Cowboys in (which side of) paradise??
A Movie Controversy
The Indonesian television this week filled with the news of an independent movie from Singaporean based citizen called ‘Cowboys in Paradise’. Not only played in a festival, the movie had already available in Youtube network. The movie mainly tells about Kuta beach boys who hangs out freely with the tourist that they even makes out together. In Indonesia the issue being spread as a Balinese gigolo movie. This issue that brings strong reaction from the Balinese authorities. The authorities mainly object the legality of the movie. They believed Amit Virmani, the movie maker didn’t have any permission to do such a movie. Just days after that, the police had a raid in Kuta searching for people who don’t have working permit. And just yesterday they investigate the beach boys who are shown on the movie. The beach boys themselves already told the journalists their objection of the movie being played in public.
In some foreign websites though there are people who defended Amit. Mainly they believed that this movie has no bad intention, that the movie doesn’t say anything about gigolos and the Indonesian are just being overly reacted. The movie itself pointing about the phenomena of the beach boys – usually worked in tourism informal sector such as surfing teachers – which practically do free sex with the tourist without asking for money. If then, why is Amit’s movie become so controversial? There must be something missing in Amit’s frame of mind that he didn’t expect this movie become so much trouble for him.
A never new phenomena
The practice of free sex between local and tourist in Kuta was never new. Whatever the motivation, is it love, money or just as satisfaction everybody has their own answers. As Kuta is paradise created but never planned to be what it’s like today. Kuta was a western hippie’s land of joy, a place where they create their own way of living.
Jean Couteau, a writer that lived in Bali had already writes about the phenomena in 1992 (See Couteau, Bali Today: Modernity, 1998). In a writing that published in the local newspaper Couteau said that Balinese gigolos come in several varieties, but most are found among the crowd of idle school dropouts, surf champions, and disco freaks. He even thinks there are also cultural gigolos who came from artists that found money in tourist pockets. Anyhow he concluded that the phenomena could be a way of inter-cultural understanding. Something that could be judged differently from different perspective.
Why we should worry?
This is where we’re going to seeing from Balinese perspective. Bali has always put their one and only tourism view, which is being a cultural tourism. Being a cultural tourism, Bali pointed their selling values in Hinduism culture that not only reflects on the people but also their architecture and even the scenery. And to connect it to the movie, there is no positive relation of the movie into the image that the Balinese wanted to. Instead the movie disturbs the Balinese values of life that put sex as a sacred thing, a thing that should only be done in ‘legal’ form. Since the Bali bombings the Balinese has learn something, which is Kuta to them was already ‘leteh’ which means ‘dirty’. And one of the dirtyness come from the practition of prostitution like in the Kuta area, and it reflected on Amit’s movie of course.
Secondly and more importantly are the security factors. Also from Bali bombing, the police learn that one of the main reason that was used by the terrorist leaders to brainwash the suicide bomber is the story about Kuta’s free sex living. They can easily convince the radicals to see the place as satanic and evil location. And the presence of the movie could be seen as a fact of – even a very little of - the dark side of the paradise.
Kuta, a one side of the Paradise
To conclude what is missing in Amit’s plan about the movie, there are few things to points out. Firstly, Amit’s certainly see that the phenomena is interesting yet also important that he wanted to make the movie independently without considering the effects of the movie for Balinese or Indonesians opinions. Secondly, Amit’s didn’t really understand the Balinese cultural life that he put the provoking title that make the Indonesians and Balinese think that it could ruin Bali’s image a as a whole. Personally, I didn’t shock or even attracted to see the movie since the news came out. It’s because I knew it doesn’t new. As the government reaction, I think is still important to show the people that Balinese never supported the practice of prostitution in any form in Bali. Since the Bali bombing I have found hidden suspicion between the Balinese and Javanese regarding the different perspective caused by radicalism. Yet they still knew the fact that they were come from one same descent, they have common history written in their life. So to me it is important that Balinese authorities put an exact stand as Indonesian values and Amit’s should only admit his personal unintended mistake and forgiveness would be best for all.
