Whatever I Want: Media and Youth in Indonesia Before and After 1998

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to explore the changes in creative activities of young people – especially in the alternative media – in Indonesia before and after Reformasi. It begins with the story of the dynamics of a student press, from my personal experience – which I believe is a typical form of student/youth movement in Indonesia – and how the student’s life obviously depends on the political situation, the university policy, and the dynamics of the student’s life at that particular time. Reformasi caused political change and freedom but simultaneously, and ironically, placed the student press in a state of meaninglessness, such that it was painfully forced for search for new meanings to keep it contextually relevant in the new era. I end the paper describing the latest form of the alternative media scene of Indonesian youth, whose focus is dramatically shifting from ‘big’ political issues to issues of the celebration of communities and self-existence.

This paper describes the changes in creative activities of young people before and after Reformasi.¹ Its focus is the alternative media. I will begin with my own experience as an activist on a student press in the early 1990s followed by reflections on the changes that have taken placed after 1998. The active life of student press 1994–1998 In the mid 1990s, there were at least three types of university students: those who were active in a number of student movements (at that time, the student movements were spread over the cities in Indonesia, were connected to one another and built networks) or the student press; those who were active in the extracurricular activities in sports and arts (choir, dance and karawitan,² judo, swimming, diving, photography, marching band, and so on), which were frequently grouped into one location; for instance, in Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM),³ these could be seen in the area of Gelanggang Mahasiswa. Finally, those who did not join any activity at all but only attended classes.

The students who were active in various student movements and the student press did not keep to the normal schedule to complete their university studies. Many of took six to eight years, sometimes longer. There was a popular term among students and parents that pointed to this circumstance: never-ending students. Obviously, it was not the result of difficulties in absorbing lecture material. Some of them were bright students as could be seen from the articles they wrote in mass media or from their excellent public speaking skills during demonstrations. What they preferred was to mature during their studies. However, there was also a tendency to extend their studies for the sake of holding on to their position and status as university students because, given the political situation, they had the chances and possibilities to make great changes. Therefore, to finish one’s studies on time was seen as belonging to the group of students who were antipolitics, who had no concern with their surroundings.

The university students who joined student presses were often associated with student movement activities. The campus society then was a ‘sacred’ place where everybody could express an opinion freely. Owing to their political content, student presses were seen as models of the ‘attacking press’, against the common press and other examples of a partisan press. The writing style of the student newspaper was often in the form of opinions and, thus, it did not require any appropriate journalistic techniques. In the mid 1990s, there was an increasingly awareness of ‘proper’ writing. Unfortunately, it was not possible to take lessons on writing techniques or journalistic principles. The students had to learn by following Do It Yourself principles. In 1997, Institut Studi Arus Informasi⁴ (ISAI) held a nationwide competition on alternative media. The competition generated the demand to write properly among the activists of the student press. ISAI contributed training on Investigative Journalism writing to Surat Kabar Mahasiswa (SKM) Bulaksumur, a unit in which I used to work. KOMPAS⁵ was the other newspaper to sponsor training on Precision Journalism writing. We realized that such a partnership with students at that time was not without hidden intentions. A partnership with these two institutions had deeply influenced the content of our alternative media from 1997 until 1999; for example, there were many articles written in the style of the investigative or precision journalism techniques.

When organizing workshops, we usually received full sponsorship from the two institutions, which made it possible to invite our colleagues from other cities, such as Jakarta, Bandung, Malang, Solo, Semarang, Medan and Bandar Lampung. We had no difficulty in gathering them as we had previously built a good network. We regularly sent one another our latest releases or shared knowledge on journalism through Diklat⁶ Jurnalistik. Apart from building a student press network, we also built bridges with many journalism activities in senior high schools and, thus, we were often asked to participate in workshops held by those schools.

