It was the 13th of July 2011 when Ryan Adriandhy first brought me to an “open-mic” in Comedy Cafe,
Kemang, Jakarta. I had no idea what an open-mic was. Apparently, it is a
live show where people who are present in the venue could perform at
the microphone. However, in regards to the stand-up comedy world, it is
the place for stand-up comedians, or comics, to practice and test their
new materials (commonly known as “comedy bits”), to an audience prior to
performing in a bigger crowd.
Although Comedy Cafe routinely holds
open mic sessions, the one on the 13th of July seems like a
game-changing one. A few days back, Ryan told me he was going to do an
audition to be one of the finalists of “Stand Up Comedy Indonesia” (SUCI), a show that has a similar model to NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” produced by Kompas TV. In the audition, he met Ernest Prakasa,
another contestant aspiring to be a comic, just like Ryan. Both of them
initiated to attend the open mic, inviting friends like Isman H. Suryaman, Pandji Pragiwaksono and eventually, one of Indonesia’s most successful comedy writers, Raditya Dika. The community of Indonesian stand-up comedians, under the name of StandUpIndo, was born that night.
Now, less than one year after that
historical day, almost everything has developed into more fantastic
terms. Ryan has attained the title of “the first professional stand-up
comedian in Indonesia” given by Kompas TV after having championed the
competition, Ernest is going on his endeavor by holding the first
stand-up comedy tour in Indonesia with the name of “Merem Melek Tour”,
Isman. has just secured a place to be one of SUCI’s second season’s
finalists, Pandji has held the first stand-up comedy special in
Indonesia “Bhinneka Tunggal Tawa”, while Raditya Dika is going to be one of SUCI’s second season’s judges.
A few weeks ago, Ryan brought me to another stand-up comedy performance, called “Koper”.
It was actually a combination of stand-up comedy and theatrical play.
That evening, I witnessed something that opened my eyes about the
Indonesian stand-up comedy scene.
“Koper” featured 8 comics, all with different backgrounds and distinctive personalities. The line-ups are Sam D. Putra, Ernest Prakasa, Boris T. Manullang, Miund, Ryan Adriandhy, Soleh Solihun, Sakdiyah, and Insan Nur Akbar.
I have seen their performances in different off-air and on-air shows,
but not until that day have I noticed the characteristic that most
Indonesian comics share in common. Almost every issue discussed on stage
depicts the life and the concerns of Indonesian middle class society. A
performance with diversified comics like “Koper” could give a preview
of how Indonesian middle class perceive its nation and its surroundings.
To the international society, the nation
is often branded as the “third largest democracy in the world” with
such a big number of Muslims living in the country. I have heard so many
times of how some people brag about Indonesia’s (supposedly) democratic
system, especially by pointing out that we once had a female president
and by restating that usually, democracy and Muslim citizens do not
usually live side by side.
The concept was continually countered by
many comedy bits. Such as the one addressed by Sam that Indonesians
believe there is a joke consists of three letters: S, B, and Y; and how
the government has made it difficult for poor Indonesians to claim that
they are living under the poverty line. It is interesting to hear so
many people laugh about the three-letters-joke, especially as soon as we
remember that those three letters are also the initials of the
president that more than 60% Indonesian voters voted for back in 2009.
Sam depicted his character as a
successful person from the upper middle class society. Just like most
middle class Indonesians, he has achieved so many things in his career.
Yet, he was still unsatisfied and unhappy with his life and his wife.
Sam’s bits are consistently featured with political concerns and sex,
two things that most of middle class society also frequently discusses
about. Similar matters are also brought up by Insan Nur Akbar, the
runner up of SUCI’s first season, which was discussed in a slightly
different point of view. By comparing the way Sam and Akbar discuss the
issues faced in daily life, including the political issues, we can learn
how 134 millions people who belong to the middle class category might
face the same issues seen and solved in different ways.
As every comic must have a persona and
style on stage, if we have frequently seen these comics performing, it
would not be very difficult to guess what things they would discuss
about, nor the perspective used to address these matters. Although every
comic has different roles in the play and different bits, most of them
still address ideas under a similar theme, which are the ones they know
most and feel concerned most about. By only reading the line-up, I
already knew that the show will include these issues: stereotypes given
to Chinese, Bataknese, and Muslims; political issues; sex and
relationship; also social media. Apparently, it was all true. Despite
this, all comics pulled it off and did not fail to amaze the crowd, as
no matter how generic or usual the personal themes might be, some comics
still could offer slightly fresher bits.
