Privacy comes with price at Da Vinci penthouses

Sunday, July 16, 2006
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Every so often, there seems to be a need for wealthy Indonesians to build bulky, colonial-style houses with gigantic pillars and over-the-top ornamentation that may not necessarily blend with its surroundings (rundown buses, stinky rivers and regular floods during the rainy season).

Bulky, colonial-style houses need matching furniture. Enter Da Vinci.
The Singapore-based company is the creator of furniture which makes you think your time machine is working and it is the Roman period all over again.

The Da Vinci Tower in the heart of the business district on Jl. Sudirman says it all. It has more ornamentation than Borobudur Temple and at night, it gives a new meaning to the Greek Tragedy.

The tower has 12 floors for showrooms, each occupying about 400 square meters taking a different theme (Greek, classical, colonial, baroque, etc.)

Cynics say the furniture is for people for whom the phrase "money can't buy taste" exists, or else, nouveau riche.

A restaurateur even mused over who would buy this furniture which she thought was too heavy.

"Who would buy that? I mean, it's not that it's cheap," she said. Indeed, a chandelier after being discounted still costs nearly Rp 200 million (around US$22,000).

However, Da Vinci has enjoyed good sales all this time. Aside from the tower in Sudirman, Da Vinci also has a showroom in Jl. Panglima Polim, South Jakarta and another one in Surabaya, East Java.

"Demand is still high. More and more people are opening businesses at home, and they need classical and glamorous furniture to express power," said Da Vinci's general manager Erwin Hawawinata.

Business is good, so it is time to expand. Seeing the thriving apartment market, Da Vinci decided to add floors to its tower to build penthouses.

"The apartment market is still good. We are offering a combination of good location, privacy, quality and elegance," Erwin said.

The project, which began three years ago, has been completed and the penthouses were launched last week. The Da Vinci Penthouses occupy the 14th to 32nd floors of the tower with only 28 units.

There are three types of units: The Penthouse, Deluxe Penthouse and Grand Penthouse, ranging from 340 square meters to 382 square meters, and each unit has a name like Naples, Firenze and Giovanni.

And yes, the penthouse has adopted classic European design in every detail, starting from the elevator that is all marbles with floral motifs and engraved mirrors.

The unit has a private elevator lobby, foyer, living room, breakfast area, pantry, kitchen, dining room, and four bedrooms each with an attached bathroom. The interiors are about gold and marble, 3.2 to four-meter high ceilings, floral motifs, statues, fountains, four-poster beds, and all that.

Facilities include private access, fingerprint scan, videophone, two shifts of 30 security personnel, as well as tennis court, "The Bath of Apollo" swimming pool, private spa and gym.

Surprisingly, Da Vinci has also built a contemporary and more urban unit called Puccini. It has a trendy, minimalist look, which is a 180 degree departure from the usual Da Vinci style.

According to Erwin, 30 percent of the penthouses have been reserved. The price? Rp 10 billion and above.

Labels: culture, urban

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Bikram yoga is no mere warm-up

Sunday, January 09, 2005
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Imagine doing animal-namesake yoga postures: the squatting and arm-twisting "eagle", single leg-lifting "locust" or bending backward 'til you touch your toes "camel".
Add other poses -- toe stand, wind remover, spine twister, triangle --, all this while trying to coordinate your breathing and to make sure that your stomach is sucked in.
If you feel like you can already empathize with a pretzel, or wonder why there are no nap postures or a couch potato pose, try doing all of this hard work in a room heated to 42 degrees Celsius.
It is called Bikram yoga, or plainly referred to as hot yoga, or what beginners call "an hour and a half of pure hell".
Posture-wise, the practice, established by former Indian weight lifting champion Bikram Choudhury, is basically drawn from regular yoga, with 26 asana or postures and two sets of breathing exercises done in 90 minutes.
The major difference is that it is conducted in a room heated to between 40 and 44 degrees Celsius.
According to Mony Suriany of the newly opened Bikram yoga studio Yoga @ 42ø, the heat is designed to warm and stretch muscle, as well as produce sweat which promotes detoxification and elimination through the skin.
"Fat cells are diluted faster, it may be redistributed and burned as energy during the class. The heat produces a fluid-like stretch allowing for a greater range of movement in joints, muscles, ligaments and other supporting structures of the body," she told The Jakarta Post last week.
She added that capillaries also dilate in the heat, more effectively oxygenating the tissues, muscles, glands and organs and helping in the removal of waste products.
"The twenty-six exercises systematically move fresh, oxygenated blood to 100 percent of your body, to each organ and fiber, restoring all systems to healthy working order, just as nature intended," said Mony, a certified Bikram yoga instructor.
A rosy description, and probably true, but it was easier said than done.
After five minutes of doing them, I began to think that Mony and I were probably enemies in a past life and the hot yoga was a way of her getting back at me. The belief grew stronger as I also felt nauseous and started seeing spots.
"It is not unusual to feel nauseous or dizzy during the first class. Because it's not just our muscles that are stretching, but our inner organs as well. The problem is also caused by not drinking enough water in daily life, let alone for exercising in a heated room," said Mony.
The practice has been enjoying growing popularity all over the world, indicated by the lucrative business empire Choudhury, 57, has built from his Yoga College of India in Beverly Hills, California.
There are 90 schools nationwide in the United States, with hundreds of certified Bikram studios now operating across the country. Others are in Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia, Thailand and Singapore.
Choudhury is in the process of franchising Bikram's Yoga College of India brand.
Benefits that Bikram yoga practitioners tout are that it helps ailments ranging from anemia and diabetes to varicose veins.
Astuti, a beginner who has been practicing for two weeks said that Bikram yoga has made her more energetic.
Mony said that Bikram yoga cured her fractured right shoulder and a dislocated knee due to terrible traffic accident.
"Doctors said I had to undergo surgery but I was terrified because I had never undergone surgery before."
A long-time yoga practitioner, she instead turned to Bikram yoga and claimed that she recovered completely within seven months. An MBA graduate, she then gave up her job as a financial analyst in a General Electric office in the U.S. and turned yogini instead.
However, experts warned people to be cautious about the discipline.
Noted yoga instructor Yudhi Widyantoto said that while the Bikram yoga series was not too advanced or difficult, the heat made the process unnatural.
"I'm not judging, but good and natural air circulation is very important while doing an exercise. There is a concern about possible respiratory problems," said Yudhi, a yoga teacher of 15 years.
Experts in the U.S. also warned that while a little heat and sweat is good, a lot is not necessarily better as prolonged time in a hot environment raises the risks of overstretching, high blood pressure and fainting.
Robert Sherwin of the American Diabetes Association, as quoted by the USA Today said that stretching was not the kind of thing that reduced insulin resistance.
Meanwhile, Stephen Reingold of the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society said that while there were claims that the yoga discipline helped MS, heat commonly exacerbated spasticity, weakness and other disease symptoms.
Some yoga experts were concerned that Choudhury's emphasis on curing clinical illnesses reduced the spiritual dimension of the practice.
"The news about him pursuing the patent and franchise is making the practice too commercial," Yudhi said.
With all the pros and cons, it may be best for you to consult a physician first before practicing Bikram yoga.
Bikram Yoga Jakarta Yoga @ 42ø, Saberro House, Jl.Kemang Raya No. 10A 4th Fl., South Jakarta
Tel. 021-7197379/08121020389
E-mail: hotyogajakarta@yahoo.com
website: www.bikramyogajakarta.com

