As one of the areas of developing countries in Southeast Asia, Indonesia was involved in the process of seeking an agreement to develop the possibilities they have. The possibilities are inherited forms received as identity.
Composition of local government ordinances such as places of Yogyakarta and Solo, language, values, beliefs, and various forms of cultural artistic expression in various places preserved as part of that heritage.
The process of development and modernization by showing a shift in agrarian-feodal society into a more urban society in some specific cases show significant development. The level of conventional values in the cultural traditions slowly broken down so that in case of art, the results of art produced relatively more contextual to look nimble with the times.
But in the midst of these developments, the uncertainty was covering them.
Between tradition and popular culture was “the road in place” with its own ideology. Hold fast to traditional culture, while the ancestors of the modern value (now often called a generation “X” and generation “MTV” really uprooted from tradition) is so preoccupied with “global flavor” it so that all the vessels of the culture of the past need to be trimmed into something that looks really modern.
Examples of novel in a work resulting from the cosmopolitan world of course difficult to get recognition for the creativity it generates so that only the novels are familiar with the local culture received. But once confronted with a sense of community that are discriminatory, relatively popular novels in fact more likely to reach sales of best-selling novels than the known strong local content.
Perhaps in the case of literature, how to achieve within the framework of experimental (avant-garde) is still acceptable as a way of critics another foothold from expressions that are at the level of the old framework. But it was also difficult due to the fact that other forms of concern that should not happen accepted as a stain, rather than as an example of the development that was happening in society.
Well, the fact that each of them only “roads in place” could not be denied. Facts’ roads in place “to make these two faces of our culture, tradition and popular then have the potential to be developed by their own community. But what a miracle when they both turned to face the reality of marginality also issue a blanket.
Each has suddenly become alienated with his social life. Yang was born from the roots of stuttering when trying to meld tradition with modernity itself. Cynical assumptions as primitive, too dreamily (not contextual), not modern, and ancient appears that he abandoned the modern society.
While that was born from the roots of cultural tradition deprivation is so hard to achieve recognition of the cultural creative art because the results are achieved only based on purely contextual contemporary context and that is far from a kind of reflection values let alone history.
Results generated art as “pop culture” with the impression given of the word “popular” or in other words about “mass” which many later be abused as a “poison” for reasons “not grounded” for having left the tradition.
Well, the reason “not down to earth” can be accepted as one of the absolute limit. But is then the perpetrators of contemporary culture that in fact being achieved thought the merger between traditional values and modern easy to gain recognition in the midst of modernity?
In my article entitled “Nationalism?” from GONG magazine, edition 64/VI/2004 proved it is still difficult to achieve recognition. The success of the music group Discus penetrate the Italian record label, Mellow Records such as only a handful of people recognized that his position was marginal despite it the name of the nation. Indonesian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer nominated for the Nobel prize was struggle instead driven by Professor Koh Yung Hun, a Korean national who was also moving the center of Indonesian culture in Korea.
Well, this makes us more independent, so no need to beg to the government. But is not it naive after sweaty sweat, cultural activists still in a marginal position? Or is the issue of culture has not been considered important?
Gap in the two faces of our culture has become so stretched wide. That tradition denounced as adverse effects of globalization, while the modern face censure him as “the portraits scattered bones” so he had to be abandoned for reasons “not cool”.
Yes, every artist has tried to keep his work to come to the surface. Art works of any nature should arise, each to the surface in the life of the modern world, the information age and globalization today. But every work of art all of a sudden has a great distance with the audience despite the community to deal with the challenges of the modern world, each of which has gone to great lengths to wrap themselves into a formula called kitsch to become an art that can be packaged as a commodity trading.
Well, to achieve commercial advantage, the line of art that was born as a response to the demand of the urban population to reach its commercial profit calculation results compared to the line art that is born of tradition.
Well, to address the modernization, the various attempts to fuse to the count for the mass must be adopted.
But, what does it mean when it comes to the people who on average tend to be very discriminatory, because they know what they want, and know what they want, so unstable condition which then struck the perpetrator culture.
Disturbing question, is it true there is something wrong in the ways of delivering communication and socialization of a modernization? Would not each have their own ideology acceptable for society? Is not if you borrow the term Mohammad Diponegoro in the Indonesian literary world “every story has a saga, he is a decisive point of view, from where the story should be seen” (Diponegoro, Mohamad. 1985. Yuk, Nulis Cerpen Yuk. Jakarta: Shalahuddin Press.) so that each has its own community supporters? If true each has had an ideology and its own citizens why the problem to be marginal which is always a barrier?
Attitude patterns of turbid
Culture in the two faces had been alluded to in an attempt to merge in the development of works of art. What about the emerging pattern of behavior? This is what actually looks at the present time have even more shows turbidity. In modern times who always is moving it will be easier to get the portraits of social community that is financially very capable of appreciating works of art, but in fact they themselves even blind to the arts.
Art and his profession is considered less significant than economic achievement. For instance in the mass media editorial policies, the rubric of art, and culture tend to be marginalized. Possible to reach a compromise agreement, there is then combine them into “art & entertainment.” But for the size of the mass media that has not been established economically average rubric of art originally omitted if there is a certain mass media so that only a relatively steady state would provide it.
Art rubric finally squeezed in advertising art, celebrity gossip, and news of sex and politics. He is considered inefficient because of its weight is only read and accepted by certain circles.
