Word: indonesia
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...Indonesia prepared to send its athletes to the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand last month, a mock government Cabinet on satirical TV show Dreaming Republic discussed why the nation was no longer the regional sporting powerhouse it was during the 1980s and '90s. Actors impersonating leaders past and present blamed the 1997 financial crisis, before appealing to the live audience and viewers at home for more funding to help prepare Indonesian athletes. One of the show's most popular characters, impersonating former President Suharto, had a simpler solution: "Just return me to power...
...Daily Show with Jon Stewart - into one of the most highly anticipated programs on Indonesian television each week, with a viewership estimated in the tens of millions and spanning all social strata from politicians to parking-lot attendants. The actors are ostensibly members of government from a parallel Indonesia - the "dreaming republic" of the show's title - where everything is the same apart from the spelling of leaders' names. Cast members always refer to Indonesia as "the neighboring country," introducing a modicum of libel defense that allows them to criticize the shortcomings of those who hold power, as well...
...supposedly stirred up "social tension." But he is back in the mainstream now, playing the popular part of Si Butet Yogya, a character who shares the same initials and mannerisms as real life President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. As the coordinator of a master's program at the University of Indonesia in political communications, Gazali brings an academic knowledge to the program, but he leavens it with his previous TV experience. His first skits aired in the early 1980s on government-run TVRI, but Gazali says several were pulled because they were considered hostile toward the Suharto regime...
...protected the show from interference. Indeed, Dreaming Republic has emerged as one of the great triumphs of reformasi. "The show really is one of the best examples of democracy in action," says Juniwati Masjchun Sofwan, a national board member of the Golkar party, which is a part of Indonesia's ruling coalition. "To be able to make fun of the President and not offend anyone was pretty much unheard of until...
...label head Jim Powers, who signed White Shoes and re-released their self-titled 2005 debut album in the U.S. in September. What American listeners will make of White Shoes' fey and shimmering songs - mostly recorded in Indonesian, with one or two in English - remains to be seen however. Indonesia's biggest stars - platinum-selling bands such as Dewa and Gigi - have never had any impact on the U.S. market. When they tour the States, it's to play to the small handfuls of Indonesian students on American campuses...