{"id":9658,"date":"2019-08-12T19:20:06","date_gmt":"2019-08-12T12:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arkipel.org\/?p=9658"},"modified":"2019-08-12T20:48:36","modified_gmt":"2019-08-12T13:48:36","slug":"2019-bromocorah-artistic-statement-framing-the-outcast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arkipel.org\/2019-bromocorah-artistic-statement-framing-the-outcast\/","title":{"rendered":"Framing the Outcast"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1565617711093{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]\n
___<\/b><\/p>\n
HAFIZ RANCAJALE
\n<\/b>Artistic Director of ARKIPEL<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1565615049308{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]\n
Aku adalah lelaki tengah malam<\/span> Temanku gitar, temanku lagu<\/span> (\u2026)<\/span><\/p>\n Aku berjalan orang cibirkan mulut<\/span> (\u2026)<\/span><\/p>\n Lelaki tengah malam terkulai di tepi malam<\/span> My friends are guitar and a song (\u2026)<\/p>\n I walk, people pout (\u2026)<\/p>\n The man of night droops on the edge of the night \u2014 Iwan Fals, Air Mata Api<\/em>, Mata Dewa, 1989 \u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1565615318549{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]SUATU KETIKA, SAYA<\/strong> mendapat kabar dari sahabat di kampung, bahwa seorang kawan kami ditangkap oleh aparat kepolisian karena kasus perampokkan yang ia lakukan bersama kawanannya. Beruntung, ia tidak ditembak oleh petugas saat penangkapan di jalur Trans Sumatra itu. Kawan yang ditangkap ini adalah salah satu tokoh pemuda yang sangat dihormati di kampung saya. Ia adalah anak seorang tokoh masyarakat, pandai bergaul, dan tempat anak-anak muda di kampung minta pertolongan saat mendapat masalah seperti perundungan, kekerasan, pemalakan, dan sebagainya dari pemuda kampung lain. Pada suatu waktu, bahkan masyarakat kampung kami memilihnya sebagai ketua pemuda. Kawan saya ini adalah seorang sahabat yang baik, punya loyalitas dan dedikasi yang sangat kuat dalam membela hal-hal yang terkait kampung kami. Terlepas dari tindakan kriminal yang ia lakukan di luar kampung, ia sangat dihormati. Sejak saya pindah ke Jakarta, kami jarang bertemu. Sesekali, kalau saya pulang kampung, kami kadang bertemu, dan bicara hal-hal yang ia lakukan bersama gerombolannya, sembari menyampaikan keinginannya bertemu Iwan Fals, sang idola. Kampung di kota kelahiran saya ini terkenal sebagai tempat para pelaku kriminal sejak tahun 1970-an. Kampung yang sekarang sudah tidak menjadi kampung lagi ini, banyak melahirkan tokoh-tokoh pemuda kampung yang secara bergiliran menjadi pelanggan setia rumah tahanan di kota kami. Namun, orang-orang yang sebagian saya kenal ini, tentunya, selalu saya pandang sebagai kawan-kawan yang baik, karena berlaku baik pada saya dan keluarga saya.<\/span><\/p>\n Ingatan pada kawan-kawan di kampung menjadi bahasan yang tak pernah lepas dalam diskusi-diskusi saya bersama kawan-kawan Forum Lenteng untuk tema ARKIPEL tahun ini. Tema Bromocorah memicu saya untuk melihat lagi kepingan-kepingan peristiwa bersama orang-orang yang saya kenal di masa-masa kecil di kampung. Tentu hal ini sangat menantang, saat ia dihadapkan pada bingkai kebudayaan, apalagi sinema. Bromocorah adalah medan sosial kebudayaan yang tak pernah tuntas. Di berbagai catatan, baik secara akademik, berita media massa, dan kosa kata yang beredar di masyarakat, ia dikenal dalam berbagai istilah lokal Indonesia, seperti; gali<\/em>, jago<\/em>, dan jawara<\/em>. Di kampung, saya dan kawan-kawan sering menyebutnya akak<\/em>. Dalam konteks masyarakat, ia sering ditempatkan dalam posisi yang cukup diperhitungkan, walau tidak menjadi yang utama. Ia berpihak kepada rakyat, di lain kesempatan ia berselingkuh dengan penguasa, di mayoritas masa ia memilih berdiri untuk dirinya sendiri. Dalam catatan kami di ARKIPEL, istilah bromocorah dapat disejajarkan dengan berbagai istilah di belahan