Ernest, for example, was given the role
as a cleaning service staff in the station. He still discussed mostly
about the perks and drawbacks of being a Chinese living in Indonesia,
now in the eyes of a cleaning service staff. Such as the stereotype of
many Indonesians that “Indonesian Chinese must be rich” and how, as a
Chinese, he has grown immune to anyone making remarks about his slanted
eyes. Along came Boris, acting as a Bataknese pickpocket. Embedded with a
noticeable Bataknese accent, he addressed all the characteristics that
fall into the stereotype of other Indonesians to Bataknese. From being
closely associated with pickpockets and public transportation drivers,
having a very sturdy physical appearance as well as way of
communication, to Bataknese food and how its supposed to be enjoyed.
From these two performances alone, we could see that although Indonesia
has the “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” slogan, the diversified culture and
ethnicities living side by side will always generate stereotypes, yet
most of them consist of common misconceptions. At the same time, even
with this happening, there are still plenty of Indonesians with so many
differences among each other can live together harmoniously. It has been
proven in all stand-up comedy shows held here by having so much
diversity in one show.
Ryan and Miund, coming up as a pair in
the play, shared the perspectives that most younger generation of the
middle class society have in common. Much about love life, fashion,
lifestyle, and of course, something you cannot miss from Indonesian
middle class society: social media and its impact in our lives. Both of
them ranted on how bad mobile telecommunications connections are in
Indonesia, the expenses of being in a relationship and being a middle
class having to afford some certain lifestyle, and how women and men can
never seem to understand each other. Sounds familiar? The absurd
relationship of men and women is always a sexy field for comedy bits to
be created upon, as these issues are faced by everyone and anyone could
understand it thoroughly.
Nonetheless, there is no single bit
crafted without a message behind it. Ryan’s complaints about the
absurdities of life he finds every time, for instance, has been a tool
for him to remind the audience on how we often overlook the little
things in life. We share the pie of being a part of middle class society
in Indonesia. Even so, most comics see the things in lives discretely.
How could the words on shampoo packaging remind us to appreciate the
little things – if not addressed by these comics?
Soleh Solihun then performed on stage.
Despite discussing mostly about Indonesian politics, Soleh, as usual,
included a lot of remarks related to Islamic values, and once rebutted
what Sam shared about Christianity. Similarly, Sakdiyah discussed about
herself becoming a Muslim living in Indonesia, commenting about other
Muslims not wearing helmets because they have worn kopiah and how the
practice of taaruf should have more benefits than most people are aware
of.
Sam, Soleh, and Sakdiyah shared their
deeply personal values, which are related to their religious beliefs.
Although in countries like the U.S. and the U.K. religious beliefs are
often specifically addressed as well, the way of addressing this matter
in Indonesian stand-up comedy scene is quite different. It might be
quite difficult to perform something as controversial and as sensitive
as George Carlin’s bit “Religion is bullshit”. However, in regards to
religions, most comics who discuss it take it from the perspective of
the ridiculousness of religious practice in Indonesia. Such as how
Indonesians with Arabic ancestry are always perceived as “religious”
people or how some “religious” people sometimes claim to have the
privilege to do things that other people cannot do (such as, riding on a
motorcycle without wearing a helmet).
The fact that so many people from
different religious beliefs are living side by side in Indonesia is one
of the essences of living in this country. I am wowed by how these
comics, coming from a variety of backgrounds, are able to discuss these
important and sometimes overlooked matters in fresh, funny ways. Comedy
is about telling the truth, it is about getting your point across. With
these issues brought up almost every day on open mics and stand-up
comedy shows, I have no doubt that stand-up comedy is going to be one of
the most effective tools to open people’s minds.
When other people might only say that
Indonesia is a successful democracy, then pointing out the amount of
Muslim population, and how we are able to live harmoniously with no
problem, Indonesian stand-up comedians share what we all experience.
That to reach the state of democracy, we are still learning on a long
journey. That to live harmoniously with different ethnicity, culture,
race, and religious beliefs, some misconceptions, stereotypes, and
negative remarks might still be there and should not prevent ourselves
from making peace with one another. That being successful is not only
about money, but also the relationship with other things, other people,
and things within ourselves. That one day we would be able to reach the
state of “success” and “happiness” if we let our eyes and minds open to
change, which might be sensitive and controversial, but necessary.
No comments:
Post a Comment