Branded Identities: On the relationship between the Wonderful Indonesia nation branding campaign, cultural commodification and the Indonesian national identity

Branded Identities On the relationship between the Wonderful Indonesia nation

branding campaign, cultural commodification and the Indonesian national identity

Researcher : Raissa Smarasista Student Reference : 33220666 Institution : Goldsmiths University of London Date : 2 May 2014 Supervisor : Dr. Aeron Davis Program : BA (Hons) Media and Communications Course Code : MC53001A Dissertation Word Count :10,993 words

Research Question: How does the Wonderful Indonesia nation branding campaign use culture to target internal citizens as brand ambassadors?  

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Table of Contents

A B S T R A C T 3

I N T R O D U C T I O N 4

L I T E R A T U R E R E V I E W 6 A. FUNDAMENTALS OF NATION BRANDING 6 I. DEFINING A NATION AND ITS IDENTITY 6 II. GLOBALIZATION AND NEOLIBERALISM 7 III. UNDERSTANDING THE NATION BRAND 8 B. DISCUSSION OF ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS 9 I. BRAND MARGINALIZATION 9 II. PRODUCT/PLACE BRANDING 10 III. COMMODIFICATION OF CULTURE 11

M E T H O D O L O G Y 18

C O N T E N T A N A L Y S I S 22 A. CULTURE 22 B. THE INDONESIAN CHARACTER 25 C. NATURE 26 D. RELIGION 27 E. CONCLUSION 28

I N T E R V I E W A N A L Y S I S 29 A. UNDERSTANDING OF NATION BRANDING 29 B. NATIONAL CHARACTER 30 C. TRADITION/MODERNITY 31 D. CULTURE 33 E. BRAND AMBASSADORS 35

C O N C L U S I O N 37

B I B L I O G R A P H Y 41

A P P E N D I X 45 A. FIGURES 45 B. VIDEO TRANSCRIPTS 48 C. INTERVIEW GUIDE 54 D. INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS 55 E. PARTICIPANT CONSENT FORM 73

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A B S T R A C T Just like products, nations are branded to communicate a coherent and attractive

message that will draw in tourists and investors. This has become a compulsory

strategy in the globalized market of nations, as countries must develop a commercial

image in fear of falling behind. However, the target audience of these branding

campaigns also includes their local citizens.

This paper explores the relationship between nation branding campaigns, cultural

commodification and national identity. It is based on the notion that branding

campaigns not only treats culture as a sellable object for foreigners to consume, it is

also ‘sold’ to citizens as a way of securing national identity and delegating the

responsibility of being a brand ambassador. The case study of Wonderful Indonesia

illustrates the use of culture in a nation brand.

Theoretical framework ranging from various perspectives will be discussed to

understand nation branding and the different issues that arise within its practice.

Combined with a content analysis of three promotional videos published by the

official Indonesian tourism board under the Wonderful Indonesia brand, and extensive

interviews with Indonesian citizens, this research aims to investigate how nation

branding uses culture to target internal citizens.

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I N T R O D U C T I O N Nation branding enthusiasts claim that campaigns propel the nation into awareness

and potential growth as it unifies the country in a coherent direction. However, many

are critical of this practice as being a reductionist approach in understanding

something as complicated as a nation. There has also been concern regarding treating

nations as a commodity.

This subject is increasingly relevant today because in the globalized neoliberal market

of nations, the practice of nation branding is no longer an option. Brands act as a

competitive identity for the nation to develop further. As I began to study nation

branding, several concerns arose, including how this pursuit will affect something as

personal as national identity. The global game surely influences the way citizens

understand their country and their belonging to that nation at a core level, which

steered my research to focus on how branding campaigns use culture to disseminate

nationalistic responsibilities for its citizens.

Wonderful Indonesia is Indonesia’s most current nation brand campaign, and has

been the unified brand message promoted by the country. With an emphasis in

displaying the unique culture of local ethnic groups, Wonderful Indonesia strives to

promote Indonesia’s heritage and tradition. Studying this campaign in parallel to a

growing literature review on nation branding and cultural commodification, I realized

that Indonesian culture is increasingly treated as the main product to sell to foreign

visitors and investors. Reflecting on cultural authenticity and ownership also brought

forward debates on national identity, and the impact of nation brands in building a

national understanding of ‘the self’ as an Indonesian citizen.