The Indonesian television this week filled with the news of an independent movie from Singaporean based citizen called ‘Cowboys in Paradise’. Not only played in a festival, the movie had already available in Youtube network. The movie mainly tells about Kuta beach boys who hangs out freely with the tourist that they even makes out together. In Indonesia the issue being spread as a Balinese gigolo movie. This issue that brings strong reaction from the Balinese authorities. The authorities mainly object the legality of the movie. They believed Amit Virmani, the movie maker didn’t have any permission to do such a movie. Just days after that, the police had a raid in Kuta searching for people who don’t have working permit. And just yesterday they investigate the beach boys who are shown on the movie. The beach boys themselves already told the journalists their objection of the movie being played in public.
In some foreign websites though there are people who defended Amit. Mainly they believed that this movie has no bad intention, that the movie doesn’t say anything about gigolos and the Indonesian are just being overly reacted. The movie itself pointing about the phenomena of the beach boys – usually worked in tourism informal sector such as surfing teachers – which practically do free sex with the tourist without asking for money. If then, why is Amit’s movie become so controversial? There must be something missing in Amit’s frame of mind that he didn’t expect this movie become so much trouble for him.
A never new phenomena
The practice of free sex between local and tourist in Kuta was never new. Whatever the motivation, is it love, money or just as satisfaction everybody has their own answers. As Kuta is paradise created but never planned to be what it’s like today. Kuta was a western hippie’s land of joy, a place where they create their own way of living.
Jean Couteau, a writer that lived in Bali had already writes about the phenomena in 1992 (See Couteau, Bali Today: Modernity, 1998). In a writing that published in the local newspaper Couteau said that Balinese gigolos come in several varieties, but most are found among the crowd of idle school dropouts, surf champions, and disco freaks. He even thinks there are also cultural gigolos who came from artists that found money in tourist pockets. Anyhow he concluded that the phenomena could be a way of inter-cultural understanding. Something that could be judged differently from different perspective.
Why we should worry?
This is where we’re going to seeing from Balinese perspective. Bali has always put their one and only tourism view, which is being a cultural tourism. Being a cultural tourism, Bali pointed their selling values in Hinduism culture that not only reflects on the people but also their architecture and even the scenery. And to connect it to the movie, there is no positive relation of the movie into the image that the Balinese wanted to. Instead the movie disturbs the Balinese values of life that put sex as a sacred thing, a thing that should only be done in ‘legal’ form. Since the Bali bombings the Balinese has learn something, which is Kuta to them was already ‘leteh’ which means ‘dirty’. And one of the dirtyness come from the practition of prostitution like in the Kuta area, and it reflected on Amit’s movie of course.
Secondly and more importantly are the security factors. Also from Bali bombing, the police learn that one of the main reason that was used by the terrorist leaders to brainwash the suicide bomber is the story about Kuta’s free sex living. They can easily convince the radicals to see the place as satanic and evil location. And the presence of the movie could be seen as a fact of – even a very little of - the dark side of the paradise.
Kuta, a one side of the Paradise
To conclude what is missing in Amit’s plan about the movie, there are few things to points out. Firstly, Amit’s certainly see that the phenomena is interesting yet also important that he wanted to make the movie independently without considering the effects of the movie for Balinese or Indonesians opinions. Secondly, Amit’s didn’t really understand the Balinese cultural life that he put the provoking title that make the Indonesians and Balinese think that it could ruin Bali’s image a as a whole. Personally, I didn’t shock or even attracted to see the movie since the news came out. It’s because I knew it doesn’t new. As the government reaction, I think is still important to show the people that Balinese never supported the practice of prostitution in any form in Bali. Since the Bali bombing I have found hidden suspicion between the Balinese and Javanese regarding the different perspective caused by radicalism. Yet they still knew the fact that they were come from one same descent, they have common history written in their life. So to me it is important that Balinese authorities put an exact stand as Indonesian values and Amit’s should only admit his personal unintended mistake and forgiveness would be best for all.
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