Of May, Mawi and Gie...
Come May, I noticed how cruel I am to leave my blog unattended. Work and more work drained most of my energy (and time, of course) to write down my mind/s. So many things, ideas or feelings raced to the finishing line in my brain but none get the trophy because none gets the attention it should. I lived the life of a selfish pretentious thinker. Seen something worth reflecting on, but wasted no time to turn my back and made a mental note to revisit it when I have the time. Only to turn my back and saw that there was nothing left for me to taste or experience. Only to turn my back again...relieved?
Come May, we have Labor Day. The traditional celebrators opted for a rally or quite new to me- "Perjalanan". The new face of MTUC (and yet, not so new in the field) is in the process of transferring the title (if not entering a caveat) of Dataran Merdeka to MTUC Homeground for May 1st Celebration. This year, Ali Mamak was not in the picture (thank god...or else we will be amused again by his attempt to promote his new album), instead we have a rock n' roll band- Bonfires. I guess they want to attract more young people to be "terpesona" with the worker ` s plight. Maybe next time, they could invite Mawi..if they want a larger crowd, of course.
Speaking of Mawi, Mawi misplaced his aura during this year `s AIM. He gained no awards while another reality show winner, Jac Victor grinned victoriously ( pun intended) grabbing 4 awards gracefully. Shannon Shah, surprisingly won the best male voice in album, beating Jamal Abdillah. I am more amused with his dedication of the win to human rights activists. I was immediately transported to another world..where I met him in 2004, before his overnight fame and success, where he sounded so understanding and convincingly emphatize with the human rights movement in the country. Perhaps, he was more of a supporter, a sympathizer. So, I guess its O.K for him to include that in his winning speech. After all, how many times do u hear human rights being mentioned amidst a glamorous music award. At least now, u can count ONE.
I conclude Labor Day holiday with a personal screening of GIE, starring Nicholas Saputra. Directed by Riri Reza, GIE is a movie lush with personal insights and stories of a student activist named Soe Hok Gie during the dangerous times of 1960s in Indonesia. A young man who wants to escape the two blocks of opposing power, he was critical of Soekarno `s Old Order and sceptical and cautious of Soeharto `s emerging regime.GIE projects the boiling blood of fine UI motley crew, gearing for a just Indonesia that is free from corruption and "politik taik kucing". Gie played a pivotal role in helping the students develop a strong opinion against the corrupted government and to take action thereon.
A stubborn boy since childhood who earnestly read books by renowned figures, he found solace in his childhood friend, Tan who was later reunited with Gie and founded to be a PKI cadre. Tan, not surprisingly found his fate in Bali, masacred along with other 79,999 suspected or true PKI suporters during the "Red Hunt" in October. However, GIE do not deal with the tragedy in depth. A bit sad actually. Secondly, Gie died from an accident in Bukit Simeru at the young age of 26++. Thats also a bit anti-climaxish. Gie, an intellectual radical must had pictured his death among other Indonesian freedom fighters, among the grassroot. Instead, he passed away at the top of Mount Semiru among his close friends. Good movie, nice cinematography with Nicholas Saputra thrown in. For once, enjoy the fruit of labor of one of Indonesian finest young director, which, in a timely coincidence, is about a young fighter for justice and human rights. Again, Selamat Hari Pekerja!
Come May, we have Labor Day. The traditional celebrators opted for a rally or quite new to me- "Perjalanan". The new face of MTUC (and yet, not so new in the field) is in the process of transferring the title (if not entering a caveat) of Dataran Merdeka to MTUC Homeground for May 1st Celebration. This year, Ali Mamak was not in the picture (thank god...or else we will be amused again by his attempt to promote his new album), instead we have a rock n' roll band- Bonfires. I guess they want to attract more young people to be "terpesona" with the worker ` s plight. Maybe next time, they could invite Mawi..if they want a larger crowd, of course.
Speaking of Mawi, Mawi misplaced his aura during this year `s AIM. He gained no awards while another reality show winner, Jac Victor grinned victoriously ( pun intended) grabbing 4 awards gracefully. Shannon Shah, surprisingly won the best male voice in album, beating Jamal Abdillah. I am more amused with his dedication of the win to human rights activists. I was immediately transported to another world..where I met him in 2004, before his overnight fame and success, where he sounded so understanding and convincingly emphatize with the human rights movement in the country. Perhaps, he was more of a supporter, a sympathizer. So, I guess its O.K for him to include that in his winning speech. After all, how many times do u hear human rights being mentioned amidst a glamorous music award. At least now, u can count ONE.
I conclude Labor Day holiday with a personal screening of GIE, starring Nicholas Saputra. Directed by Riri Reza, GIE is a movie lush with personal insights and stories of a student activist named Soe Hok Gie during the dangerous times of 1960s in Indonesia. A young man who wants to escape the two blocks of opposing power, he was critical of Soekarno `s Old Order and sceptical and cautious of Soeharto `s emerging regime.GIE projects the boiling blood of fine UI motley crew, gearing for a just Indonesia that is free from corruption and "politik taik kucing". Gie played a pivotal role in helping the students develop a strong opinion against the corrupted government and to take action thereon.
A stubborn boy since childhood who earnestly read books by renowned figures, he found solace in his childhood friend, Tan who was later reunited with Gie and founded to be a PKI cadre. Tan, not surprisingly found his fate in Bali, masacred along with other 79,999 suspected or true PKI suporters during the "Red Hunt" in October. However, GIE do not deal with the tragedy in depth. A bit sad actually. Secondly, Gie died from an accident in Bukit Simeru at the young age of 26++. Thats also a bit anti-climaxish. Gie, an intellectual radical must had pictured his death among other Indonesian freedom fighters, among the grassroot. Instead, he passed away at the top of Mount Semiru among his close friends. Good movie, nice cinematography with Nicholas Saputra thrown in. For once, enjoy the fruit of labor of one of Indonesian finest young director, which, in a timely coincidence, is about a young fighter for justice and human rights. Again, Selamat Hari Pekerja!
posted by GEE at 8:45 AM
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