The Rise of Nostalgia, Is Today a Concern?
By: Achmad Muchtar
Tags: Books, Tv Program, Film, Presiden Soeharto, Nostalgia

Sticker “Piye Kabare? Enak Jamanku To?” (Source: Hipwee.com)

STICKER depicts the former 2nd President of the Republic of Indonesia, Soeharto, waving his hand with the phrase “Piye kabare? Enak Jamanku To?”- How’s it going? Tasty for my time, right? — suddenly became popular among the people, especially Java. The sticker indirectly criticizes the post-New Order government, which is considered to have not experienced significant development, instead the post-New Order government is considered less assertive and more soft, which makes the country less respected.

The post-New Order era, which is also known as the Reformation period, which was marked by the resignation of Suharto from the presidency, the press that was increasingly free to voice its voice, and the development of science and technology such as the internet, the times have changed. These developments have made television and the internet the favorite consumption of Indonesians. TV stations began to appear, gadgets became more sophisticated, and the internet was increasingly rampant. It is undeniable that technological sophistication has positive and negative impacts. On the positive side, the public is increasingly facilitated by the speed of information, telecommunications, and convenience. On the negative side, the sophistication of this technology has made people increasingly autistic — less sociable and less mobile.

Today, we cannot possibly not be familiar with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and other social media. Social media is indeed a trend in today’s society. In the past, people who greeted each other and visited each other, have now turned into an elite society that exchanges greetings via the internet (indirectly); People who are in locked rooms can establish communication with people who are far away; People who are on the ship can see the graduation event via live streaming; etc. In other words, changes in people’s lifestyles, say the ’90s with today’s society, are very fast. In the ’90s we had to go to the house or telephone to talk long distance, now anywhere can establish long-distance communication.

Technology has made the phrase “meeting people” even less necessary. All this is now facilitated by technology which increasingly makes humans become “spoiled” creatures. And, even in the future, even robots could approach an almost human resemblance. So, perhaps because of the people’s anxiety, there is now a lot of access to nostalgic “doors” to, at least, remember that the past was pleasant for some or troublesome for some.

Recently, we can see how nostalgia rife in various media, from electronic media such as television, social media, to books. On television, we can see how many programs have nostalgia themes. On Trans TV there is ‘A Night to Remember’, a music program that specifically features artists and songs from 1990 to 2010. The program is matched by Indosiar, which broadcasts an almost similar and more old-fashioned program, namely ‘Golden Memories’.

AnTV, which recently skyrocketed due to Indian TV series, does not want to be outdone by the nostalgic grip. Several domestic TV series that were popular in the 2000s were re-broadcast, such as ‘Bidadari’ (2000–2005), ‘Tuyul and Mbak Yul’ (1997), ‘Jinny Oh Jinny’ (1997–2002) and ‘Putri Duyung’ (2001). What AnTV has done is quite successful. Some of these TV series attracted quite a lot of viewers. This can be seen by the proliferation of TV stations that also broadcast old series back. MNC TV broadcast the telenovela ‘Carita de Angel’ (2000–2001) which was successfully broadcast on RCTI in the 2000s. This was followed by Global TV broadcasting ‘Maria Mercedes’ (1992–1993), which was popular in the 1990s. And RCTI, which did not want to be outdone by re-broadcasting ‘Pernikahan Dini’ (2001–2002).

In the world of film, we are shocked by several films that are selling well in our own country. Starting from ‘Ada Apa dengan Cinta? 2’ (2016) until the most excited because it became the Indonesian film with the largest number of viewers, namely ‘Warkop DKI Reborn: Jangkrik Boss! — Part I’ (2016). Not only new films, old films have been restored to be re-shown in theaters. Is the film ‘Tiga Dara’ (1956) which became the second Indonesian film to be restored after ‘Lewat Djam Malam’ (1954) which was restored in 2012. In the world of books, ‘Raden Mandasia si Pencuri Daging Sapi’ by Yusi Avianto Pareanom, which recently won as the best prose Kusala Sastra Khatulistiwa 2016, is also not far from the grip of nostalgia. On social media, Generation 90s accounts are also very popular, featuring memes of 1990s objects or activities that can make their followers smile.

The rise of nostalgia in various media can indicate the current trend in society. This nostalgia can be assumed as a place to reminisce about the past or make fun of the present. The first, Today’s people begin to remember their life experiences, begin to think about their history. Second, today’s society is more critical by throwing nostalgic discourses to ridicule the “dilapidation” of today. Or, perhaps, today’s society makes fun of the present because they long for the “atmosphere” of the past? Was it really happy in the past? []

* First published in Indonesian titled “Marak Nostalgia, Zaman Sekarang Memprihatinkan?” on achmazing.wordpress.com, 2017.