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Further into the development of my research, nation branding is revealed to be so

much beyond the superficial trend of putting up flashy slogans and logos to attract

tourists. This paper aims to explore the way nation brands commodify culture as a

way of disseminating nationalistic values to citizens. This research aims to explore

how these values are put back in the positive feedback loop of nationalism, as citizens

take on the role of brand ambassadors. These branding campaigns are thus political to

say the least, which is why this study is not only important to pursue, but also

becomes an interesting meeting point between two seemingly juxtaposed ideas of the

global and the local, culture and modernity, and the social and the economic.

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L I T E R A T U R E R E V I E W

The following literature review studies the works of various scholars who adopt

different approaches. Most of the literature on nation branding is written from a

technical-economic standpoint, using branding theory to discuss how nations need to

secure a competitive identity in a globalized world. While political approaches refer

to the soft power of reputation management, cultural approaches focus on how nation

branding affects the politics of cultural identity. This review aims to consider all three

interwoven aspects. The first section will discuss foundational ideas on nation

branding, followed by a review of the issues found, particularly in cultural

commodification.

A. Fundamentals of nation branding

i. Defining a nation and its identity Before delving into the issues of nation branding, it is best to understand what is

meant by the term ‘nation’. Smith defines nations as “a named human population

sharing a historic territory, common myths, and historical memories, a mass, public

culture, a common economy and common legal rights and duties for all members.”

(1991,p.14). This understanding focuses on the collective group of people whose

identities are interlinked. Anderson calls this the imagined community “because the

members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members,

meet them, or even hear of them, yet the minds of each lives the image of their

communion.” (2006,p.6) People are aware of their belonging to a nation through the

emotional consumption of symbolic messages like flags, slogans, cultural heritage,

and an entire promotional repertoire that “awaken nations to self consciousness,

inventing nations where they do not exist.” (Smith,1991,p.71) It is important to note

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that the imaginings of foreigners also contribute to how we view our nations

(Aronczyk,2013,p.89). This is further propagated by the consumption of media, where

most branding practices are targeted. National identity does not appear on its own, but

is instilled by certain processes (Murai,2011,p.6). Nations, nationalism and national

identity are not necessarily “invented” but “imagined”—and therefore this

imagination can be sculpted through the practices of nation branding.

ii. Globalization and neoliberalism Nation branding as a legitimate practice started after the Second World War, when

countries were prompted to envision themselves in the global game for investment

(Aronczyk,2013,p.3). Globalization changed the way nations interact, allowing

streams of communication, trade, and tourism to flow between separate geographic

entities. With new opportunities, countries are pressured to differentiate themselves as

they compete for attention both domestically and internationally (Dinnie,2009,p.15)

while Simonin states that the “traditional boundaries of the geopolitical-economic

world map are challenged.” (2008,p.20) Globalization enables competition between

nations who must identify their role in the world through an image. In addition to that,

information streams from media sources including the Internet have made the entire

world an audience of campaigns. Things like culture, that once remained an intrinsic,

esoteric part of a country’s population, all of the sudden is mediatized and can be

cognitively consumed by other countries.

This pressures nations to project a positive brand image in the media. Aronczyk noted

that neoliberalism acts as a response to globalization, seen as the need for countries to

set their position in the global context and is simultaneously motivated by neoliberal

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agendas (2013,p.23). Nations are selling brand images to the world as a foundation

for future investment extensions (Sussman,2012,p.31). It becomes a tool to make the

nation economically appealing and flourishing.

iii. Understanding the nation brand Kaneva defines nation brands as “a compendium of discourses and practices aimed at

reconstituting nationhood through marketing and branding paradigms.” (2011,p.118)

Nation branding practices are becoming popular, evident in catchy slogans like

“Malaysia Truly Asia”, and “Inspiring India”. It becomes the projected key

characteristics of a country, which can quickly transform into stereotypical images. A

nation’s image is an amalgamation of different factors, but Anholt names six

categories that summarize them adequately—tourism, export brands, public policies,

culture, business dynamics, and the people of the country including local celebrities

and the citizens (2007,p.25). Anholt argues that our experiences follow our

perceptions—thus, image becomes a very real asset and if not utilized properly, a

potential downfall (2007,p.38). Without questioning the power of the symbolic image,

branding experts often follow a ‘style over substance’ approach, accentuating the

unique culture of a nation as aesthetic branding.