Another example of some more established educational institutions whose orientation is a business. In fact, the activities of these institutions pembisnisan getting worse with commercial aspects. Commercialization actually make us not believe the main function of education as a medium between people in the era of globalization. Commercialization of education that seemed to show such progress is in “Orang Miskin Dilarang Sekolah!” (Eko Prasetyo, Insist Press, 2004) in fact even then leads to social complexity with the increasing number of unemployed. While the art educational institutions that exist tend to lack attention because he was not able to show the development that makes people came to believe in the economic framework.
Well, there are a number of owners of capital are “aware of the art” or art actors trying to make their own art media with lofty ideals “in the name of culture.” But even then too weak when periodic publication as journals, magazines, and books every rising only to accumulate in the warehouse.
Well, there is also a relatively well-established mass media increase the portion of the rubric arts. But the consequences he became so “fat” because so many missions to be conveyed. Fortunately, with capital owned he was able to publish to other formats such anthologies anthology book published short stories, poetry, or essays best version. What if not, while publishing such books was also less behavior anyway?
Appreciation of art is also generally low so that the perpetrators of art inevitably forced to “hide” into another profession as a reason to survive. Well, they can survive, could survive by his ability to compromise with the tastes of the masses. But what happens when he is always caught up in doubt to conduct an experiment because, among artists, critics, publishers, and people are still roads in each place while seeking to justify in his “ideology”?
The most serious example of the pattern of public attitudes are increasingly growing due to the root tercerabutnya tradition is the use of foreign languages in order to look “cool” and prestigious. Wilson Nadeak in “Foreign Title, Power Attract?” (Kompas, 7 November 2004) troubling granting title to the English in our publishing lately. He was restless for not clear whether the provision of these titles (with the letter Indonesian language understated) precast parts is not difficult to handle design of the original issuer so that more communicative to reach upper middle buyer or indeed the ASEAN market is starting to break out of this country?
Modernization as an idea
After 350 years of occupation, many are not aware of culture as a national asset that can generate a large discourse of nationalism. Being that there are cultural traditions is concern by the government. But the result is still in the stage of preservation that may be spelled tersempitkan on local arts course. His figure was arguably only become accessories welcoming tourists simply because no fuse on cultural developments in his own country.
Meanwhile, to answer the demands of “global society” in their own country so crowded with art performances of various cultural centers of activity from abroad. But what about Indonesia? Do we have cultural centers abroad?
Umar Kayam in culture papers ever submitted in the Ramayana Festival in 1971 Pandaan never threw an idea to bridge the two faces of Indonesian culture. Authors 1000 Kunang-Kunang di Manhattan (Thousand Firefly in Manhattan) this modernization convey ideas that influenced the idea from David Apter. According to Apter, to achieve the ideal of modernization, there are two necessary conditions.
First, one social system to be able to make innovation a regular basis without having a mess in the middle of the road. Second, there is a social framework that can provide the necessary skills and knowledge in technology. Umar Kayam himself later concluded that the social system in the first condition is a system that is able to develop the elements of “old” so it will be possible once the role of art in the tradition of involvement in creating the infra-structure to promote the achievement of minimum conditions offered. While the second condition can be developed more creatively if it will be possible once the traditional art can still be “intervened”.
In theory put forward Apter, it can be concluded shift the community will be better developed if there is a satisfactory dialogue with traditional elements. At the very least a sense of vertigo that occurs due to each too confident with the ideology adopted and the existence of which had in following the developments could eventually meet if it refers to the theoretical composition David Apter. (Kayam, Umar.1981. Seri Esni No.3: Seni, Tradisi, Masyarakat. Jakarta: Pustaka Sinar Harapan.)
Missing Link and the Problem of Existence
Heraclitus said that the real human being broken up with something that is intrinsically close to him so he was always obsessed with finding the missing link back (missing link). William Barrett argued in the happenings of this missing link Existensialism as A Symptom of Man Contempoary Crisis (“Spiritual Problems in Contemporary Literature”, Romain Stanley H. (ed) New York, Harper Torch Book. Pp. 139 so that any attempt to question the meaning and purpose in life within the framework of face to face two cultures that are “fun” is the opposite.
Missing link between popular culture and tradition here when referring to William Barret generally occurs between the dichotomy of materialistic versus idealistic. So difficult to resist in the midst of the crisis that hit the value life, we have experienced changes that tend to rely on the interests of liberal pragmatism. Homo economicus as humanism has influenced the policy holder is not in the competence system.
As a result, everything being measured in economic, as well as the modernization so that cultural products have abandoned the values luhurnya. If cultural tradition of “unwilling” to move from his mistake, while not necessarily popular culture has also left its history so the past is not regarded as a mirror facing the future.
Well, history has bequeathed adiluhung values, but the mistake he had made for example in ways that tend to be feudal and highly patronistik as abandoned so that the cultural tradition that always reminded of our children and grandchildren is his greatness, nor weakness.
Lewis W. Spitz, a professor of history from Stanford University in his essay “Historian and He is the Ancient of” (God and Culture, DA Carson / John D. Woodbridge (ed.), William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Published in Indonesia by Momentum, 2002) had warned that such development of all other human beings, history also requires vision to the front as well as the wisdom of the views of the past.
Well, in between the opposing sides that each has a form of existence. While an existentialist Kierkegaard believes has the absolute truth by leaps he made.
But, if you constantly carry out, nor the continued life is everything in a matter of existence, a professor of philosophy in New York, Professor Sidney Hook said, has set a bad time for yourself. According to Hook to be avoided is the belief in absolute truth. Who would have thought that he has the absolute truth will forget the limits of perspective in order to see or describe something.
Now, the question is now whether we are still busy to forget the limits of that perspective? If yes, until when will we forget?*
doro2020 