The Tale of Inul Daratista:

1
The Tale of Inul Daratista
Islam, popular culture, and the female body in
Indonesia
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Plan of Presentation

• What is Dangdut and Whos Inul Daratista
• Theoretical Background
• Dangdut and Articulation
• Dangdut and Interpretation

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What is Dangdut?

• The predecessor of dangdut is gambus the mix
  between Persian, Arabic and Malay music.
• The term dangdut was defined for the first time,
  espoused by Rhoma Irama in the lyric of a song
  Terajana. Dangdut itself comes from the word
  dang which is identified as the sound of
  kendang (congo) one of the main instrument in
  this music and dut as an exaggerated
  accentuation in the glissandi technique of
  playing kendang.

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• And Inul Daratista is one of female Dangdut
  performer, which is unique for her dancing style
  (ngebor or driling) that became a national
  debate in the early 2003 after her performance in
  a dangdut show in a private TV station.

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• Inuls phenomenon is the background of analysis
  on the problem of articulation of different
  interest groups and the interpretation of the
  issue on popular culture in Indonesia

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Theoretical Background

• Purpose of the paper
• To investigate the relations between dangdut and
  Islam, feminism, and politics, as the problem of
  articulation under changing power structure
• To investigate the problem of articulation of
  those relations abovementioned in the mass media
  in Indonesia

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• Some useful theories
• Hall (2001)
• End of articulation is new political position of
  the subject involved, it is also fluid/changing
  over the time.
• Hobart (1999)
• Articulation becomes social or political acts.
  Mass media in Indonesia, esp TV, has become a
  form of articulation of structure and transform
  it into existence.
• Geertz (2000) and Ricoeur (1979) -_
  Cultural actions as text.

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Dangdut and Articulation

• Issues to be observed
• Morality
• Pornography
• Gender Relation
• Along its history and development, Dangdut is
  always related to controversial social issues

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• Three main interest groups to be observed
• Politicians.
• Islam or Islamic groups.
• Feminists.
• Question Why do those groups, most of which have
  no direct relation to dangdut, take special
  attention to this music?

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• Changing (Political) power structure as backdrop
• from authoritarian Soekarno and Soeharto to
  more democratic post reform administration.
• more diverse subjects that can articulate.
• from state monopoly to more civil society
  voices.

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• Dangdut and Politics
• Soekarnos era
• Dangdut articulated as part of a nationalism
  identity.
• Soehartos era
• It is believed that dangdut is a tool for
  attracting voters.
• After Soeharto era
• Dangdut still believed as a mean to attract the
  masses during the political campaign/vote getter.

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• Dangdut and Islam
• Two opposing view of Islamic clerics
• Rhoma Irama and Conservative vs Less conservative

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• Conservatives view
• Rhoma Irama has been treating dangdut as a medium
  for dakwah.
• The ulema demanded authority to ban her
  performance in order to prevent public morale
  degradation.

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• Rhoma Irama criticised Inuls and some new
  comers dancing style are erotic and
  inappropriate.
• From Kompas Cyber Media (April 29, 2003)
• Remember, millions of Muslims are supporting me
  for jihad if there is a move towards national
  moral degradation. I warn the capitalists behind
  Inul not to make a joke out of it. This may lead
  to a bigger problem.

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• Ulema demanded authority to ban Inuls
  performance in order to prevent public morale
  degradation (her drilling dance style is
  considered pornographic).
• Kompas Cyber Media (May 2, 2003)
• The chairman of Indonesian Ulemas Council,
  Amidhan, argued that entertainment industry has
  shifted the focus of Inul Daratistas drilling
  dance controversy from the issue of eroticism and
  sensuality to the right of expression and
  creation (in art).

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• But, on less conservatives view
• Emha Ainun Najib (Islamic scholar).
• Kompas Cyber Media (May 4, 2003)
• Another unwise action is to put Inul as a target
  for jihad of Pak Haji (Rhoma Irama). Truly, I
  created human being with the tendency for
  impatience. And Pak Haji is indeed impatient.
• KH. Mustofa Bisri (Islamic cleric)
• Kompas Cyber Media (May 2, 2003)
• .one called Islamic is a person who is able to
  act as naturally human being. It means that they
  also practice arts, sports, to have mutual help,
  to love each other, etc. That is Islam.

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• And more political arguments
• Abdurrahman Wahid (the former president and a
  former chairman of NU)
• The Jakarta Post (April 30, 2003)
• those who criticised Inul were misusing
  religious precept as a pretext to suppress
  freedom of expression
• Said Agil Husin Al Munawar (Ministry of
  religious)
• The Jakarta Post (April 30, 2003)
• .the debate around Inul is not unusual in a
  democratic country like Indonesia
• .the pros and cons of Inuls dancing style are
  nothing out of the ordinary expression from the
  public.

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• Dangdut and Feminism female exploitation
• Ceres Pioquinto (1995)
• the economic motive usually leaves aspiring
  dangdut singers vulnerable to exploitation.
• Susan Browne (2000)
• female dangdut performers experience economic
  emancipate as well as social exploitation.

