UNAIR NEWS – The horror genre movie KKN di Desa Penari (2022) has become the talk of the Indonesian film industry. Originated from a viral thread on Twitter and visualized into a film, KKN di Desa Penari has attracted the public’s attention.
Apart from the heavily explored technology and modern themes of the movie industry, the presence of KKN di Desa Penari has been a hit through traditional myths and occults.
Looking at the film’s success, UNAIR lecturer of Cinema Studies IGAK Satrya Wibawa S Sos MCA PhD explained that technological developments are not directly correlated with people’s beliefs or myths.
“Since the beginning, our system has been designed to contextually rely on the cultural context of where we are born. We are shaped to coexist with anything; we are born with myths, lores, and perspectives which others consider as occultic and supernatural,” he said.
Therefore, technology will not be directly correlated with the perspective changes because technology is visible, while the occultic and supernatural things tend to be linear with human beliefs.
“Actually, Indonesia is not the only one. Other countries have one in common. For instance, in Hollywood, there are possessed dolls, clown demon, et cetera, which also receive the public’s attention. The source of fear could come from anywhere, including the technology itself,” said Igak.
Furthermore, UNAIR Communication lecturer explained that horror movies have improved in terms of quality. In the past, horror movies used to contain sexuality and exploit women’s bodies. For instance, Jailangkung (2017) became a horror movie that presented an appropriate taste to today’s generation.
According to Igak, the strength of films lie in their audiovisual feature. The audiences no longer have to imagine as it has been audio-visually illustrated to the screen.
“Of course, it will be highly potential media to promote traditional lores and myths around us,” he said.
“Don’t forget, Indonesian first movie was Loetoeng Kasaroeng (1926) which introduced myths around us. At those times, the film would definitely become a great medium to distribute the traditional lores to Indonesian.”
Psychological closeness
Furthermore, Igak stated that myths need to be explored and developed with various tales and perspectives. The myths have psychological closeness with the audiences, making it easier to capture their interest.
On the other hand, the tales of Dracula or aliens are not closely related to Indonesian psychological characters. In the West, the alien is part of a myth passed through generations by word of mouth.
“It is important to explore more myths in every region, which one is marketable as not every myth has that selling point. Then, personify it with audiences. It’s an industry, after all. We must be able to match the product and the buyer. If we create a product that doesn’t match with consumers, no one will buy it. The market law should be well-thought,” said Igak.
Author: Rafli Noer Khairam
Editor: Binti Q. Masruroh
