Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
submittedVersion
Publication Date
1-2010
Abstract
In this paper, we aim to re-examine the roles of ethnic Chinese filmmakers in Indonesian cinematic history as a preliminary study in the reconsideration of the early years of the film industry. Here, we regard the simplification of history in the film industry as part of a broader attempt by nationalist and New Order ideologues to “appropriate” the origins of cinema and “ ” in Indonesia. On the same note, we argue that the narrative tradition that privileges “indigenous” filmmakers as the originators of asli (authentic ortrue) Indonesian culture on screen reflects the dominant yet narrow definition of nationalism as based on ethnic and cultural primordialism. We challenge this common historical construction and assert that in the first decades of Indonesian cinema, ethnic Chinese filmmakers played pivotal roles in forming the images of Indonesian culture and peoples on screen.
Keywords
Indonesia, National cinema, Ethnic Chinese, Colonial cinema
Discipline
Asian Studies | Film and Media Studies
Research Areas
Humanities
Publication
Asian Cinema
Volume
21
Issue
2
First Page
25
Last Page
47
ISSN
1059-440X
Identifier
10.1386/ac.21.2.25_1
Publisher
Intellect
Citation
SETIJADI, Charlotte, & BARKER, Thomas.(2010). Imagining “Indonesia”: Ethnic Chinese film producers in pre-independence cinema. Asian Cinema, 21(2), 25-47.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2784
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1386/ac.21.2.25_1