Bintang Emon, Novel and ‘Netizen’ Responses

KOMPAS/ARYO WISANGGENI GENTHONG

Achmad Gozali drew a mural of KH Abdurrahman Wahid as a symbol of tolerance, diversity, and freedom of expression on the walls of a community park in Bali Mester Village, DKI Jakarta, Sunday (5/6/2016).

Satire has existed for hundreds of years. However, the existence of political satire is perceived differently in an increasingly dynamic society. Today, such satire can trigger “counterattacks” from internet users, also known as netizens.

"There are those who send emails to my work email account, my brother\'s account and my manager’s account," Gusti Muhammad Abdurrohman Bintang Mahaputra, also known as Bintang Emon, wrote on his Twitter account on Monday (15/06/2020).

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He posted the tweet four days after a video went viral showing his criticism of the one-year jail sentences sought for the two police officers who allegedly attacked Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chief investigator Novel Baswedan. The one minute and 43 second video titled "Ga Sengaja [Accidentally]" gained more than 4.4 million views on Twitter and 1.5 million likes on Instagram.

The video addresses the sentence sought by state prosecutors, who claimed that the defendants had “accidentally” poured acid on Novel\'s eyes. In the video, Bintang Emon mocked the reasoning. According to him, there was no way pouring acid on someone’s face could be an accident. He received backlash on social media. A number of Twitter accounts accused Bintang Emon of being a drug user. In less than 24 hours, those accounts disappeared. The online attack brought other netizens to Bintang Emon’s aid. Through his manager, Bintang Emon said he was not ready to comment on the online attacks.

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TANGKAPAN LAYAR TWITTER

Screenshot of @bintangemon account on Twitter channel.

Comic Sakdiah Makruf said that comedians, especially solo comedians, wanted to "highlight" social phenomena so that the public could see what was happening more clearly. "Just like Bintang Emon, netizens made jokes about the \'accidental attack\' en masse to show how that phrase alone shows big problems in the country’s legal system and corruption eradication," she said yesterday.

Humor is very important in political communication. Humor, said Sakdiah, allows discussion of the most taboo and sensitive topics, challenging various forms of injustice by "reversing" the narrative of the oppressor and reflecting it upon them. Therefore, she said, a healthy democracy required freedom of expression. Comedy was part of that freedom of expression.

New Order Comedy

The Bagito comedy group, consisting of Hadi Wibowo (Unang), Dedi Gumelar (Miing) and Didin Pinasti (Didin), was popular during the New Order era. Bagito was known for their naughty jokes that also criticized the government.

Miing said that whenever they performed on stage, there were always two middle-ranking officers backstage who guarded the stage with pistols in their boot.

According to Miing, that phenomenon was not much different from what Bintang Emon was experiencing. Social media hides people like snipers in tall grass. Their real identity can remain unknown.

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"If someone posts criticism, he or she will become a target on social media. This is very dangerous and will erode democracy. The public [online] are acting as if they are the state apparatus," said Miing, who spoke from a hospital after a gallstone surgery.

Kompas

The Bagito comedy group, from the left of Didin (Tb Didin Pinasti), Miing (Tb. Dedi Gumelar), Unang (Hadi Wibowo), photographed 31 October 2016.

Since the era of kings

Historian Dwi Cahyono said in the world of puppetry, elements of comedy could be found on bas reliefs depicting events from the Ramayana carved into the Penataran Temple in East Java. The reliefs depict the story of the giant monster Kumbakarna under attack by an army of apes – Hanoman\'s men.

For example, there were apes biting Kumbakarna\'s nose.

"Why did the apes bite the nose, not the neck? That is definitely comical. Small things are inserted so that people don\'t get bored reading war stories," Dwi said.

Funny stories were also found during the era of the Majapahit Kingdom. There was the story about King Hayam Wuruk who lampooned his officials and citizens through an art performance during that time.

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Then, humor was adapted into Javanese activity called ndagel or often called dagelan (slapstick). Literally, ndagel means stuck. "People get trapped, unable to get the way out. Then, they became funny. That’s comical," he said.

After that, ludruk came. It consists of funny songs. This was followed by ketoprak, which is not much different from slapstick. "There is social criticism in the form of teasing. The target can be anyone. People who become target of teasing shouldn\'t be angry. But now, the ones who are teased are mad," said the historian at the Malang State University.