dunia lain, seperti di Australia: bushranger<\/em>; Eropa: highwayman<\/em>; Amerika Barat: road agent<\/em>; dan Amerika Latin: cangaco<\/em> dan clandestine<\/em>. Instrumen hukum mengerdilkan bromocorah menjadi istilah-istilah konstruktif yang sempit: pelanggar hukum, kriminal, preman, vigilante, ataupun residivis. Yang jelas, istilah-istilah itu belum mampu menopang luasnya kekhasan makna dari konsep bromocorah itu sendiri. Dalam setiap zaman, ia nyaris selalu ada meskipun tak pernah tampil di pusat, namun tidak pula pernah hilang sama sekali. Dalam kondisi nadirnya, ia berupa residu sistem yang tetap signifikan. Ia dengan caranya sendiri dapat mengelabui sistem, aparatus kekuasaan, elite intelektual, dan, bahkan, waktu. Ketidakpekaan kita dalam meresapi siasat kebertahanan bromocorah adalah pangkal bagi ketergelinciran ilmiah dalam jumudnya sistem.<\/span><\/p>\n Di Indonesia, bromocorah memainkan peran unik dalam perjuangan kemerdekaan, revolusi 1945, dan peristiwa misterius 1965. Sedangkan pada suatu rentang masa di era 1980-an, fenomena bromocorah menjadi polemik tatkala Penembak Misterius (Petrus) diterapkan sebagai strategi manajemen konflik\u2014penguasa mengontrol masyarakat lewat kebijakan yang tak diakuinya secara formal, tetapi ada, nyata dialami, dan menjadi sejarah. Di lain gejala, menjelang kejatuhan dua rezim di negara ini, sebagian turunan bromocorah dikelola sebagai alat politik kaum elite yang mewujud menjadi berbagai organisasi masyarakat. Namun, makna bromocorah tetap abu-abu, ia tak sepenuhnya ditolak dan malah terus hidup berdampingan dengan elemen masyarakat lainnya. Kedinamisan masyarakat kita hari ini justru berkembang karena keberadaan dan persepsi masyarakat tentang bromocorah itu sendiri yang tak pernah statis. Membingkai bromocorah sebagai fenomena sastraik ketimbang testimoni historis akan dapat menjelmakan bromocorah sebagai sebuah \u201ckemungkinan\u201d. Seperti halnya diskursus seni bekerja, pembingkaian atas bromocorah dapat pula berarti mengonstruksi konsep progresivitas. Karena sifat kelabu dan karakteristik pesiasat ulung bromocorah, yang tidak serta-merta dapat diputuskan dalam dikotomi baik dan buruk, pada tingkatan tertentu menyiratkan kelenturan tafsir dan daya pikir spekulatif.<\/span><\/p>\n Progresivitas yang terkandung dalam konsep bromocorah bisa membukakan kita peluang untuk menyelaminya lebih dalam di ranah sinema. Sejak awal berkembangnya medium ini, bromocorah telah menjadi persoalan yang tidak jarang direspon dan membuahkan banyak eksperimentasi, baik dari segi modus penceritaan maupun dari modus bahasa visualnya. Bahkan, tidak sedikit gerakan-gerakan sinema dunia, termasuk di Indonesia sendiri, berkembang dan berhasil menawarkan sebuah lompatan estetis; hal itu seiring dengan usaha para pegiatnya dalam membingkai subjek-subjek dan medan sosial bromocorah, yang tiada henti menggelitik kanon-kanon sinema dan merangsang skeptisisme terhadap rezim pengetahuan mapan, sembari melemparkan pertanyaan kritis atas realitas sosial yang selalu dijerat oleh batasan-batasan moral dan etik, norma, dan standardisasi oleh sistem kekuasaan. Dengan melibatkan konsep bromocorah ke wilayah sinematik dan lantas menariknya kembali keluar dari alam estetika tersebut, kita mungkin dapat menoropong dan menerjemahkan gejala-gejala global terkini dan performativitas-performativitas kontemporer. Sebab, dengan meyakininya sebagai tanda yang hampir selalu ada pada setiap zaman, bromocorah menjadi kosa kata kultural yang melaluinya kita bisa melihat bagaimana sesungguhya Modernisme\u2014induk bagi kelahiran sinema\u2014bekerja pada diri kita.<\/span><\/p>\n Tabik, selamat menyelami dunia orang sisa-sisa!