Nation brands are built on the foundations of attractiveness—it aims to attract

business, tourists, investment and talent—while striving to make export products and

local brands attractive (Zerillo&Thomas,2007,p.89). However, apart from promoting

the country to foreigners, it is also crucial in defining the social experiences of the

population. Returning to Anderson’s concept of the imagined community, branding

becomes a resource for imagining a sense of identity (as a citizen of a wider nation

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possessing the same qualities). Thus, nation branding becomes “above all a material

practice—having the power to change our environment and everyday sensory

experience” (Moor,2007,p.146). For the citizens of a branded nation, it yields a

feeling of belonging (Volcic&Andrejevic,2011,p.598). This questions who has the

right to create national identity, built through branding practices and cultural icons.

This imagination is only made possible through the premises set by branding experts.

However it is important to not limit the formation of identity to nationhood alone—

factors such as ethnicity and gender intersect the notions of national identification

(Kaneva,2011,p.132).

Nation branding brings potential development to a country, but it should not be

treated as a magic formula to dispel the nation’s real problems. “Nation branding will

not solve a country’s problems but only serves as the final touch, to add icing on the

cake. If economic development in a country is like completing a gigantic jigsaw,

nation branding is probably the last piece.” (Fan,2006,p.13). It is not a universal

“panacea” (Gertner, 2007, p.6), and perhaps it is over-glorified as a solution. The

overt promotion of cultural beauty in branding campaigns “glosses” over real

problems such as racism, poverty and inequality (Murai,2011,p.23,

Sussman,2012,p.31). I argue that since nation branding eliminates these aspects from

the brand, it leads to the complete neglect of these issues.

B. Discussion of issues and implications

i. Brand marginalization It is impossible to communicate the entire complexity of a country, making nation

branding resort to a single core quality (Aronczyk,2008,p.52). Stripping away the

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diversity of a nation will inevitably cause groups of citizens to feel excluded and

disconnected by what is supposedly representing their identity. The main issue with

nation brands is that one emphasized quality is claimed to be the identities of

everyone in that country. In a case study analysing the representation of New York,

Greenberg found that the most important role of a brand is to become an “imagined

consensus that transcends class, race and neighbourhood” (2010,p.119). People were

resisting the big New-Yorker brand because it meant losing their unique cultural

heritage. There was a feeling of oppression in this politics of identity. The solution for

New York was to create “sub-brands” for individual neighbourhoods—while

maintaining a logo of diversity as the brand message of the city

(Greenberg,2010,p.135). However, these theories fail to acknowledge that certain

parts of culture will receive more attention than others (eg Manhattan is more

represented in the media), shaping the cultural identity of a whole nation.

ii. Product/Place Branding Dinnie states that nation branding and corporate branding are very much alike

(2009,p.21). This notion is somewhat disturbing as countries hinges on the identity of

thousands of people. “After all, if you’re branding a can of beans you don’t need to

ask the beans before you decide what to put on the label, but countries are different:

they are made of people.” (Anholt,2007,p.82) It is unethical to treat nations like a

product, because the stakes are so much higher. A product is owned by business

CEOs, while a nation has a complicated and unclear mix of multiple stakeholders. It

is still unclear whether nations belong to the population or the leaders of its

government (Fan,2006,p.7), or whether nations can be “owned” for that matter.

Products can be easily repositioned or withdrawn from the market, but nations do not

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have the same advantage as their image is much more multidimensional

(Fan,2006,p.8). Thus, nations and products do not operate in the same manner, and it

is dangerous to assume that the same branding techniques can be applied conversely.

The ‘selling’ of something as personal as nationhood could potentially affect citizens’

identity at the core level.

However, the equating of product branding to nation image might be appropriate, for

if people are able to be swept away by the magic of persuasive capitalism, it would be

foolish to think that they can be objective in framing their political ideas (Van

Ham,2001,p.5) Ward explains that the commodification of nations is real, yet is exists

almost metaphorically because the price of a place can never be fully defined (1998,

p.126). So what exactly is “sold” by nation branding?

iii. Commodification of Culture Aronczyk worries that culture is increasingly commoditised through nation branding

practices. “It was culture that had to become competitive if the nation was to remain

viable in the global marketplace.” (2013,p.47) Culture is made to become calculable

and sellable to the global audience, as it is the one thing that sets a country apart from

its competitors. Cultural practices and artefacts are seen as symbols that categorize

social experiences into cognitive units, which becomes a connection between the

nation and its qualities (Jaffe&Nebenzahl,2006,p.4). For this reason, nations feel the

need to emphasize culture and heritage. Today, the pursuit of new cultural

experiences has become a basic need for everyone (Herrero et al,2011:204). National

branding campaigns recognize that a country’s unique culture can offer a centre point

for all of their branding content, however it has brought several concerns.

