Indomerican: The new fusion of today's young generation confusion

Sun, 01/11/2009 10:03 AM  |  Lifestyle

I notice nowadays that Indonesian heritage has really taken its recognition to a higher level of awareness.

DIAZ

Patriotism, nationalism or simply commercialism, I don't really know for sure. I honestly never thought this would be a booming trend today. I thought modernization would wash away old traditions and make us into standardized inhabitants.

Looking at the trend in the 80s and 90s, Indonesia was moving in a wild track with its "openness" toward nightlife, fashion, movies, arts, tourism and so on.

But the damage from the late-90s crisis unfortunately forced our mentality backward and somehow suppressed our attitude from "up to the max" to "down with limit".

Which leaves me wondering: when there are fewer trends to adapt, perhaps it's an opportunity to rise up and expose our own old traditions? Or is it just a form of our frustration to be forced to "work within our home", and everyone suddenly realizes that to dig our hidden treasures with hope as time goes by, it can be sold like a gold asset?

Look around you, how long have you seen batik being worn and used as school uniforms, mass-produced ITC commodities, to the authentic exclusive styles of some clamoring traditional fantasy diva women's wear?

That's just one example from fashion. Take a look also at the eating/dining area -- there are more menus or restaurants that offer tempoe doeloe (olden days) recipes and ambience. And some leading malls and department stores have tagged the word "Indonesia" to their names lately, with a special section in their shops dedicated to selling traditional products.

Somehow it's a warm feeling to see our own culture promoted and highly appreciated in the eyes of the nation. However, having gone through different stages of trends and culture, I wonder if we will be stuck with our traditions forever, or will we come to a global cosmopolitan modernization point? As contrastingly nowadays, I witness the same amount of confusion from culture appreciation and trend application here.

While older generations tend more to embrace their culture in their own traditional manner, youngsters are picking up bits and pieces and mixing them up with their edgy "today" approach.

It's like your mum preferring to wear a kebaya (traditional women's blouse), complete from head to toe with that massive croissant hair bun, while you might opt for a sarong-style skirt combined with a modern top and some traditional accessories. And you'll likely be sipping a glass of wine with your friends in a "trendicious" caf* rather than having a cup of tea while visiting your old relatives.

Speaking of which, don't you think today's modification of traditional outfits is often over the top? If I'm at a traditional wedding nowadays, looking at what the bride and the female guests wear often brings to mind a wayang golek (wooden puppets) battle coming to life through a curse by Cruella De Vil. I look at kebaya as a classic art piece, so when it clashes with an overpowering diva-wannabe look with too much bling and fairy-tale witch makeup, it becomes scarier than the legend of Ratu Buaya Putih (White Alligator Witch, an old Indonesian legend).

Anyway, I must take my hat off to the younger generation that often daringly pairs traditional items in their wardrobes but still manages to look bubbly between ethnic and alternative by wearing a cute T-shirt with bold wooden necklace and peasant batik skirt, or a crisp white shirt over jeans worn with traditional slippers, with an ethnic hairpin stuck into a simple bun hairstyle. But what our youngsters wear for hanging out rather haunts me these days.

Call me old-fashioned, but perhaps cappuccino, what used to be the "it" rendezvous beverage of the 90s, has now shifted to wine.

Often I see groups of teenagers toasting with glasses of wine in a posh caf*. Do they actually really know how to enjoy good wine, or are they simply copying Western culture adopted from TV or during their studies overseas?

If they really like the flavor of wine, why do they exhibit a "medicine face" when they gulp? And the icing on the cake: many of them also flaunt a very sharp, crisp and stereotypically "American" accent when they speak English to one another, even though they're obviously 110 percent Indonesian.

I smile as I witness this culture clash. It brings me back to the late 80s and the movie Catatan si Boy (Boy's Diary), where the leading man was an Indonesian "idol" who had just returned from studying in the United States, and now presented himself as a Westerner, yet behaved in such a gentlemanly Eastern manner.

And at that time, Amrik (America) was a label used to describe the nation the youngsters used to temporarily reside in. And when they came back, they'd be at the very top in their level of society. I think that trend is still going on, but reversing now to give you a comparison to choose.

While some still prefer to look Western, such as having light brown to blonde hair, colored contact lenses, and ultra-fair skin as fashion assets, others wouldn't mind sticking to their original color and clothes as long as they have a Western lifestyle and, most importantly, the fluency to speak like a true New Yorker!

And, of course, to parade it as loudly as possible. It's interesting how a culture evolves as trend, but the results can be unexpectedly annoying when two diametrically opposed cultures are forced to compete to show off as a trend just for the heck of having style. Don't you think?

--Diaz

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