PEMILIHAN DENOK DAN KENANG SEMARANG 2010

Ikutilah pemilihan Denok dan Kenang Semarang 2010 Grand Final diadakan di Kawasan Tugu Muda Semarang, 1 Mei 2010 Pukul 18.00 s/d Selesai Memperebutkan Trophy Bergilir Walikota Semarang & Trophy Juara + Uang Pembinaan Juara 1 @ Rp. 2.500.000,- Juara 2 @ Rp. 2.000.000,- Juara 3 @ Rp. 1.000.000,- Pendaftaran Mulai 15 Maret 2010 Dinas Kebudayaan Dan Pariwisata Kota Semarang Gd. Pandanaran Lt. 8 Jl. Pemuda No. 175 – Telp. (024) 70413199 Totok Shahak Modelling School Jl. Mangga VI / 61 – Telp. (024) 8312427 Sanggar Kamala 73 Jl. Parang Kesit Raya 3, Tlogosari – Telp. (024) 6715749 Persyaratan Peserta - Putra-putri usia 17 tahun s/d 25 tahun - Tinggi Badan Putra 170 cm, Putri 160 cm - Biaya Pendaftaran Rp. 75.000,- (Tujuh Puluh Lima Ribu Rupiah) mendapat T-Shirt - Mendapat Ijin orang tua - Mendapat Ijin dari sekolah - Menyerahkan 1 lembar Foto Close Up berwarna Uk. Post Card AUDISI Minggu, 18 April 2010 DP Mall Semarang Jam 13.00 WIB WAWANCARA Minggu, 18 April 2010 DP Mall Semarang Jam 15.00 WIB GRAND FINAL 1 Mei 2010 Pukul 18.30 WIB s/d selesai Sabtu Kawasan Tugu Muda Semarang.

EMPAT PENDEKATAN DALAM MELIHAT ARTIFAK BUDAYA

Menurut Pak Jonathan Moore, seorang pengajar dari Amerika Serikat, ada empat pendekatan yang dapat digunakan dalam melihat suatu artifak:

1. Fenomenologis (phenonemonoligacal):

Cara ini lebih menekankan fenomena-fenomena seputar artifak dan menjawab pertanyaan 5W 1H (what, where, when, why, who dan how).

2. Ideologis (Ideological)

Cara ini melihat ideologi/ pesan/ gagasan yang disampaikan dalam artifak

3. Moral (Ethical)

Cara ini memberikan penilaian tentang baik-buruk dan benar-salahnya sebuah artifak

4. Selebratoris (Celebratory)

Cara ini melihat adanya kesenangan atau sensasi yang ditimbulkan saat seseorang menggunakan atau berhubungan dengan sebuah artifak

Contoh:

Dalam melihat majalah Playboy, yang sering dianggap sebagai artifak kebudayaan Barat khususnya Amerika Serikat, kita dapat menggunakan keempat pendekatan tersebut dengan cara berikut:

1. Fenomenologis:

Di sini kita dapat melihat fenomena-fenomena seputar sejarah perkembangan Playboy, isi majalah, pangsa pasar, dan tingkat pembelian.

2. Ideolologis (Ideological):

Melalui pendekatan ini kita dapat melihat ’pesan-pesan’ yang ingin disampaikan sender dalam hal ini produsen atau redaktur Playboy kepada receiver atau konsumen, misalnya—seperti yang sering dipersepsikan banyak pihak: nilai-nilai hedonisme, seksualitas, dsb.

3. Moral (Ethical):

Dalam pendekatan ini terjadi penilaian baik-buruk atau benar-salahnya Playboy. Yang perlu diingat adalah kita harus tahu penilaian ini dibuat dari sudut pandang mana karena pebedaan sudut pandang dapat menyebabkan perbedaan penilaian. Contoh: beberapa kalangan akan menilai kevulgaran Playboy dalam menampilkan foto-foto modelnya sebagai sesuatu yang buruk yang ’membahayakan moralitas bangsa’ sementara di sisi lain ada yang menilai hal ini biasa saja dengan alasan sebagai sebuah bentuk kebebasan berekspresi.

4. Selebratoris (Celebratory)

Di sini kita melihat adanya sensasi yang timbul saat seseorang membaca Playboy. Pendekatan ini sering kali diidentikkan dengan loyalitas. Misalnya ada orang yang lebih memilih untuk membeli Playboy daripada majalah sejenis yang harganya jauh lebih murah karena ada kepuasan tersendiri saat dia membeli Playboy.

ITALIAN VALUES vs AMERICAN VALUES IN “OUR ITALIAN HUSBAND”

By: Pratama Yoga Nugroho*

In analyzing a movie to find certain facts about certain entities, one has to be very careful in determining whether some facts have correlation with the given entities or even do not have anything to do at all with them. Specifically speaking, in differing American values from Italian values based on the movie ‘Our Italian Husband”, we have to recognize first what American and Italian values are. If we do so by analyzing the acts of certain characters in the movie, then we have to be careful in differentiate whether a character performs an action due to his or her personal trait as an individual or due to his or her culture as a part of a cultural group. This way will enable us to avoid hasty generalization, one thing that we really have to avoid in perceiving people from different culture.

However, if we are allowed to draw a conclusion about what people of certain culture do or how they do something based on what certain characters in the movie do in the belief that the characters in the movie represent people of certain culture in general, then that is what this paper going to do. Here we will analyze Italian values based on what character Maria does and American values from what character Charlene does then we will compare the two of them to find the differences.

Throughout the movie, the writer finds two major differences between Maria, representing Italian women, and Charlene, representing American women. These two major differences that really differentiate them one another are: attitude toward the members of the family and loyalty.

As the movie begins, we witness that Maria has remarkable dedication to her family. This is shown by her hard effort to earn money by making and selling shoes. She also demonstrates lovely, caring attitudes toward her children. In the other hand, Charlene is more of a spoiled woman that reluctantly works to help Vincenzo. Her attitude toward her daughter, Bibi, is not that of Maria. Often times we see her shout at Bibi, something that Maria never does to her children even in a very harsh situation.

The other difference is their loyalty. In the beginning of the movie, we see that Don Pepino tries to seduce Maria and even proposes to marry her. He seems to try to get her by all means such as isolating Maria from contact with Vincenzo by taking away all Vincenzo’s letters to Maria, promising to cancel all Maria’s debt to him, and even putting a wedding ring to Maria’s wedding finger. However, Maria resists all those forms of seduction and prefers to be loyal to Vincenzo by rejecting Don Peipno’s offers, throwing away the ring to the sea, and keeping on saying, “I have a husband.”

In the other hand, Charlene shows a different attitude. In the first parts of the movie, she seems to be possessive of Vincenzo. However, in the last parts of the movie, we see that she increasingly gets closer to Raul/ Ralph. Then there are two scenes that really prove Charlene’s closeness with Raul. First is when Maria is making a call, we see that Charlene and Raul kiss one another. The second one is when both of them together. Considering the fact that the movie does not tell us Charlene’s divorce with Vincenzo, it is clear that Charlene has performed an act of cheating while she is still Vincenzo’s wife. Thus, it is clear that Charlene’s loyalty to her husband, Vincenzo, is not as strong as Maria’s.

*: Pratama Yoga Nugroho, a student of English Department, Faculty of Humanities, Diponegoro University, Semarang

PERKEMBANGAN SASTRA ASSALAAM TAHUN 1999-2006

Saat kita berbicara tentang perkembangan sastra di Assalaam*, kita akan berbicara tentang seubuah perkembangan evolutif yang lebih cenderung bersifat seperti mode. Perkembangan ini menyangkut animo santri terhadap dunia sastra termasuk di dalamnya minat untuk membaca dan menghasilkan karya sastra. Animo ini selalu berubah hampir tiap tahunnya dan menyematkan kesan tersendiri pada tahun-tahun tersebut.