<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1565615329397{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]ONE DAY, I<\/strong>\u00a0received a news from a friend in my village, that our friend was arrested by the police because of the robbery he committed with his gang. Luckily, he was not shot by officers during his arrest on the Trans Sumatra route. This captured friend was one of the respected youth leaders in my village. He is the son of a community leader, sociable, and is the person wherein young people in the people seek for help when they get into problems such as harassment, violence, bullying, and so on from other village youths. At one time, even our village community elected him as the youth leader. He is a good friend, has very strong loyalty and dedication to defend matters related to our village. Despite his criminal activities outside the village, he is highly respected. Since I moved to Jakarta, we rarely meet. Every now and then, when I return home, sometimes we meet and talk about the things he did with his gang, while also telling his desire to meet Iwan Fals, the idol. This village in my hometown is known as a place for criminals since the 1970s. The village, which is no longer a village, has given birth to many village youth leaders who alternately become a loyal visitor of detention centers in our town. However, I always see these people, whom I know mostly, as good friends because they are good to me and my family.<\/p>\n The memory of my friends in the village become a topic inseparable from my discussions with Forum Lenteng fellows on the theme of ARKIPEL this year. Bromocorah<\/em> as a theme has triggered me to look again at the fragments of events with people I knew from my childhood in the village. Of course, it is challenging to put these fragments in the frame of culture, especially in cinema. Bromocorah <\/em>itself is an \u2018unfinished\u2019 social-culture sceneIn various records, whether in term of academic, mass media news, and vocabulary circulating in society, it is known in various local Indonesian words, such as; gali<\/em>, jago<\/em>, and jawara<\/em>. In the village, my friends and I often call it as akak<\/em>. In society, it is often situated in a notable position, even though it is not the main priority. It might side with the people at certain times, yet on another occasion, it could conspire with the authorities. In ARKIPEL\u2019s note of preface, the term bromocorah <\/em>is culturally alike as bushranger (in Australia), highwayman (in Europe), road agent (in West America), and canga\u00e7o<\/em> or clandestine activists in (Latin America). The legal institutions, restricts the word bromocorah<\/em> into limited constructive terms: outlaw, criminal, preman<\/em> (\u2018Indonesian gangster\u2019), vigilante, or recidivism. Those terms are in fact inadequate to contain the vast characteristic of the decent meaning of the concept bromocorah<\/em>. In every age, the bromocorah<\/em> almost always exist, even though they never appear as the central narratives, but they also never disappear entirely. In their nadir of existence, they still constitute significant residues of a system. In their own way, they might trick the system, apparatus of power, intellectual elites, and, even, the time. Our insensitivity to absorb the bromocorah<\/em>\u2019s stratagem of survival means the beginning of the intellectual fallacy in this rigid system.<\/p>\n In Indonesia, the bromocorah<\/em> played a unique role during the struggle for independence, the revolution of 1945, and in the tragedy of 1965. While in the 1980s, the phenomenon of bromocorah<\/em> came into polemics when an extrajudicial execution, Petrus<\/em>, was used as a government\u2019s conflict management strategy\u2014the governmental authority controlled the society through enforcement that it did not formally admit, but the event existed, was experienced, and has been part of Indonesian history. In other indications, ahead of the downfall of two political regimes in Indonesia, some of the derivatives of bromocorah<\/em> were managed as elites\u2019 political instrument which then manifest in the form of civil organizations. However, the meaning of