Labels: culture, urban

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In the pink: Businesses start reaching out to gay consumers

Sunday, January 02, 2005
Hera Diani and Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It used to be tough to find standing space during the "gay" night at packed Jalan Jalan club in Menara Imperium tower, South Jakarta.
These days, patrons find themselves in uncomfortably wide open spaces.
The place to hang out for the gay community every Sunday night during the late 1990s, the nightclub suddenly faces a difficult reality, with several new competitors drawing the crowd away.
Even rescheduling its gay night to Wednesday does not seem to have helped much. Although a crowd gradually gathered for the drag and beefcake shows on a recent weeknight, hardly anybody from the mostly young patrons was buying a drink, despite enticements to "buy one, get one free".
It was a far cry from the nightclub's heyday, when locals and expatriates filled the venue, whiling away the last hours of the weekend by catching a fashion show or performance by Tata Dado and his Silver Boys drag troupe.
A manager, who spoke on the condition his name was not used, admitted times were challenging. For one, Jalan Jalan faced direct competition on Sunday night from the La Dolce Vita theme night of Centro in South Jakarta, which opened earlier this year.
There was also the presence of Two Face, the stylish lounge-bar which offers a gay night on Saturday, located behind Menara Imperium.
Gay men suddenly had a choice -- and many chose to spend their rupiah on Saturday night instead.
"We aim for the upmarket community, smart, affluent businessmen. But now we have so many competitors, we have to be realistic. We're open for any kind of people now," "Willy" said, noting the club has scrapped its Rp 35,000 (almost US$4) entrance charge but does have a "first drink" entry fee policy.
Jakarta, like many major cities in Asia, from Singapore to Bangkok, Taipei to Manila, before it, may finally be waking up to the "pink power" of gay consumers, especially men with lots of disposable income (lesbians have their own clubs and meeting places, but due to societal constraints tend to keep a lower profile).
Limited to holes in the walls during the late 1980s (the venerable Press Club on Jl. Veteran) and fly-by-night upmarket clubs the following decade (Voila in the Patra building on Jl. Gatot Subroto), gay men had a choice of Jalan Jalan on Sunday, or the cavernous, stuffy, ear-splitting but enduring Moonlight in Kota, West Jakarta, by the late 1990s.
Many, afraid of being singled out as gay in this traditionally conservative society, chose instead to mingle in with the straight crowd at places like Tanamur, whose upstairs was unofficially reserved for them.
It and other nightspots, like several hotel fitness centers in the city, which have gradually built up predominantly gay clientele, were friendly toward the community without having to advertise the fact.
Today, gay men, increasingly recognized, if not accepted, after the success of last year's gay-themed movie Arisan and 2001's best-selling book Supernova by Dewi Lestari, are spoilt for choice in how to spend their money during a night on the town.
Although some gays choose not to go to the clubs, either because they are still closeted or they consider them nothing but meat markets, others welcome them as a welcome escape from their usual getting by in straight society.
"It's our own little world, the only place where you can turn the world upside down," said Donny, 26.
With the exception of Monday, every night is a gay or "rainbow" night at a club in the city. Apart from Jalan Jalan, Two Face and Centro, there is Avenue at Sari Pan Pacific in Central Jakarta (Tuesday night); West Pacific at the Jaya Pub building on Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta (Friday); and Wonder Bar at Taman Ria Senayan, Central Jakarta (also Wednesday).
The latter is under the same management as Embassy, one of the most popular clubs in town.
Centro, opened in late 2003, launched its gay night seven months later and has enjoyed success.
"Every Sunday night, some 500 people show up. That's because we come up with something different every week: DJs imported from Singapore, fashion shows and much more," said the club's public relations officer, Joy Tan.
Following the lead of its parent club in Singapore, Centro is targeting affluent consumers, with a minimum age of 19 -- there is an ID check at the gate -- and cover charge of Rp 45,000.
"Visitors must dress neatly, no sandals or shorts. It's important to create an image from the beginning to be competitive. And it looks like other places are following us, we're, like, a trendsetter," Joy said.
"On gay nights, even heterosexual couples show up, too."
Embassy's management turned its club CO2 into Wonder Bar in recognition of the potential market.
"As more clubs emerge, the previous place became uncompetitive. So we upgraded it, targeting a new, more exclusive market aged 21 above, as well as the gay community," said Radian Rahmananta, general manager of Embassy.
Opened in November, the gay night has begun to attract visitors even though the cover charge is relatively high at Rp 60,000.
Two Face has been particularly successful; bar employee Nunu, an unofficial "welcome wagon" man for gay visitors, said the bar could get up to 400 patrons on a Saturday night, each of them paying the Rp 50,000 cover charge.
Another gay club, Qzone, located at Vg club on Jl. Pintu Besar Utara, opposite Museum Fatahillah in Kota area, West Jakarta, is set to be launched on Jan. 15.
One of the owners, American expatriate Jason O'Donnel, said the idea for the venue came after he visited Singapore and saw the many gay-oriented establishments.
"I thought, 'why does Jakarta, a city that is double in size and more open, have fewer gay clubs?'" said O'Donnel.
With a gay night every Saturday, Qzone is aimed at the middle to upmarket range, with a cover charge of Rp 30,000.
"But it's not a discotheque kind of thing, it's more of a bar, cafe, lounge, with a mix of entertainment.
"We'll see how it goes," he said.
Club managers said they were not concerned by a possible backlash from hardliner religious groups.
"We have strong coordination with the police," said Radian.
Joy, meanwhile, said performances were tame compared to those found abroad.
"We don't worry about raids, we're still following local customs. There is only a comedy show, or g-string fashion show."
Some gay people argue that the emergence of gay-themed nights at nightclubs is more about dollars and cents than greater tolerance.
"It appears the gay community is more appreciated and recognized, but I don't think so. The social stigma about homosexuality still exist," said "Miki", 28, a reporter.
Andi, public relations for Avenue, said there was resistance from some members of the management when the idea of a "rainbow" night was first proposed, but it waned once the potential was recognized.
But he acknowledged there is still the fear of being ghettoized among some gays, which indicates that the community is not entirely accepting of itself.
"Gay people still have a strong sense of gengsi (pride); I don't think they would want to go to a place that advertised itself as exclusively gay every night."

