Jakarta - City's Oldest Movie Theaters

Old movie theaters "Grand Keramat"

Jakarta : Going to the movies is one of our favorite pastimes here in Jakarta, just like in any other metropolis around the world. So much so that the words “21” and “Blitz,” the familiar names of Jakarta’s two biggest movie theater chains, have become synonymous with the word “cinema.” Which makes me wonder: How surprised would Jakarta’s hip teens and young adults be if they found out that there were still other movie theaters existing in the capital outside of those two chains?

I’m talking about the only two remaining and fully operational old movie theaters in Jakarta: the Mulia Agung and the Grand Keramat. Both located in the the Senen intersection right across from the Senen Atrium. Passing by, you will see big movie posters displayed there with unfamiliar titles such as “Dukun A.S. Misteri Kebun Tebu” (“American Shaman Mystery in the Sugarcane Plantation”).

“But don’t be fooled by the posters — they won’t change anytime soon, since they’re just a teaser to raise people’s interest to come here,” said Darmin, a staff member at Grand Keramat. “We show different films each week, depending on the manager’s choice.”

Until the 1990s, Jakarta had a thriving movie theater industry with hundreds of youths filling up local theaters eager to watch the new movies from legendary comedy troupe Warkop DKI, or the latest romantic drama. Back then there were theaters such as Rivoli, the Djaja theater in Jatinegara and the Orion theater that met its end during the large riots in Jakarta 1998 when Glodok was burned to the ground. There was also the Cempaka Theater, which was closed along with Cempaka Putih Market in 2009, and lastly the Benhil Theater, which closed in April 2010.

Today, only Mulia Agung and Grand Keramat remain. Both theaters are run by the same family business, housed in a single building.

The Mulia Agung and the Grand Keramat

Grand Keramat hosts two theaters on the ground floor, while Mulia Agung has three more one floor up. Built in the 1920s, the building is certainly looking worse for wear. Most of the cement walls are cracked and the floors are caked with dust, since the lobby is exposed to the traffic outside.

But the ticket prices here may very well be the cheapest in town, at only Rp 5,000 (50 cents) in Grand Keramat every day of the week, while Mulia Agung charges Rp 6,000 Monday to Wednesday and Rp 8,000 from Thursday to Sunday. The price differs because Mulia Agung is comparatively cleaner and more convenient, Darmin explained.

There are also two remaining coin-activated arcade games, or what the previous generation liked to call “ding-dong.” These machines are so old I doubt today’s teenagers would even remember them.

Touring through the dusty corridors, it began to feel like a museum until Darmin started shouting “One!” and “Three!” letting visitors know the movies were about to start in those theaters.

Moving into the theater with the rest, I noticed there were no lights on the floor to guide me down the dark aisles. Viewers here can choose to sit wherever they like, so long as they have a ticket. And from looking at the other patrons, it seemed all other kinds of things were permitted there that you couldn’t do elsewhere, like putting your feet up on the seats, or lighting a cigarette.

As for the movies, they are generally for mature audiences only, and are often old titles. Most of the film reels flicker and have dark spots and breaking audio quality.

“The movies are loaned to us by various production houses and Dinas Perfilman [the Indonesian Movie Agency],” Darmin said.

But the biggest problem these two old cinemas face is the negative image that many people in Jakarta associate them with. Through rumors, many people label these two theaters as little more than a front for prostitution. The fact is that yes, there are people taking advantage of this situation to offer their “services.” But these cinemas are far from the dark and dangerous places filled with criminals that some people assume them to be.

In the end, they are just like any other family business. You may even see the children of the owners running around and sometimes even helping out in the ticketing booth.

Like getting into a time machine, Mulia Agung and Grand Keramat hold a lot of good memories for those who grew up in their dark theaters.

“Sure, it brings back old memories,” said Beni, who has been a customer at Grand Keramat for 20 years. “It reminds me of my first date with my wife.”

Jakarta Globe

The Original Named of Indonesia

Map of Indonesia

In India, the Dutch colonial period it appears the name of Indonesia. First used by two Englishmen, namely George Samuel Windsor Earl, a lawyer born in London, who with James Richardson Logan, a Scottish-born lawyer, wrote an article as much as 96 pages in the Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia No. 4, 1850, under the title "The Ethnology of the Indian Archipelago: Embracing Enquiries into the Continental Relations of the Indo-Pacific Islanders." They named the Dutch population-western India who came Proto-Malay (Melayu old) and Deutero-Malay (Melayu young), as Indunesians (Indu, the Latin, meaning: India; sia, as long as he is nesos, Greek, meaning: islands). While people in the eastern part of India and the Netherlands into the category of Melanesians (Mela = black. islands of Melanesia = black people). Therefore, the Earl himself and then tend to use the term Malay-nesians, to call the Dutch population-western India. Logan then change Indunesia into Indonesia (Indos and Nesos, both derived from the Greek) in his writings on the Journal.

Adolf Bastian, as well as German a doctor and ethnologist, who popularized the name of Indonesia when it published a report of travel and research in Berlin, which published the work of five volumes (1864-1894) entitled "Indonesien, oder die Inseln des malaysischen Archipels" (German , meaning: "Indonesia, or the islands of the Malay archipelago"). Volume I titled the Moluccas, Volume II East and Surrounding Islands, vol III and Surrounding Regions Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi Volume IV, Volume V of Java and Closures. Since the first until now, scientists prefer to use the term European / Latin or Greek word for naming things in connection with the scientific, as well as to call the race of residents on area of ​​Malaya and the Dutch parts of western India.

Eduard Douwes Dekker, in his book "Max Havelaar" said India -Dutch with the name Insulinde, variations in the Dutch language for India Islands. When Indische Partij (India party)), founded by his nephew was banned by the Dutch Government of India in 1913, its members founded the Party Insulinde.

