perception of the country, Fun In daily Hie Courtesy ol flitki.ro
is also clearly shown and the short interview with the man
whose photograph adorns the case of the DVD cleaily shows Fig. 4 ibonom)
that no matter what, Indonesians arc able to enjoy life undei Tuk Tuk. Couriny
the hardest of circumstances. The sparkling eyes of this person o[ nir.kr.eoin
will be remembered long after many other scenes will have
sunk into the dark recesses of our memory.
Islamic life
The part on Islam is also quite interesting. The restaurant owner who has already been to Mecca four times and who is planning his fifth trip with his family leveals the deep religious feelings of Indonesian Muslims. The large photograph in his restaurant made in Malaysia of the Nabawi Mosque in Medina which can be made to show the mosque at various times of the day and which has a device to sound Quranic verses also attests to his deep religious sentiments. The small children learning to recite the Quran on the second floor of a mosque and the way this Instruction is provided is also very interesting.
Sometimes I would have liked to jump into the film li> ask questions. For instance, the little 10 month nld (sebelas hulan jalan is unfoi tunately wrongly translated as 11 mnnlhs old) boy from Ternate with the name Shevchenko leaves me begging lor moie information on the choice ol this unexpected name. I would also have loved to interview the Muslim man I mentioned above who has been to Mecca four time-, already lor the reasons why he feels the need to go there so often, cti.
This Is no doubt a very important document and I sinci'iuly hope that other DVDs that will show us othet parts nf the archipelago and other religions, industries, schools and a host of other fragments of this fascinating counn y will soon follow it. However, it is tn be hnped that in future little more piofessional attention will lie paid to the end product. The quality of the shooting varies, sound quality varies too, and some scenes seem rather too long while others are far too short. The document has only one chapter and returning to specific scenes Is therefore not easy. No list of contents is provided and this makes it hard to find one's way into the materials. No information as to the reason for publication is given nor any justification for choosing the aicas provided 01 (or the particular scenes we watch. This is on one hand its strength, but on thi- other hand a major weakness. Because no information i> piovided it makes nne wnnder what the intended audience lot the DVD is. As a first start to this novel kind of visual scholarship 1 have enjoyed it immensely but 1 do enpect more in Future.
Dick van der Meij,
Center for the Study of Religion and Culture. Syartf HidayatuMali Slate Islamic University, Jakarta
dickvdm200S@yahoo.com
The Newsletter no. 50, Spring 2009