The Children of the Nation: the Representation of Children in Garin Nugroho's Films

In Indonesian cinema, internationally acclaimed director Garin Nugroho is the only filmmaker who has presented children as the main focus of narratives that are oppositional to mainstream and state-sponsored ideologies. Consequently, because Garin Nugroho has consistently placed child characters in central roles in his films, the discussion in this book focuses on the ideological and discursive implications of his cinematic depiction of children. With the central question regarding the construction of children's identities in Garin's films, I analyzes in detail three of these films, dedicating an entire chapter to each one of them. The films discussed are Surat untuk Bidadari (Letter to an Angel, 1993), Aku Ingin Menciummu Sekali Saja (2000), Rindu Kami Padamu (Of Love and Eggs,2004). I identify ways in which Garin deconstructs children's images and provides alternatives to dominant discourses on childhood in Indonesia. Through the analysis of selected films, I reveal that while the identities of children are constructed in his films against the idealized image of Indonesian children, they are also utilized by him to convey more broadly his political views about Indonesia.