Reviews
REVIEW BY: Lesley Harbon,
Magazine Editor Pelangi, 1985-2000.
Lecturer, Primary Languages Other Than English,
Education Faculty, University of Tasmania at Launceston.
It has been part of my role as Editor of Pelangi magazine for the past
15 years that I should review new Indonesian language resources as they
arrive on the market ready to be utilised as teaching resources in the
Australian school curriculum.
Recently I had the pleasure of reviewing three of Koolfilm Indonesia's
video productions entitled: 'Bedeng', 'Mbak Jamu' and 'Pendapat Arahmaiani'.
I found the videos entertaining and informative. It is my opinion that
teachers of Indonesian at Primary, secondary and tertiary level in Australian
schools will be delighted to be able to use all aspects of these short
films in their Indonesian language teaching. This is particularly so due
to cultural, economic and social issues being captured on film by Mr.
Slatyer and presented in a non-threatening manner: this, in turn creates
the effect of the audience being able to experience the contexts in which
these films were shot.
I know the deep commitment with which this endeavor is fostered and wish
Mr. Slatyer and Koolfilm Indonesia well in their efforts to "make a difference':
creating more opportunities for Australians to understand Indonesia and
vise-versa.
REVIEW BY:
Astri Wright
Cornell University
Ph.D. in Southeast Asian Studies (focus: Indonesia), 1991
Associate Professor, Southeast Asian Art History.
Researcher of Modern and Contemporary Indonesian Art
On a recent visit to Indonesia I had the opportunity to meet Bob Slatyer
and view three short videos he has made in the last few months, one of
them in response to and about an event organized by an artist with whom
I put him in touch via email.
Not having met Mr. Slatyer before and unfamiliar with his work, though
quite conversant with the large body of videos and films on Indonesia,
I was thoroughly impressed with the three videos. As the pilot videos
for the planned language teaching enhancement series, "Insight Indonesia",
these videos contribute in important and new ways both to Indonesian language
teaching and to introducing students to important aspects of Indonesian
culture and diversity, in both groups and individuals, many of these aspects
not generally featured on the news.
One of these videos, set in a poor part of Jakarta ("Bedeng"), describe
the life and economy and entrepreneurial creativity of its inhabitants.
The other video both portrays and features the narrative of a young jamu
(trad'l medicine) seller ("Mbak Jamu"), who despite her youth has a fresh
and expert approach to the seasoned market woman's gift of gab. Both of
these videos are remarkable in their simultaneous simplicity, richness
of information, and warmth.
The third video, "Pendapat Arahmaiani," features an individual Indonesian
woman of a very different background, in one of the avant garde spaces
of the contemporary Indonesian art world. Arahmaiani, a well known performance
artist, speaks about the intent behind and controversy around the first
Jakarta International Performance Art Festival, which she organized in
February 2000. This video shows an aspect of Indonesian society which
is hardly ever seen by tourists but which ties the nation in with the
contemporary art and culture discourse internationally, of particular
interest to Australia where several major galleries, art schools and art
magazines have developed their exchanges and contacts with Indonesian
artists over the last decade.
It is evident from his final product that Mr. Slatyer has a deep liking
for Indonesia and Indonesians; that he speaks Indonesian fairly well,
that he establishes and maintains a good rapport both with his Indonesian
crew and his interviewees, and that he is driven by a desire to share
his insights and experiences with a wide-ranging audience beyond Indonesia.