Perkembangan sastra antara tahun 1999 dan 2006 menunjukkan pasang surut yang mengesankan, menyedihkan, dan bahkan mengejutkan banyak pihak. Semuanya dimulai pada tahun. Tahun itu adalah maraknya cerpen-cerpen Islami bertemakan epos dan bersetting di daerah-daerah konflik yang melibatkan umat Islam. Buku-buku epik karya Helvy Tiana Rosa, Asma Nadia, dan Izzatul Jannah ramai membanjiri Assalaam. Saat itu antologi cerpen seperti ‘Hingga Batu Bicara’ dan ‘Manusia-Manusia Langit’ sudah sangat familiar bagi santri. Pada tahun ini setiap kali diadakan perlombaan cerpen, mayoritas naskah yang masuk adalah cerpen epik yang bertemakan jihad dalam bentuk perjuangan fisik dengan setting di Maluku, Chechnya, Kosovo, Bosnia, dan Andalusia.

Hingga dua tahun berikutnya, epik Islami masih merupakan style yang dominan di Assalaam. Bahkan pada masa ini sempat didatangkan Galang Lutfiyanto dan Asma Nadia untuk mengisi workshop sastra di lantai dua kantor Assalaam.

Pada tahun ajaran 2003/ 2004, ada semacam usaha dari beberapa santru untuk menggunakan sastra sebagai sarana penyampaian empati dan kritik sosial. Di periode yang sama, ada juga usaha untuk mengalihkan kiblat sastra Assalaam dari style epik Islami ke style yang lebih ‘berat, netral, dan varatif.’ Hal ini ditandai dengan terbtnya dua cerpen tentang pendidikan di majalah Karnisa edisi 31.

Cerpen yang masing-masing berjudul ‘Joko’ dan ‘G U Gu R U Ru’ tersebut merupakan refleksi dari kepedulian santri akan fenomena sosial tentang pendidikan. Kedua cerpen tersebut juga membuang jauh-jauh tema cinta yang sebelumnya selalu menghiasi cerpen-cerpen di Karnisa. Singkatnya, kedua cerpen tersebut lebih merupakan refleksi social awareness daripada ‘promosi pengalaman cinta.’

Tahun ajaran selanjutnya , 2003/ 2004, usaha pemindahan kiblat sastra Assalaam benar-benar sangat intens. Hal ini ditandai dengan lebih didengungkannya nama sastrawan-sastrawan seperti Seno Gumira Ajidarma dan Danarto daripada Helvy Tiana Rosa dan Asma Nadia. Cerpen-cerpen mereka yang cenderung lebih ‘berat dan sekuler’ lebih banyak diekspos di tengah-tengah santri. Di tahun ini, juga sempat muncul rencana mendatangkan salah satu sastrawan besar Indonesia, Afrizal Malna, namun sayang rencana ini gagal direalisasikan.

Aroma sastra di tahun ini juga cenderung bersifat progresif dan radikal. Satu hal yang cukup fenomenal di tahun ini adalah dibredelnya cerpen ‘Pada Sebuah Malam di Kantor Guru Putra’ dari majalah Karnisa edisi 33. Cerpen yang sebelumnya diharapkan mampu melanjutkan proses pemindahan kiblat sastra di Assalaam ini divonis ‘terlarang’ oelh asatidz. Pembredelan tersebut merupakan tamparan keras bagi dunia kesusasteraan Assalaam dan mengecewakan banyak pihak tentunya.

Selanjutnya, tahun ajaran 2004/2005, dibentuk Forum Lingkar Pena Assalaam yang berafilisi pada Forum Lingkar Pena Solo. Sayang, sepak terjang forum ini kurang begitu terasa sehingga pembentukannya terkesan seperti hanya sebuah formalitas.

Di tahun ajaran 2005/2006, terjadi fenomena yang cukup mengejutkan. Novel-novel teen literature (teen lit). Novel-novel teen lit sangat marak di kehidupan santri. Karya sastra bacaan santri tiap harinya tidak jauh-jauh dari novel-novel semacam Friendster Freaks. Ironisnya, style ‘berat, netral, dan variatif’ pun mulai hilang. Dengung nama Seno Gumira, Danarto, dan Afrizal Malna mulai jarang terdengar bahkan hilang sama sekali. Cerpen-cerpen yang mengambil tema sosial dengan aliran semacam realsime dan supernaturalisme sudah mulai jarang ditemukan.

Tidak bisa dipungkiri memang bahwa perkembangan sastra di Assalaam akan selalu menghadirkan style baru yang menggantikan style lama. Sastra sekarang memang sudah segmented, kata Ayos Purwoaji, salah satu pegiat dan pemerhati sastra di Assalaam, namun apapun yang terjadi, penulis berharap suatu saat nanti muncul sastrawan-sastrawan sekaliber Pramoedya Ananta Toer dan Taufik Ismail dari Assalaam. Anda sanggup menjadi sebesar mereka?

*: Pondok Pesantren Modern Islam Assalaam, Pabelan, Kartaura, Sukoharjo,

Jawa Tengah.

URGENSI PENGAJARAN KEWARGANEGARAAN DI JENJANG PERGURUAN TINGGI

Oleh: Pratama Yoga Nugroho*

Perang Dingin antara Blok Barat dan Blok Timur yang berlangsung sejak tahun 1945 secara tak terduga berakhir pada tahun 1991. Hal ini ditandai dengan beberapa momentum yang terjadi di negara-negara eks-komunis seperti digulingkannya diktator-diktator di Romania, Hungaria, dan Bulgaria, dirobohkannya Tembok Berlin, dan yang paling menentukan adalah runtuhnya Uni Soviet, negara sentral komunisme, pada tahun 1991.

Perang Dingin yang berlangsung selama beberapa dekade telah memanaskan suhu dunia dan menciptakan sebuah medan pertempuran politis, ideologis, kultural, dan militeristik. Namun setelah perang tersebut berakhir, dunia seolah mengalami kevakuman. Kemunculam Amerika Serikat sebagai satu-satunya negara adikuasa yang selama Perang Dingin yang mempromosikan liberalisme dan kapitalisme secara psikologis menempatkan negara tersebut sebagai satu-satunya yang dapat mengatur dunia tanpa perlawanan dari negara manapun. Pasca Perang Dingin, Amerika Serikat dan negara-negara sekutunya dengan gencar mengampanyekan demokrasi, penegakan HAM, dan sistem pasar bebas ke negara-negara eks-komunis dan Dunia Ketiga, sebagai ‘pengisi kevakuman’ pasca Perang Dingin.

Namun pada praktiknya, kampanye tersebut menimbulkan ketidakpuasan dari masyarakat internasional manakala Amerika Serikat memaksakan kehendaknya sendiri dan menerapkan standar ganda. Hal ini dapat dengan mudah kita lihat pada perlakuannya terhadap Israel, Irak, Iran, dan Korea Utara. Isu-isu globalisasi yang mencakup HAM, demokrasi, liberalisasi, perdamaian dunia, dan lingkungan hidup kerap kali digunakan untuk menyudutkan dan mendiskreditkan bangsa dan negara lain.

Dalam kehidupan sosial, politik, dan budaya, globalisasi yang didengungkan negara-negara maju secara langsung maupun tidak langsung banyak berpengaruh pada tatanan sosial, politik, dan budaya bangsa lain termasuk Indonesia dan jelas akan berpengaruh pada kondisi spiritual bangsa. Untuk Indonesia, saat ini bangsa dan negara setidaknya dihadapkan pada tiga permasalahan utama, antara lain: pertama, tantangan dan mainstream globalisasi; kedua, permasalahan-permasalahan internal seperti korupsi, destabilisasi, separatisme, disintegrasi, dan terorisme; dan ketiga, penjagaan agar ‘roh’ dan semangat reformasi tetap berjalan pada relnya (on the right track).

Permasalahan pertama dan kedua lebih didominasi oleh eksekutif dan legislatif sementara permasalahan ketiga hendaknya dijawab oleh setiap elemen masyarakat. Pemberdayaan elemen masyarakat, khususnya elemen civitas academica, dapat dilakukan dengan pengajaran civic education atau Pendidikan Kewarganegaraan. Pengajaran tersebut diharapkan dapat membangkitkan dan meningkatkan kesadaran siswa dan mahasiswa akan permasalahan-permasalahan yang dihadapi bangsa dan negara. Implementasi dari kesadaran tersebut dapat dilihat dari kontribusi dan partisipasi aktif mereka dalam usaha meningkatkan kualitas kehidupan sosial, politik, dan budaya bangsa dan negara secara keseluruhan.

