Bumilangit Studios

I grew up with superheroes — who didn’t? As a child and teen, I devoured Marvel and DC comics with its motley and colorful cast of characters and aspired to fight evil and do good like they did.

But I equally loved our local superhero comic characters, many of whom were inspired by Indonesian legends and folklore. The heyday of Indonesian superhero comics reached its peak in the 1970s and 1980s, but then they seem to have been eclipsed by those produced by their American counterparts. Since the early 2000s we have been living in the golden age of cinematic superheroes courtesy of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Extended Universe and their movie franchises.

So, I was thrilled to know that Jagat Sinema Bumilangit (Bumilangit Cinematic Universe, BCU), established in 2003, was set up to revive “superheroes-based comic storytelling in Indonesia”.

BCU’s first film, Gundala, directed by award-winning film director Joko Anwar, is inspired by the popular comic superhero Gundala, Putra Petir (Gundala, Son of Thunder) written in 1969 by Harya “Hasmi” Suryaminata. It was released on Aug. 29, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the comic book.

The film’s story line revolves around Sancaka, the orphaned child of a murdered labor activist who struggles on his own through life. He discovers that not only can he survive lightning strikes, but that lightning is the source of his superpowers. He’s a reluctant hero, propelled by circumstances to become Gundala. But his real power comes from accepting his fate and destiny to become a superhero who defends the people. He is the people!

But don’t be deceived or shortchanged when you watch Gundala. It’s so many things all rolled up into one. Talk about layers of an onion!

Firstly, Gundala is a reviver and modernizer of an Indonesian cultural heritage and provides a welcome alternative to Western superheroes for the younger generation. As one reviewer put it, Gundala is not a perfect film, but one that opens the door to the Bumilangit Universe perfectly”.

Gundala is also a social critique of Indonesia, addressing so many contemporary issues. Labor unrest, class disparity, hoaxes, betrayal, manipulation, opportunism, exploitation, psychological terror, big pharma, oligarchic domination and the fact that our so-called leaders don’t really care and even exploit the people for their own power and greed interests.

You know the saying, “Think global, act local”? As one viewer put it, it’s “Indonesia’s take on the superhero genre”. Gundala has a very Indonesian flavor to it, yet non-Indonesian audiences can easily relate to its universal themes. Gundala is one movie that travels well, which is probably one of the reasons it was placed in the prestigious Midnight Madness program recently at the Toronto International Film Festival and met with much acclaim.

Gundala is a film that inspires because that is what pop-culture superheroes do in modern society. They teach us about right and wrong, bravery, compassion, how to turn adversity into advantage and also how to be true to one’s calling in life.

Sancaka was advised by Awang, his mentor and martial arts instructor, to stay out of trouble by turning away from people who need help. For a long time, Sancaka took Awang’s advice until he could no longer do so because it was not in his nature or destiny to be that way. How many of us are like the Awang-influenced Sancaka, who forever remain indifferent to other’s suffering because we’re too scared? Come on, ‘fess up!

However, Gundala also teaches us to be realistic and vigilant because evil is always lurking around the corner. Evil here is personified by Pengkor who is to Gundala like the Joker is to Batman or Lex Luther to Superman. Pengkor, the deformed cripple, whose outer self reflects the ugliness of his inner character, is also the personification of the ruthless business community that controls most of the government. This is apparent by how invariably the government sides with capital at times of dispute with labor or even at the expense of the environment. Leaders who defy the interests of capital will be dethroned or destroyed. Look at what happened to Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, former Jakarta governor. Was he really jailed for blasphemy? Or was it because he dared to defy the interests of capital?

But don’t think that for one minute that watching Gundala was all, “Rah, rah!” In fact, for the most part, I felt tense from the underlying dystopian nature of the movie.

Pengkor was not physically strong but had an army of “adopted” orphans who he had brought up to be loyal to him. They were indebted to him for their education and comfortable lives and were willing to do his bidding at the drop of a hat. Or in this case, the ring of hundreds, perhaps thousands of mobile phones showing up the name Bapak (Father), mobilizing his conscience-free (robotic?) army to kill or destroy his enemies.

For me, brought up in Soeharto’s authoritarian, state-led capitalism, such scenes harken back to the centralized “Bapakism” of his presidency. Sure, the strong man who ruled for 32 years stepped down in 1998, but was the New Order mechanism demolished? No, it survived and transmuted; Soeharto’s sons and daughters (whether biological or not) still have a foothold among the present-day elite.

Greed can lead to unbridled capitalism, which destroys. It destroys people, the environment and ultimately itself. But before that happens, its adherents are basically willing to kill if not the people, then certainly their rights and their freedom, as Pengkor’s “children” do, to defend their interests and hegemony of the ruling elite.

Will the future bring a new kind of authoritarianism, dominated by artificial intelligence, the control of data, mind-hacking on a mass level and chemical warfare in various shapes or forms? Think of the opioid crisis in the United States and also the tendency to overmedicate in Indonesia.

After watching the movie, I went home feeling fearful and unsafe, imagining that someone in the dark parking lot would attack me as I got into my car, or when I opened the door to get into my house. Scary!

The world is changing rapidly and many of us — indeed the entire planet — are facing an uncertain future. I applaud the initiative and work of Joko, who very successfully contextualized Gundala in the realities of today’s Indonesia. Can he do the same with his BCU cast of characters for the Indonesia of the future?

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