Well Indunesian, Indonesien or Insulinde all means India Islands, to show the identity of the native who live in the western part of India-Dutch, while living in the east-Flores, Timor, Maluku and Papua, in fact are the people Melanesia (the islands black people). Which included the first use of the word Indonesia in the early 20's was the Association of Indonesia in the Netherlands, Sam Ratu Langie and the Communist Party of Indonesia.
 

So Indonesia said that until now used by the Republic of Indonesia it means none other than: India Islands.
Other than Indonesia, which uses the name "created" by the British and later popularized by the Germans, also Phillipina (Philippines), which still uses the name of colonial heritage. When the people of Spain controlled the territory, as the dedication to the king of Spain, Phillip, the colony was named Philippina.

Many countries after independence to rename the "created" or administered by the colonial, such as Ceylon became Sri Lanka, Burma became Myanmar, Indo-China into Vietnam, Rhodesia became Zimbabwe, Gold Coast became Ghana, South-West Africa to Namibia, etc..
 

So if these people agreed to leave the name was created by Europeans, then Indonesia is not the first country to change the name of the heritage the colonial period.

Wayang Golek : Art Puppet Theater of West Java

Wayang Golek

The painted wooden puppets on the preceding page are old examples from the still thriving and important folk art puppet theater of Java in Indonesia.  Although tourist shops now sell imitations of wayang golek puppets, the puppets illustrated on these pages were actually used for many years in theater productions--in presentations of Hindu epics, Javanese history plays and the Islamic Menak cycles. These performances were given in towns and villages on holidays and for a variety of festivals, as were the distinctive shadow-puppet plays.  A dalang, or puppet master, manipulated the puppets, spoke their parts, and coordinated the puppets' actions with music from a gamelan orchestra.

Tatang Haryana And Wayang Golek

Like so many other crafts in Indonesia, making wayang golek is a skill handed down through families. The master puppet-maker usually makes the head because it expresses the personality of the puppet. Ceremonies are performed before commencing a deity or a demon. A piece of light, local softwood, which is easy to carve and not too heavy to hold up during a performance, is sawed or chopped down to the right size, and the main features are roughly chiseled. After sanding, fine decorations such as the parts of a crown are carved in with more care and sanded. The smooth surface receives a coat of glue-based paint, which will enable subsequent coats to adhere well.  Lips, flowers and some bits of jewelry are painted red, as are the irises of angry characters. Blue is also used for eyes and sapphire jewelry. Fine black lines are painted for eyes, eyebrows, moustaches and wisps of hair....Bodies are often made by younger members of the family, and arms are attached at the elbow and shoulders with string so that they move easily. The shapes of hands also express character and role; those of nobles stretch out gracefully, but servants and commoners have large open palms. A rod passes from a hole in the base of the puppet's head and down through the body to form a handle. Costumes are usually made by wives. ...Since the stories portray historical and human rather than divine affairs, the puppets, like those used for history plays, are always fully clothed in Central Javanese traditional dress with batik sarongs.

Puppet body types can be identified across a spectrum which ranges from alus (extremely refined) to kasar (extremely rough and crude).  Refined, virtuous characters have small dainty bodies, slitted oval eyes with pupils shaped like rice grains, pointed noses and a modest downward gaze...  Vigorous or turbulent characters have a more direct and confrontational stare. As the personality of the puppet becomes less refined, there is an increase in size; the nose becomes heavier and blunter; eyes and pupils become larger and rounder and the gaze more aggressive; teeth and gums may be exposed in a snarl or a foolish sneer.  The more refined middle-sized puppets may represent courageous but impetuous kings and heroes; the coarser ones suggest an uncontrolled or evil nature. The largest puppets are used for those whose greatest attribute is physical strength.

The most frequently performed narratives derive from the Hindu epics. The Arjuna Sasra Bahu and Ramayana cycles concern the affairs of the noble Rama himself and his ancestors. Favorite stories concern Rama's marriage to Sinta; their banishment to the forest together with his brother Laksmana; Sinta's abduction by the monster king Rahwana; and her subsequent rescue, with the aid of the monkey king and after numerous battles, from  the kingdom of Sri Lanka. The Ramayana contains many episodes from the lives of these characters which are emphasized in varying degrees to form separate plays in their own right.

Pandawa Brothers

The Mahahharata tells of the conflict between the superior Pandawa brothers (Judistra, Bima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sadewa) and their hundred jealous and mendacious cousins, the Kurewas, who drive them away from their home at the court of Astina, to wander in the wild.  In the forest the Pandewas build the lovely and idealized kingdom of Amarta where the majority of the plays are set. The heroic quests, battles with vile ogres and scenes of romantic love are made all the more poignant by the knowledge that the glory and beauty are fleeting. Events are presented as taking place in Java rather than India, and the heroic Pandewas, descendants of Vishnu, are the ancestors of the Javanese kings. Many episodes have simply been invented by puppeteers over generations.

Tatang Haryana Play Wayang Golek

The court scenes also allow scope for the comic misadventures and intrigue of the Pandewas' clown servants, the Punakawans:  Semar the wise, whose identity is thought to have evolved from that of the pre-Hindu Javanese god Ismaya and his sons. The inane and melancholic Gareng, with his round drooping nose, is the butt of jokes and tricks played by the sharp Petruk. Philosophical and mystical speculations made by the refined characters provide an intellectual and spiritual dimension for members of the audience with a taste for high seriousness.

http://asiarecipe.com/indogoleng.html 

http://travel.detik.com/read/2010/12/08/213404/1512372/1025/6/golek-bukan-boneka-biasa