Labels: culture, urban

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Yoga House lets the gentle force be with you

Sunday, July 18, 2004
Hera Diani , The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Wiggle your big toe, wiggle your big toe.
The mantra Uma Thurman repeated in Kill Bill Vol. 1 to revive her stiff feet after four years in a coma did not work for me as I bent over and tried desperately to reach my toes.
Did it mean I was not cut out to do the 5,000-year-old exercise of yoga? Will it end my short dalliance with Sting and Madonna's favorite workout?
"Don't be afraid to do yoga just because your body is not flexible," said instructor Yudhi Widyantoro from Rumah Yoga (Yoga House). "There are modifications and levels in doing it. Just do a posture or a movement at your own pace.
"Don't force it as you can get injured."
Although it has never been part of a huge fitness boom, yoga, like the methodical principles of the discipline itself, has enjoyed slow but sure growth in popularity in the past few years. Several fitness centers have added yoga to their roster of aerobics and other classes, and spiritual foundations and institutions have also come on board with yoga instruction.
Its ability to heal and give peace of mind is what lures frazzled urbanites. Benefits reported from regular yoga practice include strengthening the body, increasing flexibility and concentration, weight management, improving blood circulation and concentration, as well stress management.
Not surprisingly, demand for yoga increased at about the same time as the monetary crisis hit in the late 1990s.
"People were seeking a way to reduce stress. With media reports about celebrities practicing yoga, they also became more interested," said Yudhi, who took up the activity 15 years ago.
Dealing with stress and a chronic health problem also attracted restaurateur Amalia Wirjono.
"I had terrible asthma when I was a child, and was dependent on medication which had side effects. Yoga worked for my asthma and it reduced my dependence on the medication," she said.
The practice also helped release stress and fatigue, as well as keeping her figure in shape.
"And the exercise is very simple, only 90 minutes a day and you can do it all by yourself at home," said Amalia, who has been a regular practitioner for the past four years.
Along with friends Dian Mediana, Tami Arifin, Anita Pasaman and Afi Shamara, she decided to establish a more conducive setting for people to relax and unwind than a crowded gym.
"Because of the trend, yoga has become commercialized. However, there are many unqualified yoga instructors, which is dangerous as they can cause injury. We want to prevent that," said Amalia, pointing to Yudhi, who has obtained his teacher's certificate from an institution in Australia and makes regular visits to India to upgrade his skills.
The women opted for the concept of a house, bathed in the dominant color of lavender, to serve as a warm, cozy sanctuary from the mad rat race going on outside.
Although there also comprehensive services aside from yoga, including reflexology and reiki, the healing therapy based on the transfer of energy to the patient, yoga is really what Yoga House is all about.
The several types of yoga classes on offer consist of Hatha, Iyengar, Ashtanga, Vinyasa or yoga flow, Manasa, yogalates and baby yoga.
Hatha combines yoga postures with breathing technique, as well as meditation. Iyengar, taken from the teachings of yoga guru B.K.S. Iyengar, emphasizes proper alignment in each posture for balance and strength, with the extensive use of props to assist people in maximizing their abilities in each posture.
Ashtanga and Vinayasa are similar to Hatha in their postures, but Ashtanga is done in a strict and intense sequence, while Vinayasa is practiced in a rhythmic flow with the breath.
Manasa yoga is the practice of Hatha yoga, with a particular focus on the mind.
"I do yoga and pilates," Madonna raps in her song American Life, and both practices are combined in Yogalates class, which is designed to strengthen the muscles, bones, tone the body as well as create a sense of inner calm, health and well being.
As for yoga for babies, it is said to enhance the bond between a baby and its mother, as well as other family members and nannies.
"Yoga reduces (the need for) chemical medication. Each posture has a therapeutic function. The snake posture, for instance, improves the functioning of the digestive system," Yudhi said.
It all sounds very tempting to calm the nerves and get a great workout to boot but, except at the Indian cultural center in Menteng, Central Jakarta, yoga classes are not cheap. Still, there are long waiting lists for classes at most places.
According to marketing guru Kafi Kurnia, it is likely that the high fees come from yoga's exclusivity as the exercise activity of the elite.
"It's a New Age sport and has become a trend, so to give a sense of exclusivity, they charge you a lot. But perhaps they have to pay high wages to the teachers as well," he said.
Rumah Yoga charges a walk-in fee of Rp 100,000 per session. The membership fee is Rp 300,000 annually, with a 10-session package of Rp 750,000, five-session package of Rp 400,000 and Rp 270,000 for the three-session package.
Baby yoga costs Rp 55,000 per session and there is an extra fee for yogalates.
Amalia said there were special fees to accommodate people on limited incomes.
"We also have a community class for students or people from the low-income bracket. It's only Rp 20,000 per session."
-----------------------------------Rumah Yoga Jl. Lamandau No. 19, South Jakarta Tel. 021-7393266/739 3267 Fax. 021 739 3267 www.rumahyoga.com -------------------------------------

Labels: culture, urban

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Clubs bring lovers of the written word together