Pengajaran Kewarganegaraan di Indonesia, dan di negara-negara Asia pada umumnya, lebih ditekankan pada aspek moral (karakter individu), kepentingan komunal, identitas nasional, dan perspektif internasional. Hal ini cukup berbeda dengan Pendidikan Kewarganegaraan di Amerika dan Australia yang lebih menekankan pada pentingnya hak dan tanggung jawab individu serta sistem dan proses demokrasi, HAM dan ekonomi pasar.

Pengajaran Pendidikan Kewarganegaraan di semua jenjang pendidikan di Indonesia adalah implementasi dari UU No. 2 Tahun 1989 tentang Sistem Pendidikan Nasional Pasal 9 ayat (2) yang menyatakan bahwa setiap jenis, jalur, dan jenjang pendidikan di Indonesia Pendidikan Pancasila, Pendidikan Agama, dan Pendidikan Kewarganegaraan.

Di tingkat Pendidikan Dasar hingga Menengah, substansi Pendidikan Kewarganegaraan digabungkan dengan Pendidikan Pancasila sehingga menjadi Pendidikan Pancasila dan Kewarganegaraan (PPKn). Untuk Perguruan Tinggi Pendidikan Kewarganegaraan diajarkan sebagai MKPK (Mata Kuliah Pengembangan Kepribadian).

Kompetensi yang diharapkan dari mata kuliah Pendidikan Kewarganegaraan antara lain:

a. agar mahasiswa mampu menjadi warga negara yang memiliki pandangan dan komitmen terhadap nilai-nilai demokrasi dan HAM.

b. agar mahasiswa mampu berpartisipasi dalam upaya mencegah dan menghentikan berbagai tindak kekerasan dengan cara cerdas dan damai.

c. agar mahasiswa memilik kepedulian dan mampu berpartisipasi dalam upaya menyelesaikan konflik di masyarakat dengan dilandasi nilai-nilai moral, agama, dan nilai-nilai universal.

d. agar mahasiwa mampu berpikir kritis dan objektif terhadap persoalan kenegaraan, HAM, dan demokrasi.

e. agar mahasiswa mampu memberikan kontribusi dan solusi terhadap berbagai persoalan kebijakan publik.

f. agar mahasiswa mampu meletakkan nilai-nilai dasar secara bijak (berkeadaban).

* Pratama Yoga Nugroho: mahasiswa Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya,

Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang.

Factors of Religiosity

By: Pratama Yoga Nugroho*

According to Emile Durkheim, a prominent expert on psychology, one can be religious or acts religiously due to two factors: internal and external factors. As a psychologist, he used psychological approach to define human religious behavior as he considered human psychology strongly related to religious behavior. Those two factors influence human growth and process of maturity as human grows from a baby to an old person.

Internal factors may include the needs for satisfaction of mental interests and philosophical deliberation. One may see religion not only disposes human transcendental, vertical relation with God but also plays important role as vision of life (weltanschauung). Since religion teaches peace, morality, and harmony with God, mankind, and the universe, one may demonstrate religious attitudes as implementation of desire for peaceful and delighting life.

Philosophical deliberation frequently involves in making a person religious. Thought about who created the sun, the moon, the earth, who keeps the universe running in its harmony, who determines life and death often comes to one’s mind. As one needs satisfying answer to those questions, such questions often lead human minds to deep deliberation over the existence of the most powerful entity called God. Human belief in the existence of God often demands worship and services as the responsibilities of ‘the created’ to the Creator.

External factors include parental, educational, and environmental factors. A person raised in a religious family will definitely differ from that which is raised in a non-religious or secular family. The values and norms, along with religiosity, set in a family would strongly influence one’s mind during his/her growth. Of course, this would affect his/her mindset so that he/she becomes religious or acts religiously.

Educational factor is also one of the most influential factors. We can see the influence of educational factor in Islamic boarding school which is often called pesantren. Since santri (students of pesantren) have to learn the academic matters of pesantren which dominantly consists of Islamic teachings including Islamic belief, laws, morality, in addition to the global knowledge, the principles and attitudes of santri would mostly be much different to those of non-pesantren students.

Besides religious education, pesantren also provides religious environment. All behaviors and attitudes of all elements of pesantren must be conducted in conformity with Islamic rules. This will certainly make santri accustomed to Islamic behavior and attitudes or in other words acting religiously. Here we can see that environment is strongly capable of making someone religious.

Considering all points above, we might want to contemplate on one’s or even our own religiosity. We might observe which factors have been dominant in making us a religious person. As religion is the most important way to implement our devotion to our Creator, it is important to know how religious we are, what will probably make us more religious, and then increase our religiosity.

* Pratama Yoga Nugroho: a student of English Department, Faculty of Letters, Diponegoro

University, Semarang.

Wong Ndeso Tetapi Tidak Ndeso, Wong Kota Tetapi Ndeso

Pernah mendengar lagu berjudul Wong Ndeso yang dipopulerkan oleh Thukul Arwana? Lagu tersebut liriknya sebagai berikut:

Puas? Puas?

Yo wis ben wong arep ngomong opo

Yo wis ben aku ini memang wong ndeso

Yo wis ben arep ngomong empat mata

Yo wis ben sing penting ora kalah karo wong kota

You wis ben wong arep ngomong opo

Puas? Puas?

Ndeso, ndeso, tapi ra popo rejekine kutho

Memang tampang aku katrok

Tapi rejekine kota

Tampang nggak jadi ukuran

Kadang wajah kota rejekine ndeso

Pancen aku wong ndeso

Soal cinta aku Romeo

Buanyak cewek sing trisno

Tapi ora tak pikiri tak sobek-sobek masa bodoh

Just kidding, just for laugh

You wis ben wong arep ngomong opo

Dasar wong ndeso, tapi rejekine kutho

No problem, never mind, never mind

Memang tampang aku katrok

Tapi rejekine kota

Tampang dadi ukuran

Kadang wajah kota rejekine ndeso

Pancen aku wong ndeso

Soal cinta aku Romeo

Buanyak cewek sing trisno

Tapi ra tak pikirin tak sobek-sobek masa bodoh

Yo wis ben wong arep ngomong opo

Yo wis ben aku ini memang wong ndeso

Yo wis ben arep ngomong empat mata

Yo wis ben sing penting ora kalah karo wong kota

2x

Beberapa bulan yang lalu lagu ini sempat booming terutama di daerah Jawa Tengah. penikmatnya mulai dari anak SD dan tukang becak hingga mahasiswa dan kalangan profesional, baik orang kota maupun wong ndeso. Yang menarik bagi saya dari lagu ini adalah kejujuran penyanyi, dalam hal ini Thukul Arwana, dalam mengakui dan meng-explore ke-ndeso-annya, atau kenyataan bahwa dia adalah wong ndeso, usahanya dalam meruntuhkan stereotip (breaking down the stereotype) terhadap wong ndeso, dan fenomena sosiolinguistik dalam masyarakat yang terrefleksikan dalam lirik lagunya.

Secara terminologi, kata wong ndeso berarti orang yang tinggal atau berasal dari desa. Dalam konteks interaksi sosial, makna kata “ndeso” meluas menjadi sifat atau karakter yang kampungan, dalam artian jauh dari anggapan kepatutan umum (public decency) sebagai indah atau bagus. Kata “ndeso” mencakup segi fisik, ekonomi, fashion, dan ide. Sering kita dengar di masyarakat kalimat-kalimat seperti “Tampange kok ndeso banget to?”, ”Penampilane kok ndeso ngono?”, “Cara berpikire wong ndeso iki.” Tentu ini merupakan sebuah stigmasi pada orang-orang yang tinggal atau berasal dari desa.

