Author: Ameni Nazaretha
As part of the 35th Anniversary of the Faculty of Computer Sciences, Universitas Indonesia (Fasilkom UI), Makara Art Center (MAC) in collaboration with Uluwatu Orchestra Fasilkom UI presented a Hybrid Talk Show with the theme “Preserving Indonesian Culture through Local Wisdom as a Mode of Nation Progress” on Thursday (28/10/2021) at MAC Auditorium, and it was broadcasted live via the “Makara Art Center” Youtube channel. The Hybrid Talk Show was also followed by a virtual screening of the musical film “Sangkuriang Karsa Bersatu”. This activity also invited Dr. R. Yugo K. Isai as a Fasilkom UI lecturer, Tommy Christomy Ph. D as a lecturer of the Faculty of Humanities, and Bagus A. Saputra as the Director of Sangkuriang Karsa Bersatu. In addition, the Hybrid Talk Show hosted by Dr. Ngatawi Al Zastrouw as the Director of MAC also invited DR. Yessy Gusman, a senior actress, and Mikhael Yulius Cobis, M.Si. MM as the Dean of the Faculty of Communication, London School of Public Relations.
According to Tommy Christomy, the Sangkuriang performance is one of the ways to make local traditional works modern so they can be enjoyed by the young generation. It is hoped that the existence of such an activity, which was the Sangkuriang performance, can spur cultural preservation so that our culture is not undermined by the popularity of foreign cultures, such as South Korea’s culture, which is now increasingly popular within our younger generation. According to him, turning Sangkuriang’s literary work into a form of musical performance is not an easy thing. “Transferring the media like this is not an easy thing because in the oral tradition, the person speaking can add something, but in the written tradition, it is difficult to do. In this case the director has tried hard to translate the text into a kind of multimedia performance in the form of a YouTube video that everyone can enjoy and understand,” said Tommy.
Tommy also added that technology has an important role in translating witten script into a visual form so that existing stories can be conveyed. “Trying to translate visually is not easy. But with technology, it can be circumvented,” he said. Talking about the creative process of making films, Bagus A. Saputra explained that everything starts from exploring a story which is a tragedy story. Next, Bagus looked for references from films and other visual tragedies for the film Sangkuriang Karsa Bersatu. “Th second one is the message conveyed. We have to determine the hero from Sangkuriang first. If we know, we can find out what message he wants to convey,” he added.
According to him, the hero in the Sangkuriang story is Dayang Sumbi who maintains the normality and legal taboos that exist in society. Bagus also added that it would be good if artists did not have to look far for inspiration because everything could be explored from the wealth of folklore in Indonesia. In conclusion, it is hoped that what the production team has done can further elevate local wisdom and revive the good image and values of the Indonesian nation. It is hoped that this can also increase the love for the Indonesian nation and unite Indonesian people to become even stronger.