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• Kompas Cyber Media (May 5, 2003)
• Dana Iswara (media expertise)
• traditional religious values and patriarchy
  underpin societal interpretation of the portrayal
  of sexuality and gender in mass media.
• Nuruzzaman (activist NGO)
• Inuls career as a dangdut performer is a form
  of resistance against a patriarchal system in
  society.
• Margaretha Rumayar (woman activist)
• the womens body, which is used in patriarchal
  political system as a media to oppress women.
  This occurred in show business, such as in Inuls
  case.

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• Interview, Kompas Cyber Media (May, 5, 2003)
• Prof. Saparinah Sadli (chairwoman of the National
  Commission for Anti Violence Against Women).
• Inul experienced physical violence (by not
  allowed to perform drilling dance) and
  psycological violence (trauma due to banning her
  performance).
• Such statement is supported by 2 NGOs (Institute
  Ungu and the Indonesian Women Coalition for
  Justice and Democracy) and also the gender
  section office of Ministry of Religious Affair

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• Hj. Rosmaniar Bahar (manager of pondok pesantren)
• Republika online (April 23, 2003)
• ...The controversy led by considerably exessive
  Inuls hips gyrating should not lead to
  controversy and business (comodity), especially
  for males.
• Rismanidar (scholar from IAIN)
• Republika online (April 30, 2003)
• ...It is odd that Inuls impropriate performance
  has become controversy among men.

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• Koffifah Indar Parawansa (former Minister of
  Women Empowerment and the leader of Muslimat NU)
• Kompas Cyber Media, February 19, 2003)
• Due to capitalism, a woman is easily exploited
  without herself feel being exploited. She is even
  happy do this thing (exploitative act). This
  practice can be seen in some ads which shows
  women as their models.

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• Two opposing arguments on dangdut (Inul)
• and feminism
• 1. Inul as an exploited object, by patriarchal
  society.
• 2. Inul, with the help of capitalists, exploits
  herself and her drilling dance.

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• Yet, it is found that, particularly in the post
  reform, that masses do speak up for their own
  opinion toward dangdut, even when the political
  regime is less liberal during Soeharto
  administration.
• Soedomo (Commander for the Restoration of Peace
  Security and Order)
• The presence of the students wasnt because of
  Golkar but because Elvie Sukaesih singing there.
  

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• Nonetheless, the fall of Soehartos regime has
  changed the way the public reacts to certain
  issues
• Kompas Cyber Media (June 13, 2003)
• Although there is a demonstration by 200 people
  named the Islamic Society Forum Against Moral
  Degradation against Inuls performance before the
  public in South Jakarta celebrating Jakartas 476
  anniversary, Inuls fans were not disturbed and
  prevented by that demonstration.
• Her next show in central Jakarta, protests from
  the Mosque Sukapura Society Forum failed to stop
  the show. Instead, the show was so crowded that
  many people had to stand in the vegetable field
  surrounding the stage.

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• Direct interviews of some Inuls drilling dance
  fans conducted by The Jakarta Post shows that for
  them there is nothing wrong with this dance
  style.
• Kartoyo,21, employee of the city Public Order
  Office.
• Inuls dancing is more aerobic-like than
  eroticWatching her perform, the stress of a full
  workday disappears.
• Nurjaya, 30, is a motorcycle taxi (ojek) driver
• there is nothing wrong with her performance
  dangdut is in the hearts of the poor people
  because we need to relax after going through the
  hardship of daily life.
• Meriem,45, manager at a star rated hotel
• it would be better not to use religious
  viewpoint when regarding entertainment

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Dangdut and Media Interpretation

• On Inul highly active media coverage in the
  early 2003 on Inul (newspaper, TVs)
• But the media is dominated by the certain
  authorities Misrepresentation
• Elite Politicians.
• Elite Muslim clerics.
• Scholars.
• Famous artists.

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• From the newspapers
• Rhoma Irama in Kompas Cyber Media (April 29,
  2003)
• Abdurrahman Wahid (the former president and a
  former chairman of NU)
• TheJakarta Post (April 30, 2003)
• Prof. Saparinah Sadli (chairwoman of the National
  Commission for Anti Violence Against Women).
  Interview in Kompas Cyber Media (May, 5, 2003)

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• It also brings problem of presupposition
• For example Mochtar W. Oetomo (a lecturer of
  Fikom Unitomo and the director of Surabaya Media
  School)
• Kompas Cyber Media (May 2, 2003)
• Inuls style phenomenon will be automatically
  vanished without any repressive action when
  society is already intelligent enough to
  interpret a social text. Here is the substantial
  problem, that is, how to develop a (social)
  construction that enables the mass to have a
  textual ability as a reader.
• Problems what is intelligent enough? According
  
• to who?

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Conclusions

• The Inul controversy in Indonesia shows that
• The articulation is a keep-on-changing process
  given the change of power structure, as well as
  to shape the new political position of the
  subjects involved (moslem clerics, feminist,
  etc).
• Media coverage suffers the problems of
  misrepresentation problems of
  presupposition and distortion.