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Many criticized cultural commodification because unlike material products like

clothes or furniture, there is no exchange of ownership of culture from the seller to the

consumer. This is true to some extent, because you cannot “gain” or “lose” culture.

But why is it that people spend so much money on cultural tourism, or on watching

cultural performances and buying cultural artefacts? Maccarrone-Eaglen argued that

possession of culture through the selling/buying of culture is real, it just takes form as

a cognitive experience rather than a material object (2009,p.5). Although the

particular ownership of culture does not switch hands from the indigenous community

to the foreigners, cultural commodification still places a tendency to deteriorate based

on demands and consumer expectations. Therefore, culture has now become

performative. It is consumed by a foreign audience and does no longer exist purely for

societal needs—which in his opinion is the ‘authentic’ use of culture (2009,p.4). The

main reason for culture to dwell in society has been shifted from protecting and

regulating the community to protecting and regulating economic income. One could

argue that culture now exists for outsiders and no longer has a role in the local

community.

Although the term ‘cultural commodification’ immediately triggers a somewhat

negative connotation, there are several positive benefits that can be reaped through

this type of national branding. Cherney argues that the commodification of culture

allows it to be appreciated by others. This legitimacy brings nationalism to citizens,

encouraging citizens to reconnect with their culture so that they can first represent it

well enough to the foreign audience, and also use it to further build their

national/cultural identity in a sort of “postmodern reawakening of the self” (2012,p.9).

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However, one must question if this cultural identity is strategically framed by

publicists to induce more economic profit.

One of the vital components of a successful nation brand is the population “living the

brand”. Each member of the nation, even the diaspora community must “carry the

microbes of the brand” and contribute to the further imagining of the community

(Aronczyk,2013,p.77). The brand only comes alive when it is acted out by citizens,

and Volcic and Andrejevic have described this participatory “co-creation” as a

strategy to control the population with Foucauldian notions of governmentality.

Nation branding should be seen as a technique of governance, as it invites people to

participate in the creation of their image, acting as vernaculars of the identity.

(2011,p.601) The responsibility of “what it means to be a citizen” is offloaded to

ensure citizens are achieving a matching cultural stereotype

(Volcic&Andrejevic,2011,p.602). There is an aspect of self-reflexivity whereby

people choose to consume their identification with the nation brand

(Volcic&Andrejevic,2011p.613). I argue that this can actually be a good thing, as it

outlines a specific national character that governs nationhood, and this is very

important in terms of building identity at a more personal level. However, this means

that citizens are forced to co-operate with a brand that did not include their opinions

to start with, and it requires them to support the branding campaign although the

outcomes of a successful campaign may not even benefit them, but only the people at

the top of the country such as governments and corporations seeking to work with

foreigners. The guidelines of citizenship are inevitably intertwined with neoliberal

agendas of marketing, which poses serious concern over the initial function of

national identity. Theorists have said that nation brands reflect the identity and

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cultural scene of its population, however I argue that it is in fact the other way around;

citizens are managing their cultural identity according to the brand given to them.

This concern is especially evident in the selling of culture as nation branding

campaigns pushes locals to stage cultural authenticity in their lifestyles to represent

their country accurately.

The “demonstration effect” refers to the erosion of cultures through processes of

adjusting to the foreign audience gaze (Schouten,2011,p.25). This performative

character can make sacred meanings attached to cultural practices fade away. The

inability for a foreign audience to grasp the sacred significance of culture forces locals

to simplify and spice up their culture to match the expectation of foreigners. Schouten

interestingly points out that maybe this is a good thing, because then the sacred or

‘real’ aspects of a nation’s culture can be kept away from the hustle and bustle of

foreigners while they enjoy a quick-fix, simplified version to get the experience high

that they seek for (2011,p.32). However, one must question whether the locals

themselves will be able to protect the sacredness of their “real” raw culture after

generations of selling modified versions of their heritage.

