Political and Social Critique in Some Key Indonesian Films in the First Fifty Years of the New Nation

In the first fifty years of Indonesian nationhood, expressions of dissenting political and social views in film—if not overt “activism”—amount to a significant tradition. As early as 1950, Usmar Ismail’s film Darah dan Do’a (aka “The Long March”) directly criticised human rights abuses perpetrated by the Indonesian National Army while fighting for independence. More common, however, was the use of allegory. This chapter explores in detail the most important of these early films, demonstrating how critique was achieved largely indirectly, through nuanced use of allegory, humour, and other methods. These films emerged from within the developing feature film industry, since it was not until the end of the Suharto era that a tradition of openly critical documentary developed.