No More Hollywood?

Are you a movie-addict? If you are, have you noticed what is missing lately from cinemas in Indonesia? That’s right, it’s Hollywood’s movies. Recently, this issue has been reported fiercely in daily news. There are even some open discussions over this matter.

Then what is the reason behind those vanishing movies? It is, in fact, due to the new regulation of Indonesia government. The government has recently imposed taxation on distribution rights of foreign films, which was not existed in the past. Motion Picture Associated, representing Hollywood, and the Indonesian government didn’t have the same point of view about the regulation. As a result, the association decided to withdraw all of Hollywood’s movies from every cinema in Indonesia. This means that since February 17th, there would be no Hollywood's movies. Since the withdrawal, however, there has been no futher information about this matter, so it still remains as status quo until this very day. 

Although the withdrawal might be temporary, some people are disappointed of it, especially the Hollywood’s movie-addicts in Indonesia. Some experts even speculated that this action would cause disasters over Indonesian film industry. However, there’s always a silver lining, right? In my point of view, there are three advantages of the withdrawal of Hollywood movies.

The first advantage is that Indonesian film industry could start a new cooperation with other countries in the term of importing their movies. Those movies would surely steal viewer’s attention because people would need fresh variation after decades of Hollywood domination. Furthermore, the movies are neither less creative nor less interesting than the Hollywood’s.  One example of successful non-Hollywood films is Slumdog Millionaire which is a British film. Not only succeeded in mesmerizing the audience, this film was also nominated in ten categories of Academy Awards in 2009 and won eight of them.

Slumdog Millionaire

The second advantage is that Indonesia could reduce the influence of foreign culture that is inappropriate in Indonesian culture. Some elements such as free sex, brutality, racism, and many other things that are often depicted in Hollywood’s movies do not suit with local culture. With the withdrawal, the audience could get more movies that are more suitable for the Indonesian.

The third advantage is that Indonesian film industry can spread their wings more widely. There would be enough space for Indonesian movies to develop and expand further after Motion Picture Associated withdrew all Hollywood’s movies. This would encourage local film industry to explore their creativity and produce more movies with remarkable quality.

In short, the withdrawal doesn’t mean that Indonesia would experience total loss. On the contrary, this issue would bring some advantages as well. So for the movie lovers, especially Hollywood big fans, look at the bright sides and stop frowning, for this issue might just be a temporary situation. Meanwhile, why don't you start exploring non-Hollywood and local films? You might actually find them interesting and inspiring.

Warmest regards,
Shu