Thursday, December 31, 2015

Best of 2015: My Academic Life


Best of 2015

March

SCMS (Society for Cinema and Media Studies) Conference, Montreal, 25-29 March


Plaridel journal, special issue (as guest editor), late March 2015. (complete title: "The Bad, The Worse, and The Worst: TheSignificance of Indonesian Cult, Exploitation, and B Movies". Plaridel: A Philippine Journal of Communication, Media, and Society, Volume 1, Issue No. 2; 2014)

A Talk at Harvard University, 30 March
May
Student Award UEA Engagement Award , 15 May
July
Public Engagement Prizes, UEA Graduate School Prizes 2015, 14 July
August
Henry Jenkins’s Talk, IKJ, Jakarta, 5 August (as co-organizer and chair)
September
Finished writing the first draft of my doctoral thesis, early September 

October
Workshop on Indonesian Cinema as SOAS, University of London (as co-organizer and presenter), including as a chair for Mondomacabro's Pete Tombs Talk, 3-5 October

 Resolution of 2016:
1. Viva (thesis defence)
2. Publish a proper scholarly paper(s) in, at least, one Scopus-indexed journal.


Thank you, everyone! Alhamdulillah.

Saturday, December 26, 2015

15% off all films at ZDD, including a bunch of Indonesian Exploitation Movies!

Stttt. ZDD has a section on Filipino/Indonesian exploitation films. The title include War Victims, The Warrior and Ninja Girl aka Revenge of the Ninja (Jaka Sembung series), Terrorist, Special Silencers, The Snake Queen aka Nyi Blorong, Lady Exterminator,  Jungle Heat/Rimba Panas, The Intruder aka Pembalasan Rambu,  Hell's Raiders, Final Score,  Daredevil Commandos,  Angel of Fury (uncut, Cynthia Rothrock), Bloody Vengeance (Darah Perjaka).

And they offer 15% off all DVDs and books until midnight on New Year's eve.

click here
https://zddvm.com/14-filipino-indo

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Watch the first ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2’ trailer!

Watch the first ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2’ trailer!

About Jaka Sembung Series

There are at least 5 films related to Jaka Sembung.


Jaka Sembung series
1. Jaka Sembung Sang Penakluk/The Conqueror
2.  Si Buta lawan Jaka Sembung  (1983) 
3.BAjing Ireng & Jaka SEmbung (1983)
4.  Jaka Sembung & Dewi Samudra (1990)
I still have to undertake a research on Jaka Sembung and Bergola Ijo (1985/1987), i can't find the valid info about this film.


Bergola Ijo (1983)  is a continuation/wider universe  of Jaka SEmbung series:
Some of the titles  can be accessed on YouTube, but  unfortunately without English subtitles.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Kelab Seni Filem Malaysia Presents JAKA SEMBUNG (The Warrior)

Kelab Seni Filem Malaysia Presents JAKA SEMBUNG (The Warrior), 13 November 2015  
IF you are around, please come.





More details, click here:   

Monday, October 26, 2015

How 'Star Wars' Director J.J. Abrams Got His Start Working on a Troma Film | Mental Floss UK

How 'Star Wars' Director J.J. Abrams Got His Start Working on a Troma Film | Mental Floss UK

Juri AFI 2015: Penghargaan pada Penyumbang Budaya Sinema

Juri AFI 2015: Penghargaan pada Penyumbang Budaya Sinema





"Selain itu, program film Fakultas Komputer dan Media di Universitas Bina Nusantara dianggap salah satu program studi yang cukup menjanjikan dalam pengembangan budaya film di Indonesia. Sejak awal program ini sudah memfokuskan pada dua bidang: produksi film dan kajian film. Keunikannya ini diganjar dengan penghargaan Apresiasi."




Sunday, October 18, 2015

Mystics in Bali T-Shirt this Halloween!

From Mondo Macabro FB page:

Coming to a T-shirt this Halloween! Designed by the very talented Denis St. John! What do you think?

Indonesia's Pocong in the front cover of Monster Magazine

Just found out this great issue:


 “Ties That Bind:The Pocong & Other Creepy Creatures in Contemporary Indonesian Horror Cinema”. Monster! #21: Sept 2015 http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1517187818/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=1AJM9542N9Z0M44PCT1V&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=577049067&pf_rd_i=desk

The front cover of the magazine is a POCONG.
Is this a sign that i should write a paper on Pocongsploitation?

