Scant skin on display in tame local 'Playboy'

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 04/08/2006 9:43 AM

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Eager readers of the debut local edition of Playboy were left grumbling that the content of the much-anticipated men's magazine was more soft-focus than soft-core.

Where were all the naked women?

More highbrow subjects gained a lot of space in its 160 pages, including an interview with renowned man of letters Pramoedya Ananta Toer, an investigative report on indigenous religions by Pantau journalist Agus Sopian and an expos of the country's lucrative oil industry, written by economist Poltak Hotradero.

Save for these, the magazine resembles many of the hard-to-distinguish mainstream lifestyle magazines hogging space on local newsstands.

There are blink-and-you-miss-them music (including local heavy metal band Serieus) and film review columns (Good Night, Good Luck, Brokeback Mountain).

In one of its stories taken from the U.S. founding publication, Playboy Indonesia tells how Japanese automaker Toyota is on the road to dominating the American car market.

Of course, the text is not what most, if any, readers buy the magazine for, but the local Playboy failed to deliver on the cheesecake quotient. In fact, it has taken a more conservative approach than other male-oriented magazines such as Maxim, FHM and Stuff.

Computer wizardry left a lot to the imagination in concealing Miss April Kartika Oktarini Gunawan, despite her being garbed in a revealing outfit in the centerfold.

The boldest pose resorted to by TV personality Andhara Early consists of her lounging on a sofa and baring her midriff and thighs.

""I did not become a Playboy model to seek popularity. This is a challenge for me as a model,"" the cover girl said in the magazine interview.

Given the relatively inoffensive materials, media experts said there should be no repeat of the commotion that greeted the announcement earlier this year of its planned publication.

""Which part is offensive and which part of the Indonesian culture has been offended?"" Media analyst Veven S.P. Wardhana told The Jakarta Post.

He said that conservative groups which opposed Playboy could not file a lawsuit against it simply because it has become a symbol of ""vulgarity"".

The Press Council also decided that there was no problem with Playboy. ""They publish decent materials and they do not violate any laws on obscenity,"" Press Council member Sabam Leo Batubara told the Post. (10)

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