Glocalization: A Cultural Dilemma

Richardson Kilis

Richardson H. Kilis is a U.S.-educated Indonesianist who studies the relationship of technology and cultural exchange.

16 Responses

  1. Angga says:

    I personally think that the cultural diversity JKT have is somewhat an advantage for them in its own rights if they know how to took advantage of it in a correct way :D

    Indonesia is a melting pot of various cultures and taken advantage of it accordingly will ensure boost the girls….scratch that, the nation image more overseas to those who interested in cultural diversity and their relationship in my own honest opinion.

    If the government currently have a bad track for cultural/religious tolerance, then our hope lies on the shoulder of these youngsters as the representative of the nation’s unity in diversity.

  2. arifnpm says:

    Glocalization, hard to spell. In IT and Industries we simply call it i18n or Internationalization. Like Angga said, JKT48 members are diverse enough and fit to Indonesian identity “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” or in English “Unity In Diversity”. Our national identity like Obama said having similarities with US values, and is being implemented all around the world with the Globalization trend. They should not having a hard time here in Indonesia other than translating the materials from AKB48.

    • i18n has a different approach to localization, which as you indicated, focuses on translation of the software into local languages. This approach does not take into consideration the cultural norms and practices of the target market and instead seeks to create a pseudo-familiar environment for foreign users without altering the original structure and concept of the software. This results in some things being lost in translation or some concepts needing to be tweaked to evoke a similar meaning. You will see this in the translated lyrics of AKB/JKT songs, where some portions tend to use non-vernacular language.

  3. benimaru says:

    is not this diversity thingy that makes JKT is unique?

    me believe this multi ethnic and multi background each members have are their strong points..

    even tho they are AKB sister group, realized or not, it seems mr.Akimoto were creating a new completely different group..

    neutral Indonesians (those who are not affected by polishitical interest), are supposed to already get used to multiculture.. (me even had a chinese and an american in my family :-D )

    so just like the dude above said, unless there is a political issue with japan goverment (just like china had), me don’t see any difficulties for mr.Akimoto to promoting this kind of idoling concept here in Indonesia..

    as for those who are complaining when a non-muslim wearing hijab; Guru Shivanandam wearing hijab, Anish Shorros wearing hijab, even mother Mary and her son wearing hijab.. so what makes you think hijab is for muslim only?

  4. aldo says:

    youth these day is the beginning of assimilation product, and i’m one of that product. I don’t even know what my ethnic root is(are), due of my parents also the product of the assimilation too. i would always declare as Indonesia or ethnically from Jakarta if someone ask me ‘which part of Indonesia you from?’. What makes you Indonesian? it’s because you were born and raised on that place. I have same passport with Garuda on its cover like all Indonesian’s. That’s a little intermezzo about my cultural background, which lead to the feeling of the proximity with JKT48. Could JKT48 regarded as the melting pot of Indonesia cultural blending? i would say no, we got eastern Indonesia that has prominent physical characteristic. Then, could JKT48 considerable as the Image of Indonesian? i would say Yes and No. referring to my previous statement the answer is no and Yes, becasue some of world society know Indonesia as the part of Asia and its stereotypes. Could JKT48 catch the heart of Indonesian? only time could tell it.

  5. Soso says:

    Man, even USA have been assumed as a good example of diversity country there are still happen discrimination, It is natural for a multicultural country because if you want to make a country, you could not make such a multiple ideology country, basically the choice are just you pick one already dominated ideology or make a new one, for Indonesian case the ideology pattern basically is the first “pick one already dominated ideology”. In another hand, majority of bussinessman doesn’t want to take a too much complicated consideration marketing to their product, and also Japanesse bussines style have a fast tempo (Ex: How fast JOT could produce one single, How fast a unit Seven Eleven could be build until ready to open in Jakarta).

  6. Tomo says:

    I know you all have so many tribes, islands and religions in RI. The one thing that I cannot resolve is here. “Isolated Hindi Bali”. Why is this island only hindi society? I visited one beatufil beach “Candi Dasa (White Beach?)”. If my memory is correct, the one of Balinese tour guide explained to me that many Indian people had arrived at this beach by boats. But why Bali? I can think those Indian people could arrive at many beaches in Java. But not (? no idea…). At the same time, I heard one (probably bad) rumor that Bali was the prison island for Indian refugees. Again I have no idea. Do you all have some “one-only religion-driven” islands like Bali? Finally, if my all thoughts are wrong, maaf mohon :wink:

    • KageTora says:

      Indonesian history consists of several era. After Indonesian prehistory and before the advent of Islam, Indian influence covered most of the western parts of the Archipelago. Some Hindu-Buddhist civilizations ruled Sumatra and Java notably Srivijaya in Sumatra and Majapahit in Java. It is proven by the existence of candi in both island such as Candi Borobudur and Prambanan.

      The Balinese ethnic is believed to be the remnant of Majapahit, after most of Sumatra and Java converted to Islam. While the Balinese constitute the majority of Hindus in Indonesia, there exist other native ethnics with the majority of its members are Hindu, such as the Tenggerese in East Java and some of the Dayak in Borneo.

      While Indian influence is no more dominant in Indonesia, it does leave its legacies. One of the striking legacy is in language, especially names. Many Indonesian names have some Indian taste in it : Jakarta (Jayakrta – ultimate victory), Wijaya (Vijaya – proclaimed victory), Ratna (Ratna – jewel/precious), Devi/Dewi (Devi – goddess/queen), Putri (Putri – daughter/princess), Anggada (Angada – a monkey prince in Ramayana epic :lol: )

  7. M Halim says:

    No.. Sorry you got it wrong.
    Hijab in arabic means a screen or curtain. But it’s more referred to ‘rules of covering’ and not referring to the garment itself.
    If you’re referring to spesific Islamic garment it’s called Jilbab.
    Hijab is enforced in some country like Saudi Arabia that even non-muslim is enforced to apply this ‘Hijab’. And this Hijab doesn’t have to be Jilbab as long it covers enough body to follow this Hijab rules. Hijab is also known to some non-muslim culture and countries.
    So we may safely say that ‘Hijab’ is not for Islam followers only.

  8. wmlx says:

    A pretty good commentary. It was also translated into Mandarin (http://tieba.baidu.com/p/2515484909), which I can vouch for its accuracy.

    My take: I’d say the “Glocalization” is JKT48 in Indonesia, while not without flaws, has been pretty good. First up: their MV’s of the same (translated) song are less risque than the Japanese original.

    All in all, JKT48, to me, is a breath of fresh air in the Indonesian entertainment market. It brings some polish and modernity into what is a largely immature segment Indonesia. (Just watch the hosts of Dahsyat)

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