The Jakarta Post
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsMeet TikTok’s plot twist king from Indonesia
With over 2 million followers, David Soerdjana's awkward, moral teaching videos have become a gold mine for memes. But its good-hearted nature has also amassed its creators the respect of adoring fans.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Set as preferred source
P
icture the scene: a well-dressed young man is purchasing gorengan (fried snacks) from a roadside stall. As he reaches for his wallet, a girl snatches his bag of gorengan and runs away. The young man gives chase, following the girl into a dilapidated shack. Peeking inside, he sees the girl giving his bag of gorengan to her ailing grandmother. He introduces himself to the family, smiles knowingly at the girl, and walks away while shrugging to the audience.
There are just a few problems. The dialogue and acting are wooden at best. The plot is jumpy, reminiscent of a soap opera. Then there are the finer details. No self-respecting Indonesian would serve the famously oily gorengan to a sickly, coughing grandmother. And most importantly, we see the girl entering a rickety wooden shack. Yet when the man steps inside, he inexplicably finds them in a simple but comfortable brick and mortar room.
“Look, we didn’t mean it to end up that way,” said the video’s star, David Soerdjana, 32, barely suppressing a smile. “But in Indonesia, sometimes mistakes go viral. Nothing is wasted.”
The numbers have proven him right. Peppered with amateurish acting, more plot twists than an M. Night Shyamalan flick and furious genre-blending, his one-minute movies have earned him over 2 million followers on his TikTok account, @dav_surj. From dramatic action scenes and inspirational tearjerkers to romantic comedy skits, his videos seem to have something for everyone.
And then there’s David himself. His quirky stage presence and bewildering charisma has turned him into somewhat of a cult hero. Part reluctant action star, part lovable rogue, his characters defy incredible odds to pull off an elaborate plan or just to make a moot point, usually with the aid of convenient plot twists.
In one video, he pretends to be a gruff debt collector to help his friend propose to his girlfriend (don’t ask how). In another, he cancels a huge business deal after his potential investor insulted his employee. In another, he tempts a girl waiting on her boyfriend’s broken down motorcycle to illustrate a point about loyalty during adversity. At the end, his character would dispense folksy wisdom on kindness, integrity and not judging people by their cover.
And then, his party trick. After making his point, he would dramatically walk away from the scene. Breaking the fourth wall, David’s character shrugs to the audience while an uplifting pop song plays in the background. Cue credits, dropped jaws and the birth of a thousand memes.
