Download Sinetron
Guy Clena
Indonesian sinetron TV shows are worlds filled with brutal clichés and absurd occurrences. Most plots seem to involve evil stepmothers, characters being hit by cars in slow motion, or babies who were accidentally swapped at birth. Some sinetrons verge on the fantastical, where Batman randomly shows up wearing a shiny costume, or the protagonist keeps a poorly animated dragon as a mode of transport.
The Broadcasting Commission of Indonesia (KPI) has repeatedly reproved sinetron for presenting unrealistic stories, joined by critics and audiences who are concerned about the substandard quality. Regardless of this, the sinetron industry shows no sign of slowing down. Ratings are as high as ever, with popular titles being continued for the 1,000th episode, plots stretched as long as people are still watching.
The struggles of the working class have been a long-running theme for many popular sinetrons. From the humble life of a rice porridge vendor trying to save money for umrah in Tukang Bubur Naik Haji, to a comical everyday drama of a bajaj driver in Bajaj Bajuri, many sinetrons have succeeded in recreating the real lives of their audience on screen.
In 2003, Rahasia Ilahi (Divine Secret) became the first Islamic drama to gain commercial success, a feat that ushered in the era of religious sinetron. By 2010, Indonesian audiences had already been offered as many as 335 Islamic sinetron titles.
Some appreciate how Islamic teachings enter pop culture via the religious content of sinetron, while others argue against the oversimplified (but at the same time overly dramatised) portrayal of religious tenets, the commercialisation of religion, or inappropriate representations of Islamic teachings in gory divine punishments.
Presenting relatable cliches but at the same time bending realities, offering substandard quality that has proved to be enjoyable, the nation is torn between loving and hating sinetron. But sinetron will continue to reign on Indonesian television for many years to come.
There's a trope that's ridiculously common on sinetron: eventually, everyone gets hit by a car. Take Anak Jalanan (Street Kids). It was Indonesia's highest-rated soap opera when, in the 770th episode, Boy (the main character) was run down by a motorist as he furiously pedaled across town to save Reva (the other main character) from the "Godzilla Gang."
It was an insane plot twist, but sinetron isn't exactly known for its quality. The soap operas are both maligned and adored in Indonesia. A national survey by the country's broadcasting commission found that most viewers ranked sinetron as one of the lowest forms of entertainment on television. The soaps are routinely blamed for poor behavior and corrupting the nation's youth. One official went as far as blaming sinetron for sexual assaults and school brawls.
"We're not short on good story writers," said one co-writer of Anak Jalanan who refused to be named, so I'm just going to call him "Yonglek". "But it's difficult to write well for a sinetron. Imagine this: we have to produce one episode daily. Then tomorrow we'll create a new one, and it goes on and on forever. After more than a year, I had been working on it without a break."
Yonglek told me that he watches other series for inspiration, jotting down plot points and sending them off to a writers room for dialogue. The outlines end up on the desk of writers like Pitoresmi Pujiningsih, who worked on the 2006 sinetron Mimpi Manis (Sweet Dreams) with dangdut star Dewi Perssik. Pitoresmi said the team sat in a room all day churning out scripts for sinetrons, never really knowing which show they would be working on until the last minute.
I mentioned the story to Yonglek. That Indian guy was me, he said. It's nearly impossible to keep quality high when the television networks demand an endless supply of episodes regardless of the plot. The country's longest-running sinetron Tukang Bubur Naik Hajji (Porridge Cart Seller Went on Hajj) reached 2,150 episodes on less than four years. It was so popular that nothing, not even the death of the main character, and with him the entire premise of the show, could stop it.
Such a phenomenon did not go unnoticed and there were mixed responses towards the emerging trend. On the one hand, intellectuals, most notably film critic Eric Sasono, criticised television stations for cashing in on increasing Islamic piety, and that sinetron religi trivialised Islamic values and misled Muslim audiences. On the other hand, when the film Ayat-ayat Cinta (Verses of Love; Bramantyo) gained popularity in 2008, also generating a raft of similar melodramas on television, Din Syamsuddin, then head of one of the largest Muslim organisations, Muhammadiyah, praised it for providing an alternative portrayal of a peaceful Islam amidst the prevailing association of Islam and violence.
Mungkin ada banyak alasan mengapa beberapa orang mungkin menganggap sinetron memiliki kualitas yang lebih rendah dibandingkan dengan acara TV atau drama dari negara lain. Salah satu kemungkinan alasannya adalah sinetron seringkali mengandalkan alur cerita yang repetitif dan mudah diprediksi, dengan sedikit pengembangan karakter atau inovasi. Selain itu, beberapa orang mengkritik akting yang berlebihan, nilai produksi yang murah, dan penggunaan penempatan produk yang berlebihan dalam sinetron. Alasan lain yang mungkin adalah fokus industri pada kuantitas daripada kualitas, dengan penekanan pada produksi episode sebanyak mungkin untuk memaksimalkan keuntungan. Hal ini dapat mengakibatkan proses produksi yang terburu-buru, dengan sedikit perhatian pada aspek detail kreatif pertunjukan. Namun, penting untuk dicatat bahwa setiap orang memiliki preferensi dan pendapat yang berbeda dalam hal hiburan, dan apa yang dianggap berkualitas rendah oleh seseorang, mungkin dianggap menyenangkan atau menghibur oleh orang lain.
Bawang Merah Bawang Putih adalah sebuah sinetron dari Indonesia yang dicipta oleh MD Entertainment yang diangkat dari kisah Bawang Putih Bawang Merah, dongeng Nusantara yang popular.Drama Bawang Merah Bawang Putih adalah sebuah sinetron dari Indonesia yang berlaku pada masa kini, namun mengambil kisah aspek pengajaran moral daripada cerita rakyat "Bawang Merah Bawang Putih".Bawang Merah Bawang Putih ditayangkan di RCTI pada tahun 2004 hingga 2006 . Sinetron sepanjang 108 episode ini juga popular di Malaysia yang ditayangkan TV3 sejak tahun 2006 hingga awal 2007 dan ulang tayang di saluran TVRI Jawa Barat,Indonesia.
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