Dalam lagu ini, Thukul juga menyebut kata kota sebagai kata adjektif sekaligus antonim kata ndeso. Di sini, kata “wong ndeso” dibenturkan dengan kata “wong kota”, dan kata “rejekine kota” dibenturkan dengan “rejekine ndeso” hingga kesan yang ada adalah wong kota adalah orang yang tidak kampungan atau memiliki sifat yang berkebalikan dari sifat wong ndeso, dan “rejekine kota” mengandung makna rezeki yang tidak kampungan, dalam artian melimpah baik dalam kualitas maupun kuantitas. Maka beruntunglah wong ndeso yang hidup di kota, karena mereka kecipratan pelabelan positif terhadap wong kota.

Menurut saya, pelabelan “ndeso” pada orang-orang yang kampungan secara fisik, ekonomi, fashion, dan ide, dan “kota” pada orang yang sebaliknya, berawal dari perbedaan persepsi terhadap orang desa dan orang kota secara umum. Orang kota, menurut paradigma orang desa, biasanya kaya, berpenampilan bagus, dan pintar. Begitu juga sebaliknya, orang kota biasanya menganggap orang desa kurang mampu secara ekonomi, berpenampilan seadanya, dan memiliki tingkat intelektualitas dan intelegensi yang rendah. Pada akhirnya persepsi dari paradigma ini digunakan publik secara luas baik di desa maupun di kota hingga meluaslah penggunaan label “ndeso” dan “kota.”

Sebenarnya kalau kita mau melihat lebih dalam, ada generalisasi pada pelabelan ini. Kenyataannya, tidak semua orang desa memiliki sifat seperti di atas. Kita tidak bisa memungkiri fakta bahwa banyak juga orang desa yang kaya, berpenampilan bagus, dan memiliki intelektualitas dan intelegensi yang tinggi. Begitu juga dengan orang kota, realitas di lapangan yang menyajikan wajah kemiskinan di pemukiman-pemukiman kumuh di kota-kota besar bahkan dapat menunjukkan sifat-sifat kampungan yang sebenarnya.

Lantas, pantaskah kita beranggapan bahwa orang desa itu pasti “ndeso” dan orang kota itu pasti “kota”? Yang harus kita lakukan selanjutnya adalah membedakan wong ndeso dan wong sing ndeso (orang desa dan orang yang ndeso atau kampungan) lalu, bisakah anda bayangkan sosok seorang wong ndeso yang tidak ndeso dan seorang wong kota yang ndeso?

Sebuah Catatan Kecil dari DIFEST EDSA

Hari ini tadi (Rabu 31 Maret 2010) EDSA ngadain DIFEST (Discussion for English Students) jam 4 sore sampai selesai. DIFEST sendiri merupakan program tiap semester yang mengundang elemen jurusan (dosen) dan mahasiswa untuk membahas hal-hal seputar akademis dan kemahasiswaan di jurusan Sastra Inggris UNDIP.

Ada satu hal yang menggelitik saya disini: tingkat partisipasi mahasiswa sangat-sangat jauh dari yang diharapkan. Saya tidak sedang mendiskreditkan panitia. Saya juga pernah menjadi bagian dari panitia DIFEST sewaktu saya masih menjabat ketua EDSA tahun lalu jadi saya yakin panita sudah melakukan yang terbaik untuk mempersiapkan acara ini, termasuk dalam aspek publikasi dalam bentuk--yang saya tahu--penyebaran pamflet, undangan ke komting angkatan, mouth-to-mouth-maupun sms. Minimnya tingkat partisipasi mahasiswa di sini di satu sisi saya rasa berkaitan erat dengan antusiasme mahasiswa pada dunia organisasi, meski saya akui banyak aktivis yang saat acara berlangsung sibuk dengan kegiatan mereka sendiri yang tidak kalah pentingnya. Mungkin sudah menjadi rahasia umum bahwa mahasiswa jurusan saya (di sini saya membuat genelarisasi) tidak begitu antusias meggeluti dunia tersebut. Awalnya saya mencoba untuk berpikir positif (husnud dzhon). Mungkin mereka sibuk dengan aktivitas lainnya, bekerja paruh waktu misalnya. Namun setelah saya amati, aktivitas mereka rata-rata tidak seperti apa yang diwanti-wanti oleh dosen sewaktu PMB, tidak jauh-jauh dari 3K: kos-kampus-kantin.

Pernah saya melakukan survey kecil-kecilan. Saya tanyakan kepada beberapa mahasiswa dengan prestasi akademis yang cukup bagus, dibuktikan dengan IP yang rata-rata di atas 3, 5 setiap semesternya: setelah lulus mau kerja dimana? Saya cukup terkejut melihat jawaban mereka: rata-rata dari mereka belum tahu kemana harus melangkah setelah wisuda. Kemudian saya tanyakan lagi:"Lah, lha kamu ngapain selama ini belajar sungguh-sungguh dan mengejar IP yang begitu tinggi?" Mendengar pertanyaan itu, beberapa dari mereka terdiam. Ada juga yang menjawab, "Ya...aku sekarang hidup untuk hari ini Mas. Belum kepikiran hari esok mo ngapain?" Perasaan saya campur aduk mendengar statemen seperti ini. Saya memilih diam, mencoba untuk menghormati mereka,, namun di benak saya muncul banyak pertanyaan: Apakah mereka tidak memiliki visi misi hidup yang jelas? Apakah mereka tahu berapa jumlah sarjana yang lulus dan menganggur setiap tahunnya? Apakah mereka tidak sadar bahwa kompetisi untuk mencari kerja (jika berpikir sebagai job-seeker) sangat kompetitif? Bahwa untuk bisa mendapatkan pekerjaan yang kita inginkan, prestasi akademis saja tidak cukup? bahwa kita juga butuh softskill, yang tidak kita dapatkan di kuliah? Apakah di perkuliahan kita mendapatkan materi kepemimpinan, manajemen rapat, manajemen konflik, teknik lobying, public speaking, dsb? Apakah hal-hal seperti itu tidak pernah terlintas pada benak mereka. Saya rasa wajar kalo kemudian atmosfir organisasi di fakultas saya baik di tingkat jurusan maupun fakultas tidak seperti di fakultas-fakultas lainnya.

Temuan dari hasil survey saya ini klop dengan informasi-informasi yang diberikan senior saya sewaktu saya masih semester awal, meski info tersebut hanya sebatas pada fakta bahwa mahasiswa di fakultas saya tidak antusias pada dunia organisasi dan 'tidak peka pada kondisi sekitar.' Untuk fakta kedua (tidak peka pada kondisi sekitar) mungkin bisa sedikit diperdebatkan. Sering saya mendengar mahasiswa dengan berapi-api mempertanyakan hal-hal seputar kampus yang menurut mereka perlu diperbaiki, sebut saja dana MAPIDA, KRS online, ruang kuliah, bla bla bla. Saya hargai kepekaan dan kepedulian mereka pada hal-hal tsb, tapi mereka kurang satu: action! Lihat saja, pada acara sambung rasa dengan dekanat, dimana mahasiswa bisa menyampaikan dan mengomunikasikan uneg-uneg kita pada segenap pihak di tingkat fakultas, berapa mahasiswa yang hadir? Pertanyaannya, apakah ngedumel di belakang saja sudah bisa memecahkan masalah-masalah yang mereka keluhkan tsb? Apakah pihak dekanat bisa tahu bahwa kita memiliki concern-concern demi kemajuan fakultas kita tercinta tanpa kita beri tahu? Kenyataannya mereka tidak memiliki indra keenam yang memungkinkan mereka bisa membaca pikiran kita. Kalo kita punya uneg-uneg, sampaikan saja. Saya rasa pihak dekanat juga sangat terbuka pada masukan-masukan yang disampaikan mahasiswa. Berkali-kali saya ngobrol dengan Pak Dekan dan para pembantunya tentang kondisi di fakultas kita dan mereka sangat menghargai masukan-masukan tersebut (terlepas dari realisasinya bagaimana).