Sunday, September 07, 2003
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A muggy Tuesday night in the third week of August was time once again for the book club bacabaca (from the Indonesian for reading) to hold another meeting.
Nine people gathered in an apartment in Kuningan, South Jakarta, each clutching a copy of Of Love and Other Demons by Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Sitting cross-legged on the floor in the living room, circling a wooden table and munching snacks, the group discussed the tale of a love affair between a middle-aged priest and a teenage girl believed to be possessed by demons.
Everyone shared a nugget of their literary observations.
A.S. Laksana from akubaca publishing company said Marquez was always careful in selecting characters' names for his books.
Rizadini Haryanto, an employee of QB bookstore, commented on how Marquez's journalism background influenced the plot, while Hikmat Darmawan spoke about how the Colombian writer was skilled in spinning a romance.
All the opinions showed the members shared one definitive thing in common: a great love of the written word.
They are also bucking the established notion that Indonesians are loath to pick up a good book.
"We'd heard enough about the low reading habit among Indonesians. So, we thought we just start from ourselves as we all love books," said Hikmat, an editor and translator in a publishing company.
Along with fellow members Rani E. Ambyo and Rizadini, they recruited several friends -- mostly in their late 20s and early 30s and working in the publishing field -- to form the club about four months ago.
"We appointed one person to be the moderator in our monthly meeting. All books are in English," said Rani, adding that the readings were not limited to any one genre and that comic books were already on the agenda.
A former resident of Bandung, West Java, Rani had started a club there three years ago, as well as setting up a book shop called Tobucil, a name taken from the Indonesian for "small book shop".
"I often got annoyed, however, because many of the members there hadn't read the book like they were supposed to. They came to the meeting because they wanted to know what kind of book it was. So, it would end up with only one person doing the talking," she said.
The books discussed were limited to Indonesian works or those translated from other languages.
"It was almost impossible to discuss English books. They were not very familiar with books in English, perhaps because the access to English books in Bandung is very limited."
It is the reason she established the book club in her new home of Jakarta, a place she said where people were more "literate" and access to books was better.
For Ditta Amahorseya, the head of corporate affairs of Citibank's Citigroup, the problem is getting Indonesians to join her club.
Ditta is the lone Indonesian in the club, established 11 years ago, among a group of expatriate women.
"I've given up asking my Indonesian friends because they are not committed. They never showed up again. After several attempts I gave up because I feel embarrassed," Ditta said.
She said many of the book clubs in the city were organized by expatriates.
Ditta's club consists of women of various nationalities, whose professions range from businesswomen, consultants to housewife.
"Our membership is ever-changing, because the expatriates move a lot. We meet monthly, except for summer and December, because at that time, the foreigners usually go back to their home country," Ditta said.
Each member recommends a book, and then a vote is taken on which will be read for the next meeting.
The books discussed are award-winning, critically acclaimed works, or best-sellers, and must have been published within the past three years. Most are fiction, but an occasional nonfiction work, such as a biography, is put on the agenda.
"I wish there were more contemporary Indonesian books being translated into English. It's a pity that I can't recommend Indonesian books. We only have discussed two books by (noted local authors) Pramoedya Ananta Toer and Mochtar Lubis. Even then we had to break the rules because both books were published in the 1960s."
Despite the problems of getting Indonesian members and books, Ditta said being a book club member was rewarding.
Her knowledge and references have been broadened and enriched; she is now familiar with many writers she never knew before, such as from Germany and Morocco.
"We also learn the discipline to read regularly. There's even homework for each member to read another work from the same author whose book are being discussed. And then we're always eager to look for a new book to recommend," she said.
Ditta remains optimistic that more Indonesians will join book clubs and that a true reading habit will one day become the norm, not the exception.

Labels: culture, literary, urban

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Yoga for kids teaches more than humming 'om'

Sunday, August 03, 2003
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Ciawi, Bogor

It is said to possess healing power as well as increasing the ability to concentrate.
But yoga is not exactly for kids. How on earth would you teach your young child to meditate and concentrate when getting them to sit still for more than 10 seconds is often a headache?
It is certainly not an easy task for the instructors of yoga-for-kids class, held monthly by the Anand Ashram Foundation, owned by meditation guru Anand Krishna.
Anand, 6, opened his eyes even wider when asked to close them while breathing deeply. He bugged a kid next to him until the latter cried. He kept answering "No!" to any question, before finally holding his chin and releasing a sigh, "What time will this class be finished?"
Another kid crouched and raised his hands, instead of doing the requested poses of a snake and crocodile.
"It's a guguk (a child's word for dog) pose!" he said repeatedly.
Although the concentration session seemed futile, the kids seemed more receptive to getting lessons through songs and drama to accept differences and to not discriminate.
It's an important lesson in this country as people in several regions are divided by ethnic or religious-based conflicts, like the prolonged conflict in Maluku, for instance.
It was a bright Sunday morning when seven kids gathered recently for yoga class at the "Assalam" open veranda, a small spot in the spacious 3,000-square-meter compound called One Earth One Sky One Humankind.
Located in Ciawi, about a one-hour drive south of the capital, the compound comprises several buildings surrounded by trees and plantations, creating a tranquil atmosphere.
When the instructor called for a break after the concentration session, the children dispersed and ran around before eating their snacks at the cafeteria.
"There are usually more children, like 25 or 30 of them. But school hasn't started yet, so many children are still out of town for holidays," said instructor Dewi Hariri, adding that the fee for the class was only Rp 10,000, including snacks and milk.
The class started some five years ago, but it was not until last year that it became a fixture. Children from three years to 12 years old from any religion are welcome to take the class, as long as their parents are participants of Anand's meditation class or have taken it at least once in the past.
"We're afraid that there will be some misunderstanding caused by the teaching if the parents are not familiar with it," said instructor Gede Merada.
Of Indian descent, 47-year-old Anand is known for his spiritual view that eliminates boundaries between religion. He has written numerous books, many of which discuss interfaith dialog.
Opponents often perceive the view as confusing or even blaspheming strict religious teachings. In 2000, it resulted in the withdrawal of Anand's books from the market following a protest by Muslim groups.
"Children from any religion are welcome to join this class. Through this class, we want to educate from an early age the value to love each other, to accept differences and not to discriminate against others," Gede said.
"We're not mixing up religions, but appreciating all of the religions."
The principle was in clear view on the veranda, adorned with symbols of the country's five main recognized religions. From the ceiling hung heart-shaped styrofoam banners with words like victory, devotion, quality and enlightenment.
"We don't just teach yoga, which is aimed at increasing children's concentration. We teach moral values as well. That we have to be nice on others, that the symbols of religions may be different but the purpose is the same," Dewi said.
The break was over, and the children sat in a circle to do some role play. They sang as well, with lines like, "Be careful with the mouth what you say/be careful with the eyes what you see".
They also recited prayers according to their own religion, after the instructor chanted, "Be sure that every prayer recited will go to the same God".
Parents, like 40-something Djoko Herinanto, expect their children to be more open-minded through the class.
"Religious instruction teachers often say bad things about other religions. I want to counter that, so that my son will appreciate differences. There are so many conflicts rooted in fanaticism about religions," said Djoko, who brought his son Ryan, 6.
Then the children sang one more song, saying greetings of peace and ended the around two-hour session with handshakes and hugs.
"It's about sharing the love, because it's the only thing that we can share," Dewi said.
For more information on yoga for kids, contact Dewi at 0818922434

Labels: culture, urban

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'Cosmo Man 2001', not just about macho looks