Questioning communities

From time to time, the issue of where the student press was supposed to stand and to perform its role was raised. Was it inside or outside the campus? When we looked back at the strong inclinations of the student press, they seemed to reach beyond the campus walls, to be a national press at the same level with other newspapers. Nevertheless, the typical problems of the alternative media – finance, university policy, and student society in general – finally constituted a pressing necessity to design a student press covering community needs.

The question of ‘community’ was significant. Only very weak responses were received from other students in the university. The student press impressed only particular segments of student body, who were considered to be the ‘elite’; for instance, they were students who had good writing skills, or who possessed intense motivation to participate actively in its programs. So, there was an urgency to make the press meaningful for the closest community: i.e. campus society. The results of a series of discussions on this ‘community’ in 1997 until 1999 were striking. Many media with simple formats surfaced, focusing on their own communities, such as ‘Entho Cothot’ which in the latest issues featured kampung;7 which included kampung women exchanging cooking recipes. In the midst of the reorientation to ‘community’, a newsletter named Gugat (Accuse) was released, at a time when the student movement’s momentum was at a high point. It was first issued on April 25, 1998, and was produced by a joint secretariat consisting of almost all the sstudent press activists living in the Bulaksumur area. It was a newsletter, sold at the price of 400 rupiahs (as a photocopy charge) and was published regularly, once every two days. Gugat reflected current news on student demonstrations and other student movement activities. At that point, we routinely received writing contributions from friends in other cities. A similar kind of media could also be seen in other places, such as Bergerak! (Take Action!) from the University of Indonesia and Suga Alternatif (Alternative Voice) from Airlangga University. The last edition of Gugat was dated in June 4, 1998.

There was an idea to simplify the format of SKM Bulaksumur to lower the production cost, maintain regular issues and stay closer to its community. In May 8, 2000, SKM Bulaksumur had its format changed to that of a newsletter, black and white. Initially it was four pages long, but pages kept being added until it was 16 pages long, and was issued weekly for free. In the editorial of the first edition of Bulaksumur Pos, it was written: As the crucial changes during Mei 1998 gave impact on the national press, Bulaksumur Student Newspaper has to do an innovation in order to be able to answer the challenge of the new age.

Realizing that there are tremendous problems inside the university which need to speak about, the Bulaksumur Student Newspaper metamorphose into the Community Media. Meanwhile, the other fellow-students’ press – Balairung Magazine – also changed itself to publishing a journal containing students’ thoughts on various issues and, within the campus, they also publish a newspaper pasted on the wall containing current issues.

Bulaksumur Pos continues to be issued today, since its first issue over five years ago. In its current format, as a free weekly, this media can easily find advertisers. It has become a magnet through its local themes. It has a column named ‘Iklan Baris’ offering the chance to place greeting messages for birthdays or simply sending regards to other colleagues in different faculties. The cost for ‘Iklan Baris’ (line advertisement) is 500 rupiahs per line, whereas for ‘Iklan Kolom’ (column advertisement) it is 20,000 rupiahs per package. It also contains a column named ‘Ini Caranya’, which offers tips such as how to rent the meeting rooms in UGM or the campus stadium, and how to access the existing study centers. The most sought-after edition was the one with the news of the deaths of some students taking an expedition at Gunung Slamet.8 Many student colleagues came to the secretariat because of this news but the edition was out of print so it had to be copied.

New wave

Since 1997, many invisible changes have taken place, which could alter one’s thinking on the meaning of being a university student, with reference to activities that have the real Indonesian social-political state as a focus. There is a tendency among students to finish their studies on time. In UGM, for example, this was supported by the introduction of various Kuliah Kerja Nyata (KKN)⁹ – KKN done during the holiday called ‘KKN Semester Pendek‘¹⁰ or one done within the areas of the city – and an opportunity to take ‘Kuliah Semester Pendek‘¹¹ to help students to graduate from the university sooner and get a job. Such was a reasonable choice in the midst of a continuing critical economy crisis. Without a doubt, it could be said that the dominant powers and the academic institution have intervened to make students stay away from the social-political issues, while also ensuring students graduate sooner.