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

“Mondo Macabro DVD and classic Indonesian cult movies": A Talk by Pete Tombs, SOAS, 3 October

Dear colleagues,
 
It is a  great pleasure for me to announce that Mondo Macabro DVD’s Pete Tombs will be the guest speaker at Workshop on Indonesian Cinema, SOAS University of London, Saturday, 3 October, 1.45-2.30pm.  The title of his talk is “Mondo Macabro DVD and classic Indonesian cult movies”.

Pete Tombs is the writer of the books "Immoral Tales" and "Mondo Macabro: Weird and Wonderful Cinema around the World". Pete co-founded the Mondo Macabro video label and distributes exploitation movies from all over the world, including Indonesia's Lady Terminator, Mystics in Bali, Virgins from Hell. The Warrior (aka Jaka Sembung), and Devil's Sword. He has cowritten, directed and produced some twenty films for UK Channel Four and is a director of the UK production company Rook Films who have produced Kill List, Sightseers, A Field in England and The Duke of Burgundy. He also co-wrote and produced the Pakistani zombie/slasher film Hell's Ground.

This talk is part of Workshop on Indonesian Cinema and  London Indonesian Film Screenings 2015. If you are into cult and exploitation movies, you will also would like to attend   Dr Ben Murtagh’s presentation  on “Exploiting sex in 1990s Indonesian cinema: beyond a strategy for survival”, on Sunday (4 October) at 9.00am.

We have plenty of current great Indonesian movies to screen this weekend. Related to exploitation and cult movies, we have Bastian Mereisonne’s “Garuda Power – The Spirit Within”. The film dives deep into the history of action cinema in Indonesia (most of them are, of course, exploitation films) from its first Chinese-influenced martial arts movies of the 1930s, James Bond copies of the swinging 1960s, Bruce Lee-alikes and super hero comic book adaptations of the 1970s, the golden age of the 1980s up to recent worldwide success of the two RAID movies.
It includes never-before shown footage of long forgotten action titles, many interviews of cult actors (Barry Prima, George Rudy…) and directors (Imam Tantowi, Ackyl Anwari...) and some unreleased behind-the-scenes footage from newer movies.
But most overall, the documentary captures the spirit of past glorious times, long-forgotten and soon to be lost.
Details:
Schedule of  London Indonesian Film Screenings 2015  (2-4 October):
 
2 October 2015, Russell Square: College Buildings, Khalili Lecture Theatre, 7:00 PM - 8:50 PM
3 October 2015, Russell Square: College Buildings, Khalili Lecture Theatre, 5:15 PM - 6:50 PM
3 October 2015, Russell Square: College Buildings, Khalili Lecture Theatre, 7:00 PM - 8:40 PM
4 October 2015, Russell Square: College Buildings, Khalili Lecture Theatre, 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM
4 October 2015, Russell Square: College Buildings, Khalili Lecture Theatre, 3:45 PM - 4:55 PM
4 October 2015, Russell Square: College Buildings, Khalili Lecture Theatre, 5:05 PM - 6:25 PM


Schedule of Workshop on Indonesian Cinema:
3-4 October 2015, Russell Square: College Buildings, L67, 9:00 AM - 12:45 PM

more info: https://www.soas.ac.uk/cseas/events/london-indonesian-film-screenings-2015/03oct2015-workshop-on-indonesian-cinema.html

 

 

Thank  you,

best regards,

Ekky Imanjaya

Co-organizer

PhD Candidate, University of East Anglia, UK

Faculty Member, School of Film, Binus University, Indonesia


Tuesday, September 1, 2015

London Indonesian Film Screenings 2015 & Workshop on Indonesian Cinema SOAS, University of London, 2-4 October 2015

 London Indonesian Film Screenings 2015
&
Workshop on Indonesian Cinema
SOAS, University of London, 2-4 October 2015


The 2015 London Indonesian Film Screenings will presents a selection of some of the most exciting films to come out of Indonesia in recent years.
 