Tuesday, November 13, 2001
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Mr. Right, according to Kosmopolitan magazine, the franchise of the U.S. magazine with a "C", is not merely a good-looking guy with a flat stomach and bulging biceps.
Of course looks matter, but a man must have certain "qualities", including a successful career, a respect for a woman's career, maturity and the ability to be a reliable partner.
Oh, one more thing, he must have a soft side which makes a woman feel "understood". With these qualities in mind, the magazine chose 10 finalists for Cosmo Man.
The search for the Cosmo Man has been an annual event since 1998, a year after the magazine was first published here. The event always attracts hundreds of participants, and this year 758 men from across the country took part.
A jury which included TV anchor Zsa Zsa Yusharyahya and model Lulu Dewayanti cut this number down to 33 semifinalists and then 10 finalists.
This year's grand final was held on Oct. 31 at the Grand Melia hotel. Surprisingly, it was entertaining. And not just because it landed three top performers -- singers Shanty, Melly Goeslaw and Titi DJ -- as well as noted emcees Tika Panggabean and Farhan.
It was just fun to see how these men were willing to go through this beauty pageant-like competition. The magazine may have played down the physical thing, but the event was not much different from a model competition.
When the event started, those in attendance were shown a video of the finalists' four-day "quarantine", during which time they took part in various activities like outdoor sports. The activities were aimed at getting to know the men's leadership, their sense of teamwork and their sensitivity.
And then, there they were, the 10 finalists, walking around the catwalk and posing before answering a Miss Universe-like question.
For Johanes Alford Suwignyo, a radio DJ/TV presenter/magician, the question was "What is your ideal woman"?
"She has to be loyal and have the same religion as me. It's easier for us to bridge the differences if our religion is the same," he said.
"You see, a woman is like a puzzle. It can be in order or put together incorrectly. Even if the color is wonderful and the picture is great, if the pieces are not in the right places, it won't be good," he added.
Want to know what success means for H. Akhiz Royhan Nasution, an assistant manager for training and development at a big insurance company?
"It's not about position, titles or money. It's about understanding yourself, keeping life in balance and being independent," he said.
Then the winners were announced. Favorite Cosmo Man went to Palar Sakti Sutojo, an architect. And the Outstanding Achievement Award went to Sonny Harry Budiutomo, who is only 26 but already a doctoral candidate at University of Indonesia's School of Economics, a lecturer and researcher.
Second runner-up and runner-up went to Darry Sjahrinaldy Darwis and Rudy Djohor, both pilots. And the Cosmo Man 2001 is ... Akhiz.
How did the judges come to their conclusion?
"We (judged) teamwork, leadership, physical appearance and also ... how macho (the men were)," said Zsa Zsa, adding that the event was not just a model competition.
One of the finalists, Zaki Ahmad Ibrahim, asked people not to be cynical about the event.
"The winners actually deserve it," he said.
But the real star of the night was Tika Panggabean. If not for her witty banter and jokes, the event would have been downright boring.
She was the real proof that physical appearance is not the most important thing.

Labels: culture, urban

Posted by hera at 3:22 AM | Permalinks | Comments

MTV' tunes into today's trends

Sunday, August 05, 2001
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Go ask a group of teenagers at the mall about what they want to be when they grow up.
Yes, doctor, architect or accountant are sure to come up, but, in their hipsters and tank tops and sneakers, they will also mention an occupation that never crossed the minds of their parents.
MTV veejay.
Being on the station, talking the talk and becoming a household name has been a dream of many since MTV Asia first broadcast into the country's living rooms in 1995 on ANteve and by satellite.
Every time MTV looks for the person with the right combination of looks, personality and teen appeal to be a new VJ (they call it a VJ Hunt), more than 2,500 people are sure to sign up. Many of them are even already famous, like model Caroline Zachrie.
From four million viewers of ANteve in 1995, last year's official viewer figure is more than 19 million households.
"That is only based on people who watched it through ANteve. That means there are a few million more who watched through satellite," public relations executive of MTV Southeast Asia Jakarta Muthia Farida told The Jakarta Post.
The station's influence on young people in music, lifestyle and fashion is undeniable. Hip-hop and rap have taken on their own regional variations, there are marked changes in attitudes toward formerly taboo subjects, including sex, and what young people wear in Jakarta is little different from New York or London.
A recent survey by Asia Market Intelligence and Bates advertising shows that MTV is the coolest brand among teenagers in this country.
An Indonesia Peoplemeter survey by AC Nielsen confirms that MTV is the most popular music channel in the country, reaching 75 percent of the audience aged 15 to 34 every month.
Little wonder that advertisers are banging on the door to plug their products, especially as the station's influence spread last year with the founding of MTV Radio and also merchandise store MTV Style.
According to Muthia, from five local advertisers in 1995 there are now over 50 local companies advertising on the station, over 100 regional advertisers and 50 advertisers who sponsor shows.
Changes
For the music industry in Indonesia, MTV has changed everything. Video clips are now an integral part of the success of singers and bands, with a well-produced video sometimes able to make a hit of a so-so tune.
New artists take advantage of MTV to lure the public, and old ones come back to it time and again to put their careers back on track.
Take Chrisye for example.
The 50-something singer and songwriter is suddenly hip again. His formula for success is to remake old hits, looking a little out of place as he stands among a bevy of models and other celebrities in striking videos produced by top directors.
Record companies acknowledge the influence of MTV as a promotional medium.
"It would be very stupid if we didn't use MTV to promote our artists," Suntono, a promotions executive at PT Indo Semar Sakti, told the Post.
One of Indo Semar's bands is Naif, whose latest album Jangan Terlalu sold hundreds of thousands of copies and won many honors, including an MTV award.
However, Suntono said that MTV was not the be all and end all of making a successful record.
"It really helps. But since the broadcasting is limited, the impact is not really that significant," he noted.
Fashion
The channel has also been part of changing fashion.
What the artists on MTV are wearing will soon be found adorning bodies in cities large and small around the world.
Fashion writer Muara Bagdja said MTV exerted a profound influence on fashion tastes among the young, and also made them a fashion market to be reckoned with in Indonesia.
Before its debut, he said, most Indonesian designers made clothes for older women. Today, local designers such as Urban Crew and the teen-oriented boutiques of Mangga Dua, for example, know where their rupiah is to be made.
"I don't think MTV is merely part of the change, but what has made the changes occur among the young," Muara said, noting fashion references to the Madonna and more recently Destiny's Child "looks".
"In fashion, you see the clothes are bolder, freer, dynamic, trendy. The influence wasn't directly on the designers but on the consumers -- and then the designers followed."
He said that MTV's nonmusic programming and ultrahip VJs, including bilingual Sarah Sechan, also had a positive effect on the personality and attitudes of Indonesian youth.
Young Indonesians, he believed, now hold to "universal" values, which have come in tandem with globalization and technological advances.
"Today young people are more open, more direct. Just compare how someone like Indra Safera approaches a topic to how Bob Tutupoli did," Muara said of the popular emcees.
Power
There is no doubt MTV has an influence on the lifestyle of young people, but is it really creating those trends or is it merely an artful follower?
Youth observer Robby Chandra said the power of MTV lay in its ability to study, observe and then conclude what was hip among young people.
"They can read the spirit of young people, give it the format and creatively present the things that are really suitable for them," he said.
Guitarist Piyu from rock band Padi said the function of MTV was only as an information provider.
"It only gives input about what's hip, information about the latest music," he said. "But when it comes to setting trends, it's not MTV who does it. The trend is already there. MTV only gives the impression that they are the actual trendsetters, while they're actually not."
Some young people criticize MTV Asia as too mainstream and commercial, and that its original mission as a music channel has taken a backseat to its reality-based shows, such as It's My Life, promoted as an up-close look at the lives of young Asians.
"Hery," 26, said that he stopped watching MTV over a year ago because the content was only boybands and teen pop.
"The local shows are also disappointing. It's My Life, for example, is a very bad reality show. And MTV Screen is not a movie review -- it is movie promotions because (according to the show) every movie is good," he said.
"Shouldn't MTV be about being different, taking risks and youth freedom?"
Others, however, worry that sometimes the content shown on the channel, with scantily clad men and women living out the "rock n' roll" lifestyle, goes too far.
Robby, along with Piyu and Muara, expressed concern about the negative impact of the music channel, which he said promoted consumerism and a hedonistic lifestyle in some of its programming.
Although MTV's various channels around the world have taken steps against explicit drug references in songs, including late-night-only airings of the offending videos, Muthia said the presence of "western values" was unavoidable.
"We can't just cut videos like that," she said.
And if they did, what would Indonesia's budding MTV Generation do?

