Aksi: A Soundscape of Political Protest in Indonesia, 1998
[Thesis]
Sasono, M. Rizky
Ayyagari, Shalini
University of Pittsburgh
2020
91 p.
M.A.
University of Pittsburgh
2020
This thesis examines the soundscape of protests in Indonesia during the politically turbulent period of late New Order Indonesia. Scrutinizing student-organized protest in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, this micro-historical approach focuses on the performance aspect of aksi, an Indonesian term commonly used to depict political protest. Using a theoretical framework that combines performance studies, sound studies, and popular music analysis, this thesis focuses on performances by two political actors -- comedian Butet Kertaradjasa and the music troupe, Sarekat Pengamen Indonesia (SPI) -- during a protest demanding political reform (reformasi) on April 23, 1998. In both cases, the performances emphasize both the political and aesthetic nature of aksi. This study also incorporates an ethnographic approach involving former protesters. Moreover, through sound and music this paper interrogates the role of the "people" within the constellation of student-organized political protest. This thesis aims to historicize the narrative of political reform in Indonesia that has been diverted by political powers in the years subsequent to the reform movement. As this thesis was written over twenty years after reformasi, it is informed by collective memory of the New Order authoritarian government whose legacy lives on. Considering the swinging dynamics of politics in Indonesia, recurring political events, and their social impact, this study asks readers to reflect on contemporary relations between the regime and the people, politics and aesthetics, and sound and society.