Indonesian film has experienced a remarkable revitalisation in the years since the fall of the New Order regime in 1998. In 2006, SOAS was delighted to host the first ever series of London Indonesian Film Screenings. Since then we have continued to play occasional Indonesian films open to the public. In 2013, we hosted a five day series of film screenings and a two day academic workshop devoted to Indonesian cinema. Now, in 2015, we will be holding the third such event, with an exciting range of film screenings again coupled with an academic workshop. The event will coincide with the annual Indonesia Kontemporer.
The 2015 London Indonesian Film Screenings presents a selection of some of the most exciting films to come out of Indonesia in recent years. The films touch on issues of reconciliation, love, diversity, and the Indonesian film tradition itself. We start off by screening the recent awarding winning Tabula Rasa, a film about about food and diversity which is sure to get everyone’s taste buds tingling. Selamat Pagi Malam is a melancholic imaging of the Jakarta metropolis by one of Indonesia’s most promising director’s Lucky Kuswandi. Layu Sebelum Berkembang is a fascinating documentary looking at the education system in contemporary Indonesia. Sunday’s films present a range of long and short documentary films, together with two great feature films. We start off with a film about football and reconciliation, Cahaya dari Timur, set against the conflict in Ambon of the early years of the 21st century. This is followed by four short films by Tonny Trimarsanto. Bastian Meiresonne’s documentary on Indonesian action cinema,Garuda Power, is a great film with lots of unseen and archive footage.
To coincide with the film screenings the CSEAS and Centre for Film Studies is also organising a two-day Workshop on Indonesian Cinema, on 3-4 October, also to be held at SOAS, University of London. While an academic conference, all those interested in Indonesian film - academics, students and members of the public - are encouraged to attend.  
These events are supported by the Centre for South East Asian Studies andCentre for Film Studies at SOAS as well as by the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in London. Special thanks should also be given to a number of individuals who have helped enormously in the planning of this event. Tonny Trimarsanto, Sheila Timothy of LIFELIKE Pictures, Katrin Schons at the Goethe Institute, Sunny Soon and Indri, PT Kepompong Gendut, Bastian Meiresonne, Jane Savory and Nenna Chuku for giving so much administrative support, Jonah Foran, who designed the poster, and the AV team at SOAS for their technical support.

Co-organisers London Indonesian Film Screenings 2015
Dr. Ben Murtagh (SOAS, University of London)
Ekky Imanjaya (University of East Anglia, Norwich)
Eric Sasono (King’s College, London)
Tito Imanda (Goldsmith, University of London)

Schedule

2 October 2015, Russell Square: College Buildings, Khalili Lecture Theatre, 7:00 PM - 8:50 PM
Dr Ben Murtagh (SOAS, University of London) and Ekky Imanjaya (University of East Anglia)
3 October 2015, Russell Square: College Buildings, L67, 9:00 AM - 12:45 PM
3 October 2015, Russell Square: College Buildings, Khalili Lecture Theatre, 5:15 PM - 6:50 PM
3 October 2015, Russell Square: College Buildings, Khalili Lecture Theatre, 7:00 PM - 8:40 PM
4 October 2015, Russell Square: College Buildings, Khalili Lecture Theatre, 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM
4 October 2015, Russell Square: College Buildings, Khalili Lecture Theatre, 3:45 PM - 4:55 PM
4 October 2015, Russell Square: College Buildings, Khalili Lecture Theatre, 5:05 PM - 6:25 PM

Workshop on Indonesian Cinema
Following on from the success of the Workshop on Indonesian Cinema and London Indonesian Film Screenings of 2013, the SOAS Centre for South East Asian Studies will again be hosting a series of film screenings and an academic workshop in October 2015.
The workshop will bring together academics, researchers and students working on Indonesian film. The theme of the workshop will be as broad as possible in order to allow colleagues to exchange ideas regarding their current research. It is anticipated that one or two film practitioners will also be able to participate. Hopefully a number of the papers presented at the workshop will be brought together for publication in a journal special issue.
The deadline for abstracts closed on 31 May 2015.
More info:


email: Dr. Ben Murtagh bm10@soas.ac.uk


Monday, August 24, 2015

Diskusi Siang: Layar Tancap, Film Kelas B, dan Politik Selera Orde Baru


Kamis ini. Alamat: Sudirman Park Office, Jl. K. H Mas Mansyur kav.35. Campus C LSPR. 
(kl g salah dekat city walk, sudirman/fly over)

Monday, August 17, 2015

Henry Jenkins was Here!