Labels: culture, media, urban

Posted by hera at 3:27 AM | Permalinks | Comments

Street children live hard life with laughter, jokes

Thursday, June 14, 2001
By Hera Diani

JAKARTA (JP): If you are riding on a bus, you might encounter young street poets. They can recite romantic poetry or make you laugh with funny pantun (traditional poetry).
One such street poet is Januari, 21. He said he had a collection of over 100 pantun and poetry of his own composition.
Check out one of them: Jangan suka makan kuaci/Kuaci itu makanan kampret/Jangan suka godain banci/Banci itu teteknya karet.
Free translation: Never try to eat watermelon seeds as only bats eat them/Do not try to seduce transvestites as their breasts are made of rubber.
"I have another one," Januari said, and then recited one about his willingness to die as long as he can have a Batak (an ethnic group from Tapanuli, North Sumatra) girl.
"Because Batak girls are pretty," he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday at the Setia Kawan shelter for street children in Pademangan, North Jakarta.
The shelter has been Januari's home for the past several months. He is an orphan, and has been living on the streets and earning money as a street singer/poet since he left elementary school.
He said he had taken driving lessons and hoped to get a job as a taxi driver soon.
But at 21, Januari is neither a child nor a teenager.
"Eighteen is the maximum age for street children who are allowed to stay here. But we have been tolerating people up to 21 years of age," said Ari Widianto, one of eight social workers at the shelter.
He said since the shelter was opened last October, there had been around 160 street children who had used the facility. But presently only 15 to 20 children actually live in the small house.
"Those who live here are homeless, orphans or whose parents live in other cities or provinces," Ari said.
The shelter is the third established by the Sekar Foundation, which was once run by the now defunct City Social Affairs office. The other two shelters are located in Tanjung Priok, also in North Jakarta.
It is among 26 shelters in the city which are funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
"We have several programs here, depending on the children," Ari said.
Street children who have parents and go to school are given scholarships worth Rp 35,000 per child a month, and this is limited to 80 children.
"The homeless or orphans can go to school too, but most of them don't want to. So, we pay for their vocational training like driving and repairing cars or air conditioners," Ari said, saying that the number that can be afforded such training is limited to 40 children.
ADB gives the city's shelters some Rp 313 million annually (US$28,454), which is given every three months.
"The problem is the fund often arrives late. So we have to use our own money first. It's hard now because we have to pay for their tuition and state final exam fee, even though officially there is no fee for the exams. However, some schools still charge a fee," Ari said.
Ari said it was most difficult to teach street children discipline or even to shower.
"Sometimes we have to pour water over them to make them take a shower. But later, they start to realize it," Ari said.
Another problem is teaching them the dangers of consuming alcohol, he added.
"They often came home drunk and play with sharp weapons. We sometimes hand them over to the police, who will beat them up so that they will learn a lesson," Ari said.
There are an estimated 50,000 children in the capital who are categorized as street children, based on a study by Atmajaya University in 1999.
They are all below 16 years, and earning money as candy vendors, street singers, car cleaners, shoe shiners and beggars.
Some 300 street children use the shelters in the city, but only about 100 of them actually live in the 40 or so shelters available.
You will notice that the children at the Setia Kawan shelter, who are mostly about 13 to 15 years old, look thin and smaller than their age. However, they talk and joke like adults, and even smoke kretek (clove) cigarettes.
But when one of them played a Sherina (child singer) tape, everyone sang and danced around the living room, which had blue walls and blue carpeting.
As the clock struck 3:30 p.m., one of them shouted, "Dora Emon!" and turned on the television to watch the popular Japanese animation.
All of them then sat around to watch the show, without even blinking their eyes and with their mouths slightly open. Some children were still puffing on their cigarettes.
"It's very funny," Nur, 13, commented.
Guess, they are children after all.