Cultural representations lack the authentic aura of a real cultural practice; therefore

images can only approximate what it is representing (Ooi,2002,p.22). This “interplay

of the fleeting signs” (p.20) hides the gap between the image and reality, a gap

widened by profit motivation. Nation brands highlight only a distinct selection of

chosen cultural practices or objects that “make the cut” for representing the whole

country as memorable and unique.

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Ooi further explains that the basic criterion for this selection is how successful a

cultural practice reaffirms the existing presumptions of a country in foreigners’ minds.

It is not authenticity that is being sought after, but rather the stereotypical images of a

country, which satisfies the audience’s expectations (2002,p.36). Although most

people do not wear a traditional dress daily, foreigners expect to see those outfits in

cultural events, tourist spots, or even souvenir shops, because they only seek to

reaffirm their existing ideas of that nation. Ooi calls this the gazer paradox in which

foreigners want to see authenticity, but need it to fit in the limits of their shallow

understanding of a country (2002,p.164). This existential authenticity interplays with

the roles of nation branding in securing a certain image in foreigners’ minds, which is

then explored through campaigns. Ooi argues that this makes identity extremely

political, and “the destination becomes a place of many sights and stimulations, rather

than a cultural site.” (2002,p.151) The problem is when branded representations of

culture, however inauthentic they may be, become the guideline taken up by citizens

as brand ambassadors, as this is a crucial part of national identity.

Cherney, however, warns that the definition of authenticity must be made clear

beforehand. Authenticity is partly measured by outsiders, because the specificity and

uniqueness of a culture makes it “authentically different.” (2012,p.2) However, at the

same time, cultural heritage should also be defined by the people who have received it

from their ancestors, because it is theirs to reinterpret and therefore define what is

authentic or not authentic. The appropriation of cultural heritage or the completely

new cultural creations that are inspired by them does not necessarily mean that they

are inauthentic or false, even if they are motivated by tourist or image purposes, they

might still be utilized by the society in organic ways.

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As one of the most prominent authors studying the representation of culture in

images, bell hooks’ theories are actually quite applicable to cultural commodification

in nation branding. Hooks argues, “within commodity culture, ethnicity becomes

spice, seasoning that can liven up the dull dish that is mainstream white culture,”

(1992,p.21). The image of a different culture such as those of a minority group or in

this case, the indigenous cultures of a country, is seen as a way of fetishizing the

“primitive” fantasy in order to maintain white supremacy. This “imperialist nostalgia”

is seen in the emphasis on just how different and exotic the represented culture can be

(hooks,1992,p.25). For example, the portrayal of indigenous dances or religious

practices is exploited by national branding campaigns by selling the idea of

Otherness. hooks argues that the celebration of cultural signs is not a way of lifting

them in society, but rather it seals the myth of the Other in relation to white normalcy,

which is further represented as the ‘correct’ way of civilization. “Myths have value,

they leverage attention, and they fix identity in a contested world.”

(Tomaselli,2012,p.116) When this is applied to branding campaigns, citizens would

help promote their exotic quality, assimilating this into their identity. The adopted

western gaze views other cultures as ‘traditional’, and hence, less modern, securing

the global status quo including the dynamics of the first world/third world

relationship.

Bridging the theories of cultural commodification and nation branding, it is evident

that the politics of cultural identity is very much affected by economic strategies. If

nation branding is inevitable due to globalization, it potentially threatens cultural

authenticity in the name of global recognition. The dynamics of nation branding and

cultural identity still lacks research, according to George, who worries about the lack

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of analysis on potential consequences (2005,p.2). This is especially true regarding the

effects of nation branding in citizens and their understanding of nationhood and

cultural identity. This paper aims to further investigate how branding campaigns

target citizens by using three Wonderful Indonesia tourism videos, which will be

analysed in several methods detailed in the next chapter.

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M E T H O D O L O G Y In order to understand how the representation of culture in nation branding campaigns

affects a citizen’s national identity, I chose to focus on the “Wonderful Indonesia”

campaign. As an archipelago of thousands of islands, Indonesia is extremely rich in

cultural diversity and has placed an emphasis on this characteristic in their brand

identity.

There is an entire repertoire of Indonesian branding campaigns, however, I need to

pick a particular case study that is relevant, up to date, and most importantly,

accessible (Hansen et al, 1998,p,101). Therefore I have chosen three promotional

videos in the official Indonesian tourism website under the “Wonderful Indonesia”

campaign. These videos focus on particular parts of Indonesia, namely Toraja,

Yogyakarta and Flores, and are chosen because they are official branding campaigns,

and they illustrate the use of culture in selling the nation brand to the audience.