Di tingkat jurusan sama saja. Begitu saya mendapat undangan DIFEST dalam kapasitas saya sebagai salah satu (mantan) komting 2006, saya langsung beri tahu teman-teman saya, tidak terbatas pada angkatan 2006, tentang acara ini baik via sms maupun ketemu langsung. Saya teringat mereka-mereka yang sering mengeluh tentang isu-isu pada tingkat jurusan: KKP, KKL, sistem pengajaran dsb. Saya berharap mereka akan datang dan menyampaikan uneg-uneg tersebut tapi waktu saya datang di acara, saya jadi berpikir mungkin saya terlalu banyak membuang waktu, energi, dan pulsa saya pada hal-hal yang sia-sia. Poinnya sama: mereka boleh saja koar-koar ga suka ini lah, ga suka itu lah, ininya ga jelas lah, itunya kok kayak gini lah, but mereka butuh action! Salah satunya dengan menyampaikan hal tersebut melalui acara yang difasilitasi EDSA ini. Kalo pun ga bisa datang, at least sampaikan uneg-uneg tersebut kepada pihak jurusan secara independen, tapi apakah mereka pernah melakukannya?

Saya jadi teringat seorang teman yang menyatakan kekecewaannya pada konsep KKP yang akan dia ikuti. Dengan sedikit memelas, dia bercerita tentang keluh-kesahnya pada program pengganti KKN tersebut. Saya yang saat itu tidak ingin terjebak oleh argumentun ad misericordiam menjawab, "Ya disampaikan saja to. Kalo ga disampaikan, bagaimana pihak jurusan bisa tahu?" Mendengar jawaban itu, dia menyahut,"Ah ga ah. Kamu aja, Pak." Waktu itu saya hanya tersenyum, lalu berkata,"Ya udah. Kalo ga mau, ya ga da yang bakal nyampein." Masalah tentang KKP ini mungkin bisa dibahas di note lain. Sedikit banyak saya mengikuti perkembangannya, mulai dari mendengarkan cerita-cerita dari senior sampai cerita-cerita dari beberapa teman yang berinisiatif mengadakan forum dengan pihak jurusan tapi ga jadi gara-gara kurang dukungan dari teman-teman seangkatan (bukan dalam arti mereka tidak setuju namun karena enggan bergabung untuk melaksanakan forum tersebut).

Kasus-kasus lain mencakup beberapa dosen yang opresif, yang sering memarahi (dan mempermalukan mahasiswa dengan ucapan-ucapan seperti, "Kamu semester berapa sih kok kayak gini ja ga bisa?), dosen yang seenaknya memberi tugas dadakan tanpa ada pemberitahuan di pertemuan sebelumnya dan kemudian nilai dari tugas tsb dijadikan nilai akhir yang mengakibatkan banyak mahasiswa yang kebetulan tidak datang di kelas jatuh nilainya, dan lain sebagainya. Saya tidak sedang mengkritik dosen-dosen tersebut, mungkin beliau-beliau punya alasan melakukan hal tersebut, namun saya lebih menekankan pada mahasiswa yang hanya diam melihat hal-hal yang menurut mereka tidak adil itu terjadi. Kalo menurut kalian itu ga adil, merugikan, dan perlu diperbaiki, ya disampaikan saja. Meminjam istilah Soe Hok Gie, dosen bukan dewa yang selalu benar, dan mahasiswa bukan kerbau. Da juga motto aktivis-aktivis,"If you don't take action, nothing happens. If you take action, a miracle happens".

Mungkin kepercayaan diri dan keberanian menyuarakan pendapat masih merupakan hal langka bagi mahasiswa di fakultas saya. Tengok saja tiap kali ada presentasi di kelas dan tiba waktunya untuk tanya jawab, berapa yang angkat tangan? Masalahnya, di fakultas tempat kita menimba ilmu tidak ada mata kuliah yang membahas hal-hal tersebut. Tidak ada mata kuliah yang mengajarkan bagaimana cara membangun kepercayaan diri dan bagaimana caranya bisa berani menyampaikan pendapat. Kalo ada teman-teman yang bilang saya berani menyuarakan aspirasi dan--menurut sebagian dari mereka--frontal mengkritik dosen dan birokrat, keberanian untuk melakukan hal tersebut saya dapatkan di organisasi-organisasi saya geluti sejak saya berseragam putih-biru. Saya juga yakin teman-teman saya yang aktivis, yang juga memiliki keberanian melakukan hal yang sama meski dalam level yang berbeda, mempelajari hal itu dari organisasi. Teman-teman yang meraih prestasi-prestasi hebat semacam mewakili UNDIP ke Harvard dan Danone's Trust juga rata-rata memiliki background organisasi yang bagus.Saya rasa lowongan beasiswa dan pekerjaan juga membutuhkan pengalaman organisasi dari para pelamarnya.

Memang beda kalo melihat aktivis-aktivis dan kutu buku. Yang satu biasanya fleksibel, tahan banting, dan berani, yang satunya lagi kena sedikit masalah saja bikin geger dunia, ato kalo ga kadang disuruh minta tanda tangan ke pihak dekanat ja ga tahu caranya dan ga berani. Karena pengalaman-pengalaman di organisasi menempa orang untuk menjadi pribadi-pribadi yang berani dan kuat dengan sering mengeluarkan mereka dari zona nyaman, rasa-rasanya perlu bagi kita untuk mengisi hari-hari kita lebih dari sekedar aktivitas yang hanya berkisar dari kos, kampus, dan kantin serta menyadarkan para kutu buku di fakultas kita yang aktivitasnya terfokus di 3 tempat tersebut (karena kenyataannya banyak kutu buku yang juga aktivis organisasi) akan pentingya berorganisasi untuk meraih masa depan yang lebih cerah.

PS: This note may be either explicitly or implicitly (or perhaps both) offensive to some readers. To those who feel offended by this note, my apology.

PLAYBOY:INDONESIA MAY WELCOME AMERICAN ARTIFACTS, BUT NOT YOU!

PLAYBOY:

INDONESIA MAY WELCOME AMERICAN ARTIFACTS, BUT NOT YOU!

by: Pratama Yoga Nugroho*

Introduction

Playboy is one of the largest American men’s magazines with 27 international editions. Its domination stretches in five continents, conquering the attention of most men in the world. However, in Indonesia, where a large number of American artifacts prevail, it was widely rejected. It sparked controversy even before its first publication in the country and drew massive protests from a number of Muslim societies. This paper is going to analyze Playboy deeply from four cultural criticisms as well as how and why the rejection of Playboy took place in Indonesia.

Phenomenological Approach

Playboy was founded by Hugh Marston Hefner in 1953. Its original title was to be Stag Party, but there was another magazine entitled Stag. Hefner and co-founder and executive vice-president Eldon Sellers then met to seek a new name. Sellers, whose mother had worked for the Chicago sales office of the short-lived Playboy Automobile Company, suggested “Playboy.” The name “Playboy” has since been used as the name of Hefner’s magazine.

Playboy made its first publication in December 1953, with no date printed as Hefner was unsure whether or not there would be a second edition. This first issue sold out in weeks with the number of circulation reached 53, 991. On its first publication, Playboy was sold at the price of 50 cents.

Playboy’s popularity increased rapidly. By the end of the sixties, one-fourth of all American college men were buying this magazine every month. The best-selling Playboy edition was the November 1972 edition, which sold 7,161,561 copies. In 1972, it also launched its first international edition Germany.

However, not long after reaching its peak in the 1970s, Playboy’s circulation declined because of competition with other magazine with the same concerned field such as Penthouse, Oui and Galley in the 1970s and more recently from other men’s magazine such as such asMaxim, FHM, and Stuff. In response, Playboy has attempted to re-assert its hold on the 18–35 male demography through slight changes to content and focusing on issues and personalities more appropriate to its audience — such as hip-hop artists being featured in the “PlayboyInterview”. Through this strategy, to date Playboy remains one of the most notable men’s magazines with 27 international editions.

In total, Playboy used to be published in 36 countries but there are 9 countries where Playboy stopped its publication. Those 9 countries include Indonesia, Italy, South Africa, Turkey, etc. In Indonesia, Playboywas first published on April 6, 2006, despite massive protests from a large number of Indonesian Muslim societies. Indonesia is the second Asian region where Playboy made its publication after Japan (1975) and Hong Kong (1986-1993) (wikipedia).

