And so it begins

[Bert Vierstra]

You take it too often too easy in drawing your conclusions and your guesses, Balilife.

BTW I am getting a bit tired of editing the shit out of your messages. I was thinking you would get it by now. :shock:

[SG]

BTW…do you have Indovision? The swimwear and lingerie segments of the Fashion Channel are still “alive and well” and I haven’t seen any changes in the cinetrons, or the ads that support them either.

As said, it only became law yesterday, with automatic ratification, thus it would be tricky for that to have happened already as you say the cops don't have their guidelines but the vigilante aspects of the law apply as of this week. I seriously doubt they will raid Indovision.

Come back and talk about it in 6 months and we will see.

[SG]

If the "erotic dancers" are what they are in Bali, the same traveling "phenomena", also to the North where I had the "pleasure" of seeing them, go ahead and arrest them all.

Its disgusting, and denigrating

If they are what I've seen in bars in Bali and elsewhere, they're tasteless and I don't want to watch them but hardly what I'd call disgusting. And as BaliLife says, they're not compulsory viewing. And I agree, kids unable to get food, or people dying on the roads without cops caring enough to do much to stop it are more morally objectionable.

[BaliLife]

my point is that the house is falling down and they're trying to decide what colours to paint the walls.

ct

[Roy]

Come back and talk about it in 6 months and we will see.

I agree 100% with that. I will depend a great deal on how, and where the law is implemented, (if implemented) and this will take some time to “gel” so to speak.

On topic, I was able to spend a good hour yesterday with another brother in law of mine, I Made Djirna. If you Google him, it becomes quickly apparent that he is a very major contemporary Balinese artist with a huge reputation and following. It’s rare for me to be able to spend much time alone with him as he is constantly being pursued by the major art dealers from Jakarta, Singapore and Hong Kong.

So, I asked him for his thoughts on the porno bill…specifically relating to the arts, and he conveyed that he felt it should be no additional problem for artists. In his view, Indonesian artists in general have always had to deal with public sensitivity to certain forms of the arts. As we kicked this around, I used the example that a show of nude paintings in New York City by artist so and so would have no consequences, but that same show in a staunch southern Baptist town would likely not have the same reception. He agreed totally with the comparison. He also pointed out, many of the best artists of the nude form in the past, have come from Java, and many of them also happened to be Muslim.

Again, just to reiterate, in my neck of the woods it’s more of a wait and see attitude, and not an atmosphere of concern.

[SG]

Come back and talk about it in 6 months and we will see.

I agree 100% with that. I will depend a great deal on how, and where the law is implemented, (if implemented) and this will take some time to “gel” so to speak.
.

There are several points to this. Firstly I think Jakarta is already a little taken aback at the negative reaction to this in Bali, Papua (which is making renewed calls for Independence gain yesterday), Sulawesi and, this is the big one, Jogja, the ancient capital but a very educated and progressive town however quite Muslim.

Secondly, once the election is over the impetus in Senayan to push this will be gone with Golkar and many other parties. That said parties like the PKS which control Jakarta won't let it go as it's a core policy.

Thirdly, I'm not sure how the supporters of the likes of the PKS are gonna react when they see, as the party says it wants to, the 'cleaning up' of sinetrons and public TV.

A lot of the support from the public for this bill seems to come from people who don't understand it's implications, and I think that it the more radical advocates try to implement these there could be an almighty backlash. Indonesia is addicted to its trashy TV and mags, it's shopping malls full of glossy advertising and displays (there being 80 malls in Jakarta alone). And then we have the cinema..I'd love to see the PKS try to ban Hollywood or Bollywood, but if you look at the bill it has to go.