Labels: social affairs, urban

Posted by hera at 3:29 AM | Permalinks | Comments

Traumatic May riots still haunt people

Monday, May 14, 2001
By Hera Diani

JAKARTA (JP): On this day back in 1998, the capital was paralyzed as thousands of rioters poured forth on to the streets in an orgy of violence the left hundreds of buildings and vehicles ransacked and burned.
The sky was black with smoke from the fires blazing in countless shopping centers, banks, automobile showrooms, discotheques, shops and offices at different locations all over the capital, as well as the neighboring cities of Tangerang and Bekasi.
The three days of rioting from May 13 to May 15 claimed over 1,000 lives, injured many others and left most residents living in fear. Dozens of Chinese Indonesian women were also reportedly raped, gang-raped or sexually assaulted.
More than 5,000 buildings, 1,000 cars and 500 motorcycles were also set ablaze, causing estimated losses of Rp 2.5 trillion.
Fast-forward to May 2001. Three years have passed but the traces of the riots can still be found.
Many badly damaged and abandoned buildings, and shops with broken windows, are still to be seen in places such as the Glodok business center in West Jakarta.
This place was one of the main targets of the vandalism and looting as many Chinese Indonesians ran their businesses and lived in the area.
Many shop owners here still recall the horror of the riots. One such person is Hendra, the owner of the Edison household goods store in Harco Glodok.
"That day, we already knew about the riots (which were extensively reported by local private television and radio stations), so most of us closed up our shops. But that didn't stop them (the mobs) from looting us," Hendra told The Jakarta Post last week.
Not only the shop, Hendra said, looters also broke into his house in nearby Jembatan Dua.
"Thank God, though, they didn't hurt us. They only took our belongings," he said, adding that the riot caused him over Rp 1 billion (US$90,090.1) in material losses.
Hendra said that 90 percent of the Chinese Indonesian residences in the area were attacked and looted.
"The rest were missed because they lived in small alleys," he said, admitted that he and his family had fled the city.
Cing Cing, the owner of a small shop across the street from Hendra's, was among those who escaped the looting.
"I closed the shop and went home because I'd seen the riots on TV," she told the Post.
The upper part of her shop's facade, which is glass, has still not been repaired.
"I rent this place, and we only occupy the first floor. Besides, what's the use of fixing the building up anyway? Another riot could occur anytime," Cing Cing said pessimistically.
Like Cing Cing's store, the nearby door knob and lock store, PD Ingat Terus, has also left the damaged parts of its facade unrepaired.
"Why bother? It's only wasting money. Look at the shop across the street. They fixed it, but the mob damaged it again," said a member of the store's staff.
Another shopping center which was damaged during the riots was Slipi Jaya, also in West Jakarta.
The place has reestablished itself and reopened almost a year ago, and no traces of the riots are now to be seen. But the memories of the store owners and security guards live on.
"It was horrible. This place was burned to the ground, only the basement parking lot was saved," said Muhardi, a security guard.
Hundreds of looters were ransacking the store and were running back and forth carrying their goods.
"But then a fire broke out and the looters became trapped," Muhardi said.
Many stores have since moved, he added, but several still exist, like the Singgalang jewelry store and the Top Star shoe store.
Ah Fi, owner of Top Star, said he hoped such riots would never happen again.
"I was unemployed for over two years until I finally reopened this store 10 months ago," he said.
Cing Cing and Hendra also voiced the sentiment in the hope that they would be able to finally repair their premises and not have to flee anymore.

Labels: social affairs, urban

Posted by hera at 3:32 AM | Permalinks | Comments

Cheap 'branded' items available at factory outlets

Friday, April 27, 2001
By Hera Diani

JAKARTA (JP): Factory outlets have become very popular among shopping freaks in this country.
It refers to a store where you can buy branded clothes, shoes and other fashion accessories at prices much lower than at official counters.
How is that possible?
The products are said to be surplus export products or rejected items. The labels have usually been cut, although many are still left on the clothes.
However, many suspect that the products at factory outlets are counterfeit.
One such person is lawyer George Widjojo, who once represented Adidas in a product counterfeiting case.
"If the products are surplus, then how come the quality is much lower than the original? The difference is really obvious," he told The Jakarta Post by telephone on Thursday.
A DKNY shirt, which costs hundreds of thousands of rupiah at an official outlet, for example, is available for less than Rp 50,000 (US$4.16).
Yongki Dwi Subagyo, general manager of Link Stok which has several stores in the capital, denied that the products were counterfeit.
"We have a factory in Cileungsi, Bogor, which exports clothes to the United Kingdom. Surplus products and seconds are sold here in our shops with permission from the license holder in the UK," he told the Post.
However, Yongki admitted that there were many producers who used leftover export fabrics to make their products.
"They then sew them and put well-known brands on them," he said.
Such a practice is indeed counterfeiting and is a copyright violation, but so far there have been no lawsuits filed regarding violations.
According to the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights' director general for intellectual property rights, A. Zen Umar Purba, so far there have been no complaints from license holders about products being copied and sold at factory outlets.
"Therefore, we can't do anything. It's not that we encourage such practices, but if there are no complaints, we can't do anything," he told the Post on Tuesday.
"You see, intellectual property rights are private rights, not public. So it depends on the owner, whether they file a complaint or a lawsuit or not," he added.
Purba said that many companies were reluctant to file suit as the legal process would burden them and cost them a lot.
"It's common in the United States, for example. Some license holders there let products, such as perfume, be distributed with the same brand and packaging as their products. They claim the targeted market is different anyway," he asserted.
That several companies were reluctant to comment on the matter when contacted verifies Purba's claims.
"So far, we haven't found any copyrights violations of our products," said a manager at PT Great River International who declined to be named.
Great River is a license holder for 30 brands such as Arrow, Triumph and Lee, which can be easily found at lower prices at factory outlets.
When asked about this, the manager refused to comment, saying she had no authority to do so.
Meanwhile, Chris Helzer, external affairs director for Southeast Asia region at Nike Inc., said that the company had found fake Nike products in virtually every country around the world.
"Companies like Nike are hurt because consumers that purchase counterfeit products are defrauded," he said when contacted via e-mail.
Nike, he added, invests a great deal to develop the products and if the items are copied, they cannot get an adequate return on the investment.
Helzer did not elaborate on whether the company planned to take legal measures, but said "we hope to work together with all parties to stop counterfeiting activities".
Separately on Thursday, Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri also expressed concern over intellectual property rights violations, which she said had resulted in big losses.
In a written statement marking International Intellectual Property Rights Day on Thursday, Megawati acknowledged that law enforcement was still poor.
"There has to be breakthrough steps in overcoming the problem. We also need a solid intellectual property rights system," she said as quoted by Antara.
The system, she added, is not only important for law enforcement but also to improve economic growth.
For consumers, however, factory outlets are a savior in times of economy crisis when everything appears expensive.
Desy, 27, is a regular customer at a factory outlet because of the prices.
"The quality of some products may not be that good. They sometimes shrink or get bigger after washing, but most of them are OK," she said.
And for many other customers, the most important thing is they can enjoy "branded" products, the originals of which are out of their price range.