The idea is to employ a combination of different methods that “light up the most

angles and dimensions of what are invariably multidimensional and complex

processes and phenomena.” (Hansen et.al.,1998,p.2). National identity is a complex

matter, hence requiring a number of different methods coming together in a

triangulation approach (Davies & Mosdell,2006,p.33). The approach will be a

combination of content analysis of the videos and one-on-one interviews with

Indonesian citizens.

Content analysis aims to investigate the relationship between media texts and the

“cultural temperature” of society (Hansen et al,1998,p.92). Content analysis is a great

tool for this research because it directly looks at the campaign. Content analysis is

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identifying themes within a media text and quantitatively counting its frequency.

(Hansen et al,1998,p.95). Content analysis will look for traces of cultural

representation in the selected clips, but the analysis will be combined with qualitative

methods that correlate the meanings associated within images (Davies &

Mosdell,2006,p.98). The visual imagery of culture as well as the vocabulary used will

be analysed using critical discourse analysis, and more specifically, semiotics.

Semiotics is studying the relationship of signifiers, such as words and images, to the

signified idea connected to it (Berger,2000,p.37). I will study the connotative and

denotative meanings available in the text to point out how branding campaigns sells

culture as a commodity. However, theorists criticized textual analyses as encouraging

the researcher to create meaning as opposed to discovering them, (Berger,2000,48)

thus I must be careful to study the text neutrally and within context.

According to Jensen, content analysis must be combined with audience reception

analysis in order to fully understand how media impacts societies, although the two

methods have been used separately in the past (1991,p.135). Jensen talks about

comparing the researcher’s own textual analysis of a media content to the audience’s

views on it as a way of interpreting the meaning holistically (1991,p.139). Morley

noted that researchers should engage in dialogue with audiences to grasp how media

is digested (Morley & Silverstone,1991,p.151). Following this approach, I plan to

show participants the same clips studied earlier. Then, I will investigate their

responses to the videos, the cultural representations and Indonesia’s nation brand. I

will then continue to discuss about identity and cultural authenticity. Interviews are

the best choice of method to gain their insight on these matters because it allows me

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to pick up on contradictions, investigate them deeper and through discussion, and link

up different ideas highlighted in the text (Hansen et al, 1998,p.232).

A one-on-one interview is the selected qualitative approach because although online

surveys invite participants from Indonesia, questionnaires tend to generalize answers

without allowing flexible investigation of how people make sense of their world

(Hansen et al, 1998,p.232). On the other hand, focus group discussions might not be

helpful, as one-on-one interviews guarantee more trust between the interviewee and

the interviewer. I have also chosen interviewees I am already acquainted with

beforehand, allowing more trust and therefore truthful responses. Another advantage

is that interviews allow more thorough analysis because of the ability to record and

analyse the interview in sections later on (Berger,2000,p.113). I will also consider the

ethical implications of these interviews by asking my interviewees to sign a consent

form beforehand.

Nine interviewees (3 for each video) are picked for this research using stratified

random sampling, meaning that the group chosen is based on designated

characteristics (Hansen et al, 1998,p.241), in this case being Indonesian citizens in

London. Davies and Mosdell call this convenience sampling, which concerns

participants that are the most accessible to the researcher (2006,p.65). Time and

geographical constraints have not allowed me to investigate local communities in

Indonesia, which could be useful in discovering how their cultural practices have

changed through commodification processes. However, the diaspora community is

also a vital part of the population as they carry their national identity to a further

extent. My personal experiences as an Indonesian citizen living abroad recognizes the

need to express who I am as an Indonesian. This particularly intrigues me, whether

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other Indonesians in London feel the same way, and if yes—interviewing them to

understand cultural identity would be highly relevant.

However, human error is still inevitable. Interviewees might feel pressured to give a

certain answer, risking the honesty of their opinions (Berger,2000,p.124). On the

other hand, having a hypothesis makes me expect certain responses (Davies &

Mosdell,2006,p.17) My goal is to be as neutral as possible in asking the questions, so

that the results are not biased to anybody’s existing expectations. I will also avoid

close-ended questions but instead inquire the reasoning behind answers given.