In the mid 1990s, some social elements could easily be used to signal or differentiate the ideologies among Indonesian young people. The political constraints had produced students who were active in the student press, student movements, NGOs, and the marching band, and, on the other hand, those who just attended classes. The freedom and political change after 1998 had ironically placed the student press in a state of meaninglessness and it was painfully forced to search for new meanings to keep it contextually relevant within the new era. Today, young people may read ‘Cosmo Girl’, ‘Ripple’, and some other independent weekly magazines or even create their own magazines, be regular rave party visitors, go shopping at distros, knowledgeable about any Indie band, listen to ‘The Strokes’, be readers of Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s novels, and subscribe to ‘Tempo’. The distance between reading the works of Pramoedya as a form of thirst (as seen in the last six to ten years ago) and a form of style has been shattered.

Now, we can observe how the politics of the way to dress, speak, listen to music, and read has been misplaced. The most apparent picture for this is the generation born in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They do not deal with colonialism and the postcolonialism, but are concerned with new cultural products and concepts in accordance with Indonesia’s economic and cultural position, as it rushes to join the global capitalist system. This situation has caused students to change strategies for their publications and to create new tactics to express their identity politics.

From 2000, there has been a new wave of youth publications with different tendencies. These new publications are usually simply Xeroxed, or printed in small copies, and distributed through networks of youth communities in Indonesian cities, and in the end they become a media for learning and exchanging ideas. We can see the diversity of issues reflected in these new publications: Blocknote, Ajaib, Beni, Requiem and Pagina for poetry and short stories, Clea forfilm critics, Ego! Scrapbook contains essays and visual arts, 10:05 contains photos, club profiles and information on rave parties in Yogyakarta, Blow for essays, drawing and music reviews, Ripple for music reviews, information on surfing, skateboarding, essays on design and fashion, Mes 56 and Kitsch are newsletters for the visual arts, Rude and Daging Tumbuh are compilations of comic strips, Momen Inersia for essays on critics on capitalism in the music industry, Shine is dedicated to music reviews, Revolver for essays on lifestyles and music, while Air Seni contains art essays, young artists’ artworks, and book, music or movie reviews. Obviously there are intersections among visual arts, literature, and social political issues in/on the new media. The diversity shows how Indonesian youth intensively consumes global issues through various aspects of cultural products in their everyday lives.

The data from an alternative media catalog published by Peniti Pink – a zine distributor in Jakarta – stated that in February 2004 there were already 223 alternative media produced by Indonesian youth of the generation born in the 1980s and who started their college in the year 2000. This is the generation who were born in the glorious time of the New Order era and started their university life when Reformasi – the last few years of the 20th century, which saw the destruction of the military-backed New Order – has already passed, and they experience it by reading the stories and documentation in the mass media. As producers can easily jump into making any new media, some of these new media do not last, publishing only once or twice. There is also the dynamic growth of personal websites, easily invented through blog technology. All these media activities indicate the strong need of the youth to showcase their personal things, and the new technology is a free way to express and do things. The new media has opened up explorations on freedom, which focus on ourselves – the youth.

The focus on ourselves does not only imply extreme self-freedom but also gives the impression of ‘just for fun’ and a ‘cool’ life. After 1998, confusion struck the young people. In media and youth culture, we can see how the new situation causes the shifting from ‘big’ political issues into issues on the celebration of communities and self-existence. It also lead us to the question of whether the ‘just for fun’ and ‘cool’ paradigm is meaningful. I would say that all the freedom possibly will be shaping into the forms of battle against domination yet hardly defined by the young people. The questions become more difficult to answer when the margins between life style, attitude and ideology are blurred.

AUTHOR
Nuraini Juliastuti

TRANSLATED BY
Camelia Lestari
Nuraini Juliastuti

YEAR

2006

PUBLISHER
Inter-Asia Cultural Studies

KEYWORDS
Indonesia
Indie press movement
Zine
Reformation
Community

RELATED WEB
Inter-Asia Cultural Studies