Labels: culture, urban

Posted by hera at 3:33 AM | Permalinks | Comments

Touts ease the hassle of getting passports

Saturday, April 21, 2001
By Hera Diani

JAKARTA (JP): Obtaining a document such as a passport in this country can be a major headache.
Long drawn-out bureaucratic procedures, irritating officers and pushy touts are among obstacles that have to be faced throughout the process.
No wonder people prefer to go to a service bureau or pay middlemen to get their passports done fast, even though it may cost them more than double.
Take Hery (not his real name), for example, who works at a TV production house.
The 26-year-old man was assigned by his office to go to Europe and was going to make a passport. But little did he know that it would cost him almost Rp 1 million to get it.
"I went to Tangerang immigration office. There, a man with an immigration office badge offered me help," he told The Jakarta Post recently.
The man asked for Rp 600,000 (US$54.5) to get him his passport, Hery said.
The official fee is Rp 110,000 for a 24-page passport and Rp 260,000 for a 48-page passport to be completed in a week.
"I didn't have much time so I said yes as long as the passport can be processed in one day," Hery said.
But then the man asked for another Rp 200,000 because Hery's identity card is less than a month old.
"He said that many people obtain ID cards in Tangerang to make things easier though they actually live in Jakarta," Hery said.
"The next day, I met a lady who only paid Rp 500,000 with the assistance of an 'insider'," he said.
Scalpers can easily be found at every immigration office, except the Central Jakarta office. Just walk inside and someone will approach and offer their services.
Someone like Marzuki (not his real name), a scalper at the crowded North Jakarta immigration office, located near Tanjung Priok port.
Marzuki admitted to being a middleman for 10 years now.
"There are many touts here. Most of them are unemployed sailors. As for me, I also work at a travel agency," said the man, who is in his 40s.
He charged between Rp 300,000 ($27.3) to Rp 600,000 per passport ($54.6), depending on the number of passport pages, either 24 or 48, and how long it can be completed.
"The faster you want to get it done, the more money you have to pay. But it's negotiable," he said.
"If all your documents are in order, let's go to my car outside and arrange everything. It's now 2 p.m., your passport will be ready by 10 a.m. tomorrow," he said.
If you are wary of touts you might as well go to a service bureau to arrange your passport.
They charge you somewhere between Rp 400,000 to Rp 750,000 depending on the type of passport and how quickly you need it.
The offices also provide a service where they will pick up the documents from your house and deliver your passport. All you need to do is just go to the immigration office to get your photograph taken.
However, for Indonesians of Chinese descent, they need to include their citizenship papers and pay an additional cost of Rp 100,000 to Rp 150,000 for the screening process.
Spokesman for the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights' Directorate General of Immigration, Mursanudin Ghani said that some of the service bureaus are indeed legalized.
"The bureaus are those who have been trained by the Ministry's Jakarta office. You recognize them from their badge," he told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Wednesday.
"It's a common thing in every country where people are busy and don't have time to arrange this kind of thing by themselves," he added.
About the price, Mursanuddin said, it is logical that the bureaus earn a profit from it.
"It's not that I'm justifying it, if there are complaints, please report them to us," he said.
Mursanuddin, however, admitted that it is difficult to combat scalpers.
"We can't take measures on them because that's the authority of the ministry's provincial office," he asserted.
Mursanuddin said that hopefully the whole process will be computerized so people could then just pay through a bank account.
"But it costs a lot of money. We actually received a soft loan of some $26 million from Spain, but the project was called off, I don't know why," he said.
About the discrimination over Chinese Indonesians, Mursanuddin was reluctant to provide a justification, saying that "there are some things that can not be disclosed".
"It's very easy to get a new birth certificate or an identity card. So we have to do the screening," he finally said, adding that the screening is officially free-of-charge.
However, concerning the hustle and bustle in obtaining passports, there are actually some people who do not mind going through the process all by themselves.
A woman at the North Jakarta immigration office was extending her passport without any assistance from middlemen and the process was swift.
"My friends said that immigration officers will make the process difficult if I don't give them money, so I gave them some. But they returned it to me," she said.
Ndari, 30, also refused to use either a tout or bureau, saying that her budget was limited.
"Besides that, I also want to know what it's like to arrange it by myself. And it turns out to be okay," she told the Post at the East Jakarta immigration office.
"Yes, I have to wait in line for three hours to get my photograph taken. But other than that, everything has gone smoothly and I got my passport on time," she added.

Labels: legal, urban

Posted by hera at 3:35 AM | Permalinks | Comments

Up-close and not so personal with 'MTV It's My Life'

Sunday, December 10, 2000
MTV It's My Life; ANteve: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.; MTV Asia: Tuesday, 8:30p.m., Friday, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, 4:30 p.m.

JAKARTA (JP): The phenomenon that is MTV -- who can doubt its popularity among teenagers?
When the music-only TV channel was first established in the United States19 years ago, the skeptics had a field day, saying it would last for a yearat most. You know, who actually wants to watch a 24-hour music channel?
Well, surprise, surprise, MTV turned out to be a giant industry and a media icon for young people around the world. An entire "MTV Generation" was born.
MTV Asia arrived in 1995 with three 24-hour channels -- MTV Mandarin, MTV Southeast Asia and MTV India. Like its forebear, it is also hip among young people and sets trends for them.
Many shows with local content have been produced, including MTV It's My Life, which is now in its second season.
The half-hour show is meant to be a peek into the daily lives of six young people from six different countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan and India.
The participants were selected from thousands of young Asians who signed up. With a series of tests, a jury from MTV picked the six winners who would be followed by a cameraman for every minute of every day for three months.
The show's aim is clearly to give an up-close and personal look into the lives of young Asians in their respective countries. The idea is based on the MTV USA show MTV Real World.
The difference is that Real World gathers seven young people (not necessarily U.S residents as some have been from Australia and Europe), andputs them together in a house with a cool interior design for about three months.
The audience gets to see how they interact with each other, how they become friends, or maybe enemies, as shown when one of the participants wasso annoying that his housemates decided to kick him out.
But the show is quite successful in picturing young people's lives, theirthoughts, their views, their dreams.
These are the very things that It's My Life unfortunately fails to present.
The first thing to be concerned about is the choice of participants. Fromthe first season, the jury's selection was questionable.
Check out the lineup of the first season: a college student/model/actress, a model and singer wannabe, a couple of annoying andboring high school twins, a waiter in a Hard Rock Hotel, a wimpy dancer/dancing teacher and a reporter (or was it editor?) of a magazine.
Roll out the second season's lineup: a model (again), a college student/model/actress, a high school student, a professional mountain biker, an assistant in an artist management company and a radio DJ/emcee/singer.
Are they in any way representative of their peers around Asia? Oh, come on.
The continual choice of models (because their easy on the eyes?) is one issue. And judging from their outfits, houses and cars, it is clear that the monetary crisis which battered the region in recent years had nothing to do with their privileged lives.
It is no comparison with the Real World, which is supposed to be its standard, which shows a variety of people who come from every level and group in society. Men, women, rich, poor, gay, straight, you name it.
One thing is for sure, they are in line with the title, the Real World.
Secondly, and most importantly, what is highly questionable about It's MyLife is the content of the show. Scenes of people getting a haircut, meeting clients, going for a car ride with a friend, dating, traveling and striding down the catwalk all eventually get really boring.
The only exception was the woman reporter from Hong Kong in the first season.
She sure has a fun life as a reporter, and she really filled her spare time with exciting activities like diving, bungee jumping, traveling abroadand stuff. Then again, how many young people can afford such activities?
At the very least the show should provide insight into the thoughts and dreams of the participants. It should, but it does not.
"I want to stay in the United States for the rest of my life," sighs Indonesian Charmantha Adji, the 23 year-old artist manager who graduated from an American university.
Other comments are also about as deep as the thought process of third graders.
Oh, please. Where is the angst, the anxiety, the restless soul of youth?
It's nowhere to be found, just like on the other superficial shows featured on the channel (Hera Diani).

Labels: culture, media, urban

Posted by hera at 3:37 AM | Permalinks | Comments