Ideological Approach

Hefner said from the beginning that he was not producing a girlie magazine. He said that Playboy was a “life style” magazine, where sex is only a part of it. By publishing Playboy, Hefner was actually trying to take his readers back to a time before their first sexual experience, a time when they still liked their stuffed bear and thought that a naked woman might be something like that. According to Joan Acocella, “Playboy draws on two opposing trends that dominate American mass culture since its first launch: on the one hand, America’s idea of its Huck Finn innocence; on the other, the enthusiastic lewdness of American advertising and entertainment. The magazine proposed that wanton sex, sex for sex’s sake, was wholesome, good for you: a novel idea in the nineteen-fifties. Above all, the main value Playboy promotes is an upscale hedonism,” (the New Yorker).

.

Celebratory

Despite Playboy’s heated controversy and protests from a number of Muslim societies in Indonesia, the first issue of Playboy sold in weeks (wikipedia). It showed that there were people who actually agreed withPlayboy’s publication in Indonesia. Furthermore, according to a magazine seller, “It’s the porno that sells best, (in Indonesia),” (theGuardian). This phenomenon showed that there were a lot of people who actually enjoyed things such as Playboy which others considered taboo and indecent.

Despite Playboy’s considerably costly price of Rp, 39.000, a friend of mine, AP, a junior at Surabaya Institute of Technology, bought it. He stated that he wanted to satisfy his curiosity about the magazine; to see whether the magazine was actually mostly about pornography. Some of my friends also admitted that though they did not buy the magazine but they enjoyed reading it by borrowing from their friends. This shows that despite the protests, Playboy actually found a place in the heart of some Indonesians.

Moral/ Ethical Approach

Prior to its first publication, Playboy was already infamous Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country. It is because Playboy is identical to promoting nudity and sexuality which are strongly forbidden in the Islamic law. Hasyim Muzadi, the chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization stated, “Indonesia is different from Europe or America, where the culture and attitudes towards nudity are totally different from ours. (Playboy) simply has no place in our social norms.” Along with that line, Jusuf Kalla, the vice-president said, “”From the government’s point of view, we disagree withPlayboy’s publication.” while a member of parliament from the Prosperous Justice Party worried that the magazine would harm the morality of the youth.

A series of protests by Islamic organizations such as FPI (Islamic Defender Front), Muslim Peduli (Concerned Muslim), and KAMMI (Action Union of the Indonesian Muslim Students) also took place in major cities voicing the same message, among them are “Reject Playboy!”, “Don’t publish that filth here. Keep the Indonesian nation clean,”, and “We don’t need that sort of porno here. There’s enough vice here already.” (The Guardian)

All these facts reveal the same idea: Playboy, according to a number of Indonesian Muslims, is bad as its vulgarity in terms of exposure of sexuality is strongly against Islamic values and potentially endangers the morality of the youth.

Effect on Indonesian Culture

Playboy’s controversy has certainly drawn attention from the vast majority of Indonesians. This is believed to lead to the passing of the Pornography Bill into law by Indonesian Parliament on October 30, 2008. The attempt to pass the bill itself has been made since February 14, 2006 in which the bill still used its original name, the Anti-Pornography and Pornoaction Bill.

Between these two dates, Playboy has been prosecuted by FPI (Islamic Defender Front) and the editor was facing a two-year jail sentence for publishing indecent material. However, the judge said the charges were incorrectly filed under Indonesia’s Criminal Code, when it is the country’s Press Law which should have been applied (ABC News Online). In other hand, Jusuf Kalla, the Indonesian vice-president, stated that the problem could be overcome if there had been a law regulating pornography and pornoaction (Gatra).

Few days following Playboy’s first publication in Indonesia, several Islamic mass organizations in Central Java inspected street magazine shops and sellers and confiscated all Playboy magazines as well as all other men’s magazines they found. Avoiding potential anarchy those people may cause, the police finally did the inspection themselves (wikipedia). Looking at all controversy that already happened, we can conclude that Playboy basically causes social unrest in Indonesia.

Closing

Having read all these facts and opinions, we now know the reason why Playboy was rejected. We can also draw a major conclusion: not all American artifacts can be accepted and prevail in Indonesia and in order to do both, they need to respect local values and in this Playboy’scase: Islamic values. Furthermore, as Indonesian society and American society have different culture, values, and norms, it is important that any kind of American products willing to expand their market in Indonesia consider and analyze these differences more so that thePlayboy’s failure will not happen to them.

REFERENCES

Acocella, Joan. “The Girls Next Door” March 20, 2006, www.thenewyorker.com/critics/content

John Aglionby, “Jakarta struggles with the politics of pornography asPlayboy comes to town”, January 30, 2006, www.guardian.co.uk

Thompson, Geoff, ^“‘Playboy’ charges thrown out of court”, April 5, 2007, www.abc.net

”Wapres: Pro Kontra Playboy Karena Belum Ada UU-nya” Jakarta, 27 Januari. www.gatra.com

“Indonesian Playboy mag ‘to respect Muslim values’”, January 20, 2006, www. www.smh.com.au

“Playboy”, www.wikipedia.com

“Playboy (majalah)”, www.wikipedia.com

“RUU Pornografi”, www.wikipedia.com

*: the writer is a junior at the English Department, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia

Batal Kawin

The lyrics of Batal Kawin by Project Pop:

Kawin, kawin, minggu depan aku kawin
Kawin, kawin, tidur ada yang nemenin
Kawin, kawin, status di KTP nanti jadi kawin

Amiin, amiin, undangan disebar, amiin
Amiin, amiin, katering kebayar, amiin
Amiin, amiin, mas kawin dibayar lunas bilang ‘Amiin’
Amiin, amiin, amiin

Ternyata eh ternyata semua tak sesuai rencana
sampai akad pun tiba calonku tak datang juga
dia lari sama mantan pacarnya
sial sia-sia sial

Oh Mama oh Papa
Apakah salah hamba
perkawinan ini batal, bikin malu keluarga
gara-gara cari calon hanya dari bagus rupa
ternyata eh ternyata dia tidak setia, tak setia

Kawin, kawin, minggu depan aku kawin
Kawin, kawin, tidur ada yang nemenin
Kawin, kawin, status di KTP nanti jadi kawin

Amiin, amiin, undangan disebar, amiin
Amiin, amiin, katering kebayar, amiin
Amiin, amiin, mas kawin dibayar lunas bilang ‘Amiin’
Amiin, amiin, amiin

Ternyata eh ternyata semua tak sesuai rencana
sampai akad pun tiba calonku tak datang juga
dia lari sama mantan pacarnya
sial sia-sia sial

Oh Mama oh Papa
Apakah salah hamba
perkawinan ini batal, bikin malu keluarga
gara-gara cari calon hanya dari bagus rupa
ternyata eh ternyata
dia tidak setia, tak setia

Oh Mama oh Papa
Kini aku pasrah saja
carikanlah calon istri yang sesuai keinginan
yang baik, yang setia, dan bisa dipercaya
Yang amanah, fathonah, dan juga istiqomah

Laa laa laa….
Maaf aku tak bisa….

Waktu pertama kali denger lagu ni, aku penasaran banget ma kata “Yang amanah, fathonah, dan juga istiqomah” yang kedengerannya unik and ga biasa. So I decided to pay more attention to this song every time it is played on the TV. Few days later, I was able to get a copy of this song from a friend of mine. I frequently listened to it carefully and tried to catch the lyrics.

I found something interesting in this song: we should not be amazed by physical beauty, for it can be deceptive. This song tells a story of a guy who’s gonna get married. Once all the invitations were spread, all cathering and bride price paid, he, along with his family, was waiting for his bride. But, unfortunately, she never came and apparently went away with her ex. In the long run, he realized that he was too amazed by her beauty. Furthermore, he asked his parents to find him a wife that is “baik, yang setia, dan bisa dipercaya, yang amanah, fathonah, dan juga istiqomah.” (kind, loyal, trustworthy, reliable, smart, and devoted).