As I mentioned earlier, i co-organized an event at 5 of August on Aca/Fans discourses, at School of Postgraduate Jakarta Art Institute (IKJ). And it was such a great honor to be a moderator for Prof. Henry Jenkins. He and Cynthia, his wife, are very humble and kind.

Thank you Prof Jenkins and Cynthia. I hope you enjoy Bali !


Hereby I post pictures of the event, and other occasion.
After the Event. With Buni Yani, Iwan (IKJ), and Hikmat Darmawan (Pabrikultur)
Before the event, I took them to Taman Mini Indonesia Indah


me, as the chair, and the legendary Henry Jenkins



Ondel-ondel as our background :)

from the front

the presentation

Thursday, July 2, 2015

"Hollywood Punya Terminator, Kita Punya Lady Terminator" . tulisan menarik di Liputan6. #
Sepertinya artikel itu ditulis dalam rangka menyambut film Terminator yang baru :).


Trivia: setelah beberapa hari diputar di bioskop, film ini ditarik dari peredaran tahun 1988. Banyak yang protes. Tapi, ada "perlawanan" lain: justru karena dilarang, video gelapnya (yang tanpa lewat lembaga sensor) beredar luas, dan bahkan diekspor keluar negeri tanpa izin ekspor dan tanpa sensor. baru, setelah dipotong sana sini, tahun 1994 film ini boleh beredar bebas. Nah, versi MondomacabroDVD itu yang versi tanpa sensor.
BTW, menurut saya, film semacam ini bisa juga dimasukkan ke dalam kategori genre Mockbuster smile emoticon

Monday, June 15, 2015

Official announcement of UA Engagement Awards 2015

Here's the official announcement and the list of the winners of UEA Engagement Awards (for outstanding contribution to Public & Community Engagement): http://www.uea.ac.uk/community-university-engagement/awards . Thank you guys. Alhamdulillah.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

I won Student Award, UEA Engagement Awards 2015!

Wow! I just won Student Award, UEA Engagement Award 2015. Thank you, all! Alhamdulillah, Allahuakbar! The panel's feedback: "The activity created an effective “beacon” which attracted the public to the research project and resulted in a good variety of engagement."

Saturday, April 25, 2015

The Winner of this year’s Public Engagement Prize (Graduate School Prizes 2015)

This morning,  I just got a terrific news. Here's the first two paragraph of the email:



"Dear Ekky,
The Graduate School Research Prize committee was very pleased to receive your nomination for this year’s Public Engagement Prize.  We are delighted to announce that you have been selected the winner in this category. The committee was greatly impressed by the international reach of your engagement work, the impact on different communities, from the media industry to film studies and beyond, as well as the clear evidence of social media responses online.
We take this opportunity to thank you for your work within your School and for the University of East Anglia as a whole.

.........................."



Alhamdulillah, All praise belongs to Allah.  I submitted Kineforum event, "Rethinking Indonesian Exploitation Cinema"'s poster. And I attached reports by The Jakarta Post, Liputan6, and Binus International. In addition, I also included London Indonesian Film Screenings 2013 and 2015.

Thank you to Gopalan Mullik, the nominator. Thanks to the committee for choosing me. Thank you to Kineforum people, film producers,  Joko Anwar, Christian Razukas and The Jakarta Post, Ade Irwansyah, Shadia, Ben Murtagh, and everybody. And thank you to Prof. Mark Jancovich dand Dr. Rayna Denison,  my supervisors.

Alhamdulillah, Ya Allah.


Sunday, April 19, 2015

Next Destination: Global Exploitation Cinemas Conference, Lincoln, UK, 28-29 May 2015.

Next Destination: Global Exploitation Cinemas Conference, Lincoln, UK, 28-29 May 2015. See you there!