Another problem I might encounter is language barriers—because all of the

interviewees are Indonesian, the most natural way of conversing might be in the

Indonesian language. However, Berger mentions that people uses languages in

different ways that may be unclear when translated, or give a different meaning than

what was intended (2000,p.124). Also, because the in-depth interviews will give

qualitative results, it is not suitable to compare the data ‘numerically’, therefore the

conclusions drawn might be less credible, although it would be more substantial in

terms of giving reasoning and deeper explanation.

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C O N T E N T A N A L Y S I S

The three Wonderful Indonesia videos are studied and presented in a discussion of the

different themes found, which touch on the idea of the Indonesian national identity.

A. Culture The direct promotion of a culture in a nation branding campaign treats culture as a

commodity, sold to foreigners and tourists as a consumable product. Cultural

commodification is seen throughout these three promotional videos, as the images and

words chosen to promote Indonesia revolves around the local cultural practices of

indigenous communities of Yogyakarta, Flores and Toraja.

The Yogyakarta video shows women performing Javanese dances using traditional

costumes (Appendix A.iii.8). Similarly, the Flores clip shows men in headgear

chanting in their ethnic language, performing a ritual dance (Appendix A.ii.3). The

Toraja video spent a lot of time revealing the unique funeral rituals done by the locals,

whereby a carved statue of the deceased is placed onto a stone wall, following a

celebration by the whole village (Appendix A.i). These are only a few scenes amongst

the plethora of cultural practices shown in the three videos.

Returning to the work of bell hooks on cultural exoticization, Indonesia’s nation

branding campaign is fundamentally built upon presenting Indonesian culture as

being nostalgic of the past. These videos used the juxtaposition between the local

Indonesian culture, which represent history, tradition, community and indigenousness,

and the western culture characterized by metropolises, developed infrastructure, and

individualism. Indonesia actually has these ‘modern’ qualities—if you drive around in

its capital city, Jakarta, you will find that many parts of the city are paved with tall

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buildings, high-tech infrastructure and busy lifestyles. However, because these

modern aspects are not necessarily up to par with many western countries, branding

managers must use another aspect of the nation to promote as the pith of Indonesia.

This leads to the depiction of traditional culture as “untouched by modern life” (as the

voiceover in the Toraja clip says), despite the fact that these local civilizations are just

a small part of the country.

There is minimal information about Indonesia’s growing economy, business, modern

entertainment, city life, or anything that strays away from local cultures. The

Yogyakarta video however attempts to show modern aspects of Indonesia through

information about hotels. The word choice “world-famous resorts” represent that

Indonesia is ‘modern enough’ for western tourists as it has big brand hotels as well.

However, the visuals show that these resorts appear more traditional, with architecture

dominated by straw huts with tropical trees, giving off a traditional vibe as opposed to

modern architectural buildings (Appendix A.iii.6). We also see a hint of modernity in

an artwork that they show when talking about art preservation in Yogyakarta. The

painting shown uses modern abstract techniques, but at the same time, the subject

matter is still a local Wayang character. The Flores video juxtaposes locals in the

village wearing traditional headgears and a woman wearing modern clothes who is

seen strolling around a historical site. Here, the woman represents the tourist or the

foreigner who experiences Indonesia’s history as an outsider. The voiceover says

“travel back in time”, this is a connotation for Indonesia being somehow backwards

as opposed to modern, and this creates some sort of nostalgic appeal to the country.

Although this could draw more attention on the nation’s culture, at the same time it

reinforces western supremacy and furthermore embraces the subordinate position of

  24  

Indonesia as always being a step behind from first world countries. Traces of

modernity are seen in these videos, however they still operate under the traditional

values.

Aimed to attract tourists, culture becomes a sellable object to the viewers as they are

taken away to some exotic land with unique rituals performed in colourful, intricate

costume. The appeal of these cultural practices resides in the fact that it is only

available in one place—Indonesia—and it is especially non-existent in Western

countries. These videos act as a form of theatrical trailer to performances that

foreigners can see later in Indonesia. Consequently, this implies that culture is a type

of performance that can be enjoyed. However, this has never been the function of

culture, for example the funeral rituals of the Toraja locals plays an incredibly sacred

role for the family of the deceased, or the ritual dances performed at Flores, they carry

religious value for the community. However, once they are performed for tourists—

however interested in the Indonesian culture they may be—the essence of these rituals

change from being a part of their identity, to a way of pleasing tourists or gathering

income. Cultural commodification is perhaps inevitable with promotion and tourism.