Well, for me, I would say, here’s the lesson, man! Never get blind of a girl’s beauty. One thing for sure is that outer appearance does not always represent inner quality. I often find a gosh darn pretty girl but her head is empty or ruthlessly evil. It’s kinda matched with the saying, “Pretty girls only care about their face (and body).” I’m generalizing here, but here’s the reality: Pretty girls are mostly dumb while smart girls are mostly not that pretty. Perhaps it’s because smart girls don’t really care about their appearance (They care but not as much as pretty girls do).

For most men, the best solution in facing the above problem is finding a pretty girl who is smart or a smart girl who is pretty (what’s the difference between two of them anyway??? LOL). But, the world is so cruel to men. Where there’s a pretty girl, there will be thousands of men competing for her. So, where there’s pretty girl with a certain quality (intelligence, personality, etc), there will be even more men competing for her. This is what is called by the principle of scarcity. The rare something is, the higher its value is, and consequently, the more people want to have it. But nothing to lose, man. As a Latin proverb goes, “Ad astra per aspera” a rough road leads to stars. So, if you want to have a pretty yet smart soulmate, you gotta take that rough road. Good luck! Remember our lesson:don’t be amazed by physical beauty, because outer appearance does not always represent inner quality.

he road that to leads to her is surely really hard! ;)

Bagaimana Menganalisis Sebuah Novel

Membaca karya sastra (seperti novel dan drama) memerlukan pendekatan yang berbeda dari membaca textbook. Dalam karya sastra, makna bacaan sering tidak disampaikan secara tersurat, namun secara tersirat. Pembaca harus memiliki kepekaan tentang makna dari karya sastra, tanpa mengharapkan pengarang secara tegas mengatakan, “Ini gagasan A. Ini gagasan B.”

Penulis yang baik menciptakan cerita yang tertata dan dapat dimengerti. Contohnya, cerita biasanya diceritakan secara kronologis, secara flashback, dari sudut pandang yang berbeda, dan lain sebagainya. Penulis kadang juga menyediakan banyak petunjuk tentang makna atau gagasan utama yang ingin mereka sampaikan pada pembaca.

Secara khusus, poin-poin berikut penting untuk dipertimbangkan saat membaca dan menganalisis karya sastra:

• Penokohan: Siapa karakter utamanya? Siapa nama mereka dan apa peran mereka? Siapa yang bercerita? Apakah orang ini memihak? Karena itu, bisakah kita mempercayai yang dia katakana?

• Kejadian dan Interaksi: Apa yang terjadi dalam cerita? Bagaimana tokoh-tokoh berinteraksi? Bagaimana hubungan mereka? Mengapa mereka bersikap atau bertindak seperti itu? Mengapa kejadiannya berjalan seperti itu?

• Tempat: Dimana cerita berlangsung? Apakah tempatnya berarti pada cerita ?Apakah tempatnya menyediakan background? Apakah tempatnya memberikan informasi historis, fisik, atau informasi lain yang penting pada cerita?
• Waktu: Kapan cerita terjadi? Apakah cerita tidak memiliki batasan waktu atau ditempatkan pada tempat dan waktu tertentu?
• Penataan : Bagaimana cerita ditata? Biasanya cerita diceritakan secara kronologis, namun dalam beberapa karya, pembaca bisa menemukan penulis yang mundur dan maju (dalam hal waktu dan tempat).
• Gaya penulisan : Apa yang gaya penulisan ceritakan pada pembaca ? Apakah gaya penulisannya penuh dengan detail ?Apakah ringan ?Bagaimana gaya penulisan mempengaruhi makna cerita ?Apakah pembaca harus membuat asumsi atau tebakan karena ada celah dalam cerita ?
• Simbolisme : Simbolisme bisa menjadi rumit karena terkadang bacaan berlaku seperti “sebuah cerutu hanyalah sebuah cerutu” (mengatakan yang sebenarnya atau bermakana denotatif-pen.). Di lain waktu, sebuah perjalanan melambangkan sesuatu yang lebih dari perjalanan itu sendiri. Misalnya, perjalanan Huck Finn lebih melambangkan perkembangannya sebagai seorang individu daripada perjalanannya menyusuri sungai.

• Tema : Apa saja tema dalam cerita ? Unsur atau gagasan apa yang diulangi atau ditekankan ?Perhatikan ini di seluruh bacaan, tidak hanya di akhir cerita. Perhatikan tokoh, tempat, dan kejadian yang berkali-kali muncul.

• Penceritaan Kembali Sebuah Cerita : Banyak cerita bercerita dengan cara menceritakan kembali cerita yang sudah ada sebelumnyha. Jika kita cermati perjalananan Huckleberry Finn, kita bisa menemukan perjalanan-perjalanan serupa dari mitologi Yunani (Odyssey karya Homer) sampai Injil (perjalanan ke Magi).

* Sebuah terjemahan dari file “How to Analyze Novel” tanpa nama pengarang dan alamat sumber referensi.

A Report from Disarmament and International Security Committe (DISEC), HNMUN 2010

Harvard National Model United Nations (HNMUN) 2010 is one of the most prestigious events I ever participated in, from which I gained enormous invaluable experiences. Representing Paraguay, I, along with Buna Rizal Rachman, joined other delegates in the first committee, Disarmament and International Security (DISEC). Attended by more than 300 delegates, it was the largest committee in HNMUN 2010.

Taking place in Imperial Room, Boston Park Plaza, the DISEC conference started with the debate over which topic that the delegates would discuss throughout the conference as there were two topics given by the committee: Militarization of Arctic and Nuclear Terrorism. The formal debate proceeded with most delegates favoured the latter. In the long run, the committee chose Nuclear Terrorism to be the topic of conference by overwhelming majority of those who favoured over those who were against.

The next stage of conference was discussing major problems lying within the scope of nuclear terrorism such as inadequate guarding system of nuclear facilities in certain countries, reluctance of some countries to comply with international standards with respect to their maintenance and development of nuclear power, and poor border control among countries, which all might resulted in detrimental threats of terrorist attacks. The discussion was mainly consisted of clash of opinions since every country had its own policy and interest regarding its nuclear program. As a result, such situation led to the emergence of new issues such as state sovereignty (questions arising over this issue comprised whether or not every country has an inalienable right to develop nuclear program with limited interference of foreign countries) and the questions over the legitimacy of the Non-Proliferation Treaty since not all nuclear powers are its signatory such as India, Pakistan, and Israel, and that it has created confusion due to multiple interpretation of it in areas such as whether or not nuclear power states must disarm their nuclear weapon.

The conference continued to finding the solution to the problems discussed in the previous sessions. Again, since every country had its own policy and interest, it was quite challenging to find solutions that satisfied the entire committee. A clash of interests took place in areas such as the total disarmament of nuclear weapon. Many countries such as Japan and Portugal strongly aspired to such idea, believing that the presence of nuclear weapon was one of the primary causes of nuclear terrorism while countries such as Russia firmly opposed to the idea, believing that many measures could be taken to ensure the safety and the security of nuclear weapons in many countries, thus reducing the risk of nuclear weapons falling into the possession of terrorists, instead of just destroy them.

Many delegates came up with excellent, creative ideas and those ideas were summarized in their working papers. In total there were more than 7 working papers in DISEC with their own strengths and weaknesses. When it came to debating over the working papers, the heat of the debate escalated and reached its climax when the committee discussed the draft resolutions. There were more than 5 draft resolutions in DISEC and the debate over them went intensely. There were times when some delegates raised their tones and expressed their resentment and disappointment. However, it did not reduce the level of their professionalism as they objectively discussed only the substantial matters. In the end, the committee successfully passed a draft resolution into a resolution by voting with rather slight difference of votes 56:46.

From the intense conference, I learn many invaluable experiences such as general assembly parliamentary procedure which is totally different from the parliamentary procedure that I learned in the campus. In addition, I also learned about what it takes in international diplomacy such as excellent diplomacy skills, ability to build an alliance, and ability to analyze and to predict the ongoing situation. Those lessons are definitely useful to help me pursue my future dream as a diplomat.