I will present: “The Real Guilty Pleasure”: Lady Terminator¸ Media Reception, and Public Censorship in Indonesia. 
Full programme: http://globalexploitationcinemas.weebly.com/programme.html

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Me and Pete Tombs

Last Thursday and Friday were probably the most productive days in years. I met many great people in London. And one of them was MondomacabroDVD's Pete Tombs.

I knew Pete since 2007 when I found a DVD title Mystics in Bali in a DVD store in Amsterdam, It was Joko Anwar who introduced me with this kind of classic transnational exploitation Indonesian films from his multiply blog back in 2007. And he gave me Pete's email address. So I wrote an email to Pete and had a long interviews.  For me, Pete is important, not only for distributing this kinds of films, but he also wrote a chapter on Indonesian cinema in his book Mondo Macabro:  Weird and Wonderful Cinema Around the World (1998).  and a short documentary .  that time, those were the only sources on Indonesian films as cult and exploitation movies.

Fascinated by this kind of movies, in 2008, I was writing a paper for my final assignment for a master module at Universiteit van Amsterdam. I haven't realized that time, that this presentation would lead me to my PhD study i am doing currently. But surely, it took long journey, from 2007 to 2012, for me to take this path as one of my passions.

After graduated from UEA, I returned home and wrote some popular articles on Pete Tombs and his MondomacabroDVD, as well as global exploitation films from Indonesia in general,  including  Pete Tombs, Penjaga Taman Film Ekspolitasi Indonesia (Pete Tombs, Park Ranger of Indonesian Exploitation Cinema),   Cult Fan Boys Ketemu Jaka Sembung dan Leak (Cult Fan Boys Meet Jaka Sembung and Leak),    Sekali Lagi Tentang  Film Horror Indonesia  (again, on Indonesian Horror Films). Jaka Sembung dan Dunia Islam

And in 2009, I went to Melbourne for B for Bad Movies conference at Monash University. I presented a talk titled The Other Side of Indonesia: New Order’s Indonesian ExploitationCinema as Cult Films, which got published in the same year.

And, in December 2012, I flew to Norwich to start my PhD research on the same topic. And, last month, I just guest-edited a special issue for Plaridel journal on the topic, and I got many interesting papers from great scholars all over the world, all discussing the same topic: exploitation, cult, and b-movies.

In a way, I can conclude that Pete Tombs is one of the most influential person for my current research.

I knew Pete from 2007, but I just met him two days ago. And it was a great chat.
Thank you, Pete.



'Cult Fan Boys' Ketemu Jaka Sembung dan Leak

  Catatan:
Tulisan lama di Multiply yang sudah lenyap link-nya. Dimuat di buku saya, Amsterdam Surprises.

 ---

Suatu hari di akhir 2007, saya mampir ke sebuah toko DVD terlengkap di Amsterdam, tak jauh dari Stasiun Sentral (kini sudah tutup karena bangkrut). Tak terduga, saya menemukan Mystic in Bali, sebuah karya Tjut Djalil berjudul asli Leak tahun 1980. Di atas sampulnya tertulis “the holy grail of cult Asian cinema”.Dan ingatan saya melayang beberapa bulan sebelumnya, saat saya ngobrol dengan sutradara Joko Anwar seputar film-film Indonesia seperti Jaka Sembung (judulnya berubah menjadi The Warrior) dan Pembalasan Ratu Pantai Selatan (Lady Terminator) yang beredar di luar negeri dengan kualitas gambar yang jernih. Bahkan, dalam DVD Virgin ifrom Hell (judul aslinya Perawan di Sarang Sindikat), ada film dokumenter berjudul Indonesian Exploitation Cinema yang bercerita tentang film-film berjenis ini di era 1970 dan 1980an—lengkap dengan analisa politik Orde Baru. Maka saya pun berselancar di internet, mencari tahu fenomena apa gerangan, terutama ke situs dua distributor besarnya:www.mondomacabrodvd.com  (www.mondomacabrodvd.com) dan www.troma.com.  (www.troma.com.)

Indonesian Exploitation Movie  (www.youtube.com)

Dan olala…saya menemukan banyak fakta bahwa film-film yang dikategorikan film B itu banyak pemujanya. Beberapa judul di antaranya adalah The Warrior against the Blind Swordsman (Jaka Sembung dan Si Buta dari Gua Hantu), Daredevil Commando (Komando Samber Nyawa), and Rambu: Prince of Universe (Pembalasan Rambu), The Snake Queen (Nyi Blorong), Revenge of Ninja (Gadis Berwajah Seribu), The Devil's Sword (Golok Setan), Ferocious Female Freedom Fighters (Perempuan Perempuan Bergairah), Queen of Black Magic (Ratu Ilmu Hitam), dan 5 Deadly Angels (5 Cewek Jagoan), Jungle Virgin Force (Perawan Rimba), hingga Satan’s Slave (Pengabdi Setan). film-film bergenre Exploitation Cinema yang di tanah air sudah terlupakan dan sulit ditemui (kecuali di beberapa tempat di Glodok, Jakarta) ini beredar secara internasional dan mendapat tempat yang layak, bahkan dipuja-puja. Fenomena apa ini?

Exploitation Cinema, Cult Cinema

Eric Schaefer dalam artikelnya Exploitation Films: Teaching Sin in the Suburbs menyatakan bahwa film genre eksplotasi adalah film berbudget rendah, sensasional yang berisi seks, ketelanjangan, dan kekerasan. Dalam Wikipedia, ditambahkan juga muatan seputar narkoba, monster, freaks, gore, pengrusakan, pemberontakan, keganjilan, dan banyak lagi. Subgenrenya, antara lain seksploitation, zombie (seperti Satan’s Slave), perempuan dalam penjara (Virgin in Hell), kanibalisme (Primitive, film pertama Barry Prima) dan womensploitation, (Ferocious Female Freedom Fighters). Khusus kasus Indonesia, Karl mengutip Heider dalam Indonesian Cinema (National Culture on Screen), ada dua subgenre lainnya: Kumpeni (pahlawan legendaris dengan kekuatan supernatural yang melawan penjajahan Belanda, seperti Jaka Sembung), dan Legenda (dramatisasi dongeng tradisional yang acap berhubungan dengan ilmu hitam dan mistik Timur, seperti Nyi Roro Kidul). Film-film berbudget rendah rendah dari Indonesia inilah yang banyak beredar di luar negeri (dibandingkan dengan film festival, saya hanya menemui Opera Jawa, Eliana-Eliana, dan beberapa gelintir lainnya). Namun mengapa mereka mempunyai fans yang militan, di luar negeri?
Bruce kimpoi, dalam After Midnight menyebut sinema macam itu sebatai “film yang selalu ditonton berulang-ulang dan menyajikan hal-hal liyan (otherness)”. Timothy Corrigan, pada Film and The Culture of Cult, mendefinisikannya sebagai film yang terpinggirkan, esentrik, dan ganjil. Dan, tentu saja, mereka mempunyai “hooligans”, penonton militan. “Cult fan boy”, menurut istilah Oliver Dew, “Nearly Worshipful Audience” kata JP Telotte”, “Devoted audience” sebut Bruce kimpoi. “Penonton semacam ini berbagi kepuasan mengapresiasi sebuah karya yang sangat berbeda, dan dalam derajat tertentu membentuk identifikasi kelompok” kata kimpoi. Timothy Corrigan bahkan menyatakan bahwa penonton tak hanya mencari karakter dan cerita yang tak familiar, tapi juga gaya, frame, dan imagistic texture.
Saya pernah begadang bersama-sama penonton militan macam itu. Bersama Joko Anwar di acara Night of Terror, acara ritual Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival, April 2008 . Mereka berteriak-teriak, mencemooh film-film yang diputar karena adegannya dianggap kurang seru. Bahkan berdandan yang seram-seram. Mengasyikkan. Asmayani Kusrini, rekan saya di rumahfilm.org juga menemukan fenomena yang sama di Brussel International Fantastic Film Festival.. Joko memberitahu saya bahwa hal serupa mulai terbentuk saat Screamfest di Jakarta berlangsung.