The diction used to depict Indonesian culture is extremely ‘fluffy’ and aimed to

advertise, such as ‘mystical’, ‘enchanting’, ‘preserving heritage’ ‘glorious traditions’,

‘celestial ceremonies’, and ‘enigmatic beyond transcendental’. Diction that resembles

exoticness, heritage and tradition is counted, and there are 10 words with those

qualities in the Yogyakarta video, 15 times in Flores, and 15 times in Toraja. This

count displays how much Wonderful Indonesia emphasizes on the representation of

the country as ancient and exotic (Appendix B).

  25  

Apart from that, for Indonesian viewers, these videos may induce a sense of pride in

one’s unique culture. Nation branding campaigns like Wonderful Indonesia also aim

to educate the local population about the culture in smaller, more unnoticed places

like Flores, rather than merely the trendy cities like Bali and Jakarta. Showing these

cultural practices encourages Indonesians to want to be a part of promoting

Indonesian culture, first by injecting nationalistic pride through showing the positive

sides of one’s country, second by offloading the responsibility of knowing and loving

the culture, and lastly, by understanding that culture must be promoted to bring more

tourists in.

B. The Indonesian Character One of the recurring themes in the selected videos is the depiction of Indonesian

people as being gentle, welcoming and warm-hearted. In the Yogyakarta video, the

voiceover says, “enjoy natural kindness” while the viewer sees close-ups of men in

blangkons (traditional hat) smiling at the camera (Appendix A.iii.7). The close-up

angle makes the viewer feel connected to them personally. The same kind of kindness

is seen in the Flores video; this time using the word ‘warm-hearted’. The close-ups

are of a group of laughing children and old people dressed in traditional costumes. A

big part of communicating Indonesian culture is portraying its citizens as having

traditional, communal values and as being kind and gentle. It is also interesting that

the close-up scenes only show old people and children—both groups are seen as the

most approachable (Appendix A.ii.7,8). While the elderly connotatively signify

history and tradition, children symbolize a carefree and light-hearted quality. These

campaigns stress upon the hospitality of Indonesian people as a way of convincing

  26  

potential tourists to feel welcomed by locals. At the same time, these representations

of the national Indonesian character to be warm-hearted and kind gives a kind of point

of reference for citizens to look to in performing their national identity day to day. It

encourages Indonesian citizens to live out that welcoming character as a way to

express the brand’s cultural identity.

C. Nature The connection of Indonesian communities with nature is also a theme that is brought

up a lot in these promotional videos. Words like scenic, enchanting, breath-taking”

are used to describe the sights Indonesian nature has to offer. The viewer is also given

beautiful imagery of mountains, lakes, oceans, caves and grass fields throughout the

clip. Mountains and jungles are depicted as the backdrop where local communities

perform their cultural acts. Looking at the context, these sceneries are seldom found

in big metropolises, rather they symbolize a place that is mystical and primitive. This

again connotes that indigenous communities are ‘untouched by modern life’, and

living in these natural environments signify a sort of exotic representation of these

cultures.

There have been a lot of negative images circulating about the carelessness of the

Indonesian government in managing natural resources. Indonesia is known to have

massive deforestation rates, pollution, and irresponsible garbage disposal. Indonesia

has also received negative attention on its neglect in handling animal extinction issues

and coral reef bombing. These campaigns not only highlight Indonesia’s spectacular

views, it also fixes the negative connotation centred on the country. This is done to

change foreigners’ expectations, and also to promote the love of nature to its own

  27  

citizens as well. Reminding citizens of how ‘breath-taking and enchanting’ nature can

be, this campaign can be seen as an encouragement to collectively pay more attention

in preserving natural environments in Indonesia.

D. Religion One of the most recurring themes evident in these videos is the concept of religion as

the cornerstone of society. In the Yogyakarta video, the voiceover says “Here,

mythologies become principle and religions create the cornerstones of life” as the

video shows details of the infamous Borobudur temple. In an increasingly secular

world, the popular gaze of western culture sees religion as a sort of tradition of the

past. When compared to the Occident, third-world countries like Indonesia show a lot

more participation in religious practices. For example, the Indian culture is

inescapably intertwined with Hinduism, Chinese with Buddhism, and Middle-eastern

countries with Islamic teachings. For these nations, religion has become a significant

part of their nation brand, because the