bromocorah<\/em> remains ambiguous, they are not rejected completely and instead coexist with other elements of society. The dynamism of Indonesian society today is, in fact, developing because the existence of the bromocorah<\/em> and our perception toward that concept itself are never static. To frame it as a poetic phenomenon rather than as historical testimony will transform bromocorah<\/em> into a \u201cpotentiality\u201d. Just like how the discourse of arts works, framing the bromocorah<\/em> can also mean constructing the concept of progressivity. Because of bromocorah\u2019s<\/em> ambiguous nature and its characteristics as the tactician, which cannot necessarily be specified in good-and-evil dichotomies, to a certain degree implies flexibility of interpretation and speculative thinking.<\/p>\n The progressivity conceived in the concept of bromocorah<\/em> can open us an opportunity to delve deeper in the realm of cinema. Since the birth of cinema, bromocorah<\/em> has become a subject matter that is frequently responded to and triggers a lot of experimentation, both regarding the mode of storytelling and the mode of visual language. In fact, in many cinema movements, including in Indonesia, the understanding of that concept grows and has succeeded in offering aesthetic leap. It is in line with the attempts of cinema activists to frame the subjects and social world of bromocorah<\/em>, which perpetually teases the canons of cinema and stimulates skepticism towards the established knowledge regime. At the same time, they offer critical questions over social realities which are usually confined by moral and ethical boundaries, norms, and standardisation by the system of power. By encompassing the concept of bromocorah<\/em> into the cinematic universe and then drawing it back again out of that aesthetic realm, we may be able to gaze and interpret current global symptom and contemporary performativities. Because, by believing it as a sign that almost always exists in every era, bromocorah<\/em> becomes a cultural vocabulary through which we can see how actually Modernism itself \u2014 the birth mother of cinema \u2014 works upon us.<\/p>\n Welcome to the world of the outcasts![\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By encompassing the concept of bromocorah into the cinematic universe and then drawing it back again out of that aesthetic realm, we may be able to gaze and interpret current global symptom and contemporary performativities; bromocorah becomes a cultural vocabulary through which we can see how actually Modernism itself works upon us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9667,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[532,541],"tags":[526,542,528],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nAyahku harimau, ibuku ular<\/span>
\nAku dijuluki orang sisa-sisa<\/span>
\nSebab kerap merintih, kerap menjerit<\/span><\/p>\n
\nNyanyikan tangis, marah, dan cinta<\/span>
\nTemanku niat, temanku semangat<\/span>
\nYang kian hari kian berkarat<\/span><\/p>\n
\nAku bicara mereka tutup hidung<\/span>
\nAku tersinggung peduli nilai-nilai<\/span>
\nAku datangi dengan segunung api<\/span><\/p>\n
\nOrang sisa-sisa menangis<\/span>
\nAir matanya<\/span>
\nApi!<\/span><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1565615072034{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]I am the man of night
\nMy father is a tiger, my mother is a snake
\nThey call me outcast
\nBecause I often groaning, screaming<\/p>\n
\nSinging tears, anger and love
\nMy friends are faith, enthusiasm
\nThat are increasingly corroded<\/p>\n
\nI talk, they cover their nose
\nI am offended, ignoring values
\nI go to them with a mountain of fire<\/p>\n
\nThe outcast cries
\nThe tears
\nIs fire![\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1565615240584{margin-bottom: 10px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1565615264245{margin-bottom: 20px !important;}”]\n