“Mahluk” macam apa mereka? Oliver Dew dalam artikelnya Asia Extreme: Japanese Cinema and British Hype menyatakan bahwa mereka merayakan keterpinggiran, hal-hal yang tak akan ditonton dan dinikmati oleh penonton arus utama, khususnya menyajikan transfregi norma social dan estetis. Sedangkan Barry Grant dalam The Cult Film Experience menggarisbawahi bahwa memang cult cinema adalah fandom based genre yang membentuk komunitas mikrokosmis penggemarnya. Singkatnya: “Melewati batas-batas waktu, kebiasaan, bentuk, dan selera tinggi”, ungkap Telotte. 



Kuncinya: Pemasaran

Oliver Dew pernah mengkaji fenomena serupa yang diterbitkan Tartan Video dengan label Asia Extreme di Inggris. Tingginya penjualan DVD film sejenis ini, selain memenuhi selera fan cult boys juga karena keberhasilan membangun merk dan komunintas serta mengombinasikannya dengan kebiasaan menonton film asing. Dan karena para pemuja-penonton itu senang dengan hal-hal yang liyan (the otherness) dan tak-diketahui (the uknown), serta eksotis, maka mereka pun meracik pemasaran yang memajang hal-hal semacam itu, khusus untuk penonton yang tersegmentasi itu. 

Bagaimana dengan kasus film Indonesia 1980an itu? Apa yang membuat para penonton bule itu tergila-gila dengan film-film yang kerap dicap “murahan” itu?

Pertama, hal-hal yang ganjil, the unknown, dan aneh bagi orang Barat. Misalnya, majalah Monsters At Play mengomentari Leak dengan endorsement: “Some of the most bizarre supernatural horror elements I have ever seen in a motion picture”. Ilmu hitam dari Asia dan berbagai dongeng dan mitos yang mitis menjadi daya tarik, dan hal itu yang ditekankan.

Kedua, keliyanan, hal-hal eksotis. Dari motonya saja, kita sudah bisa melihat seperti apa isi produk Mondo Macabro: “The Wild Side of World Cinema. Dan kelebihan sinema Indonesia adalah adanya subgenre yang tidak ada di negeri lain, seperti legenda lokal dan kumpeni. Dan, para distributor film eksploitasi pun, dalam dan luar negeri, mengemasnya dengan jitu.


Pertama, mereka memakai aktor dan aktris asing, walau pun amatir dan baru pertama kali main film. selain Mystic in Bali ada Rambu (sudah pasti duplikatnya Rambo) dan , Dangerous Seductress, alias Bercinta dengan Maut). Mereka memakai teknik dari Hollywood yang dikemas dengan cerita khas Indonesia. Untuk distribusi luar negeri, semua dialog, tentu saja termasuk trailer, disulihsuarakan ke dalam bahasa Inggris—kadang memakai terjemahan bahasa Jepang dan bahkan Finlandia. Dalam cerita, mereka juga mengadopsi sebagian cerita Barat. Misalnya, dalam The Warrior ada adegan mirip penyaliban Yesus dan di akhir cerita ada perubuhan gedung mirip Samson dan Delilah.

Silahkan simak trailer The Warrior sebagai contoh. Beberapa tagline-nya adalah ““Duel of Art of Eastern Mystic”, “a mutilated body becomes whole when touches the ground” (saat adegan ajian rawarontek), atau “Supernatural Action Adventure “

Dalam sulih suara, mereka pun membuatnya menjadi berlebihan, bahkan sekuler. Misalnya, saat Surti (Eva Arnaz) kekasih Jaka Sembung bersedih, ayahnya menghibur dengan ucapan :”tawakallah, Surti…”, tetapi di versi Barat diubah menjadi “I think you underestimate Jaka, Surti”. Saat Jaka ditangkap dan disiksa hingga buta, ia merapal ayat-ayat suci untuk merubuhkan gedung, tapi tidak didubbing di versi Barat. Juga ada seorang lawan Jaka Sembung yang botak yang hanya tampil tak lebih dari 10 menit, tapi di trailer ditonjolkan seorang pemerkosa yang digjaya.

Begitulah. Sifat alami the cult fan boys yang memang mencari hal-hal aneh dan ganjil bertemu dengan film-film yang aneh, mistis, dan marjinal. Dan keduanya ditangkap oleh distributor asing dan diramu menjadi strategi marketing dan menjadi, mengambil istilah dari Godfather : “…an offer that cult fan boys can not refuse”.