Apart from the mentioned lessons, I was also able to build new networks with other delegates, ranging from those who came from the Western Hemisphere such as the United States, Colombia, and Venezuela to those coming from Eastern Hemisphere such as China and Korea. I am now still in touch with the delegates I met during the conference and it is wonderful to have (more) friends from the international world.

*: posted by Pratama Yoga Nugroho, a junior at English Department, Faculty of Humanities, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia.

UNDIP delegates to HNMUN 2010

All Indonesian delegates to HNMUN 2010

UNDIP delegates posed in front of the Statue of Liberty

PLAYBOY: INDONESIA MAY WELCOME AMERICAN ARTIFACTS, BUT NOT YOU!

Introduction

Playboy is one of the largest American men’s magazines with 27 international editions. Its domination stretches in five continents, conquering the attention of most men in the world. However, in Indonesia, where a large number of American artifacts prevail, it was widely rejected. It sparked controversy even before its first publication in the country and drew massive protests from a number of Muslim societies. This paper is going to analyze Playboy deeply from four cultural criticisms as well as how and why the rejection of Playboy took place in Indonesia.

Phenomenological Approach

Playboy was founded by Hugh Marston Hefner in 1953. Its original title was to be Stag Party, but there was another magazine entitled Stag. Hefner and co-founder and executive vice-president Eldon Sellers then met to seek a new name. Sellers, whose mother had worked for the Chicago sales office of the short-lived Playboy Automobile Company, suggested “Playboy.” The name “Playboy” has since been used as the name of Hefner’s magazine.

Playboy made its first publication in December 1953, with no date printed as Hefner was unsure whether or not there would be a second edition. This first issue sold out in weeks with the number of circulation reached 53, 991. On its first publication, Playboy was sold at the price of 50 cents.

Playboy’s popularity increased rapidly. By the end of the sixties, one-fourth of all American college men were buying this magazine every month. The best-selling Playboy edition was the November 1972 edition, which sold 7,161,561 copies. In 1972, it also launched its first international edition Germany.

However, not long after reaching its peak in the 1970s, Playboy’s circulation declined because of competition with other magazine with the same concerned field such as Penthouse, Oui and Galley in the 1970s and more recently from other men’s magazine such as such asMaxim, FHM, and Stuff. In response, Playboy has attempted to re-assert its hold on the 18–35 male demography through slight changes to content and focusing on issues and personalities more appropriate to its audience — such as hip-hop artists being featured in the “PlayboyInterview”. Through this strategy, to date Playboy remains one of the most notable men’s magazines with 27 international editions.

In total, Playboy used to be published in 36 countries but there are 9 countries where Playboy stopped its publication. Those 9 countries include Indonesia, Italy, South Africa, Turkey, etc. In Indonesia, Playboywas first published on April 6, 2006, despite massive protests from a large number of Indonesian Muslim societies. Indonesia is the second Asian region where Playboy made its publication after Japan (1975) and Hong Kong (1986-1993) (wikipedia).

Ideological Approach

Hefner said from the beginning that he was not producing a girlie magazine. He said that Playboy was a “life style” magazine, where sex is only a part of it. By publishing Playboy, Hefner was actually trying to take his readers back to a time before their first sexual experience, a time when they still liked their stuffed bear and thought that a naked woman might be something like that. According to Joan Acocella, “Playboy draws on two opposing trends that dominate American mass culture since its first launch: on the one hand, America’s idea of its Huck Finn innocence; on the other, the enthusiastic lewdness of American advertising and entertainment. The magazine proposed that wanton sex, sex for sex’s sake, was wholesome, good for you: a novel idea in the nineteen-fifties. Above all, the main value Playboy promotes is an upscale hedonism,” (the New Yorker).

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Celebratory

Despite Playboy’s heated controversy and protests from a number of Muslim societies in Indonesia, the first issue of Playboy sold in weeks (wikipedia). It showed that there were people who actually agreed withPlayboy’s publication in Indonesia. Furthermore, according to a magazine seller, “It’s the porno that sells best, (in Indonesia),” (theGuardian). This phenomenon showed that there were a lot of people who actually enjoyed things such as Playboy which others considered taboo and indecent.

Despite Playboy’s considerably costly price of Rp, 39.000, a friend of mine, AP, a junior at Surabaya Institute of Technology, bought it. He stated that he wanted to satisfy his curiosity about the magazine; to see whether the magazine was actually mostly about pornography. Some of my friends also admitted that though they did not buy the magazine but they enjoyed reading it by borrowing from their friends. This shows that despite the protests, Playboy actually found a place in the heart of some Indonesians.

Moral/ Ethical Approach

Prior to its first publication, Playboy was already infamous Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country. It is because Playboy is identical to promoting nudity and sexuality which are strongly forbidden in the Islamic law. Hasyim Muzadi, the chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization stated, “Indonesia is different from Europe or America, where the culture and attitudes towards nudity are totally different from ours. (Playboy) simply has no place in our social norms.” Along with that line, Jusuf Kalla, the vice-president said, “”From the government’s point of view, we disagree withPlayboy’s publication.” while a member of parliament from the Prosperous Justice Party worried that the magazine would harm the morality of the youth.

A series of protests by Islamic organizations such as FPI (Islamic Defender Front), Muslim Peduli (Concerned Muslim), and KAMMI (Action Union of the Indonesian Muslim Students) also took place in major cities voicing the same message, among them are “Reject Playboy!”, “Don’t publish that filth here. Keep the Indonesian nation clean,”, and “We don’t need that sort of porno here. There’s enough vice here already.” (The Guardian)

All these facts reveal the same idea: Playboy, according to a number of Indonesian Muslims, is bad as its vulgarity in terms of exposure of sexuality is strongly against Islamic values and potentially endangers the morality of the youth.

Effect on Indonesian Culture

Playboy’s controversy has certainly drawn attention from the vast majority of Indonesians. This is believed to lead to the passing of the Pornography Bill into law by Indonesian Parliament on October 30, 2008. The attempt to pass the bill itself has been made since February 14, 2006 in which the bill still used its original name, the Anti-Pornography and Pornoaction Bill.

Between these two dates, Playboy has been prosecuted by FPI (Islamic Defender Front) and the editor was facing a two-year jail sentence for publishing indecent material. However, the judge said the charges were incorrectly filed under Indonesia’s Criminal Code, when it is the country’s Press Law which should have been applied (ABC News Online). In other hand, Jusuf Kalla, the Indonesian vice-president, stated that the problem could be overcome if there had been a law regulating pornography and pornoaction (Gatra).

Few days following Playboy’s first publication in Indonesia, several Islamic mass organizations in Central Java inspected street magazine shops and sellers and confiscated all Playboy magazines as well as all other men’s magazines they found. Avoiding potential anarchy those people may cause, the police finally did the inspection themselves (wikipedia). Looking at all controversy that already happened, we can conclude that Playboy basically causes social unrest in Indonesia.

Closing

Having read all these facts and opinions, we now know the reason why Playboy was rejected. We can also draw a major conclusion: not all American artifacts can be accepted and prevail in Indonesia and in order to do both, they need to respect local values and in this Playboy’scase: Islamic values. Furthermore, as Indonesian society and American society have different culture, values, and norms, it is important that any kind of American products willing to expand their market in Indonesia consider and analyze these differences more so that thePlayboy’s failure will not happen to them.

REFERENCES

Acocella, Joan. “The Girls Next Door” March 20, 2006, www.thenewyorker.com/critics/content

John Aglionby, “Jakarta struggles with the politics of pornography asPlayboy comes to town”, January 30, 2006, www.guardian.co.uk

Thompson, Geoff, ^“‘Playboy’ charges thrown out of court”, April 5, 2007, www.abc.net

”Wapres: Pro Kontra Playboy Karena Belum Ada UU-nya” Jakarta, 27 Januari. www.gatra.com

“Indonesian Playboy mag ‘to respect Muslim values’”, January 20, 2006, www. www.smh.com.au

“Playboy”, www.wikipedia.com

“Playboy (majalah)”, www.wikipedia.com

“RUU Pornografi”, www.wikipedia.com

*: the writer is a junior at the English Department, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia