Popular Culture Review Vol. 12, No. 1, February 2001

Adapting a Popular Culture Genre to Criticize an Authoritarian Government: Balinese Artists Attack Suharto’s Repressive Indonesian Regime During President Suharto’s 1966-1998 reign in Indonesia, freedom of the press was severely restricted. Through the use of humor, ambiguity and symbolism from their traditional shadow puppet genre, however, clever Balinese cartoonists were able to express far more critical opinions about Suharto’s authoritarian government than were print journalists. In traditional Bali, shadow puppet plays were very important for teaching the proper Balinese ways to behave. They may have been an even more important medium of socialization than television is in the United States today. The puppeteers used clown-servant characters (who were sometimes reincarnations of gods and often acted to promote the best interests of the common people) to criticize contemporary government policies and actions. They were careful to do this in a very subtle manner, however, to avoid serious retaliation by the political authorities. Several Balinese cartoonists have created their own distinctive characters that perform the same function as the clown-servants of the shadow play genre. Wayan Gunasta Pendit, for example, has written that his I BREWOK character is like the clown-servant of the shadow plays because he “can praise, make fun of people, criticize or even tease” his political master (or the audience) just like cartoonists can.' This article will show how two of Bali’s talented cartoonists were able to express some serious criticisms of Suharto’s authoritarian regime. Three of the specific cartoons that will be analyzed were on display at an exhibition titled “Globalisasi” (Globalization) at the 1997 Bali Arts Festival. The fourth was published in a book of cartoons that was for sale at the exhibition. Before these specific example cartoons are presented, however, the dangerous political environment in which they were created will be described. Cartoonists Feared The Suharto Government “Jango” Pramartha, one of the cartoonists who organized the Globalisasi exhibition, optimistically includes the following motto on his business card: “Cartooning is Not a Crime.” Gus Martin, another cartoonist organizer of the exhibit, also demonstrated fear of being arrested as a criminal for his cartooning. The author

Popular Culture Review Vol. 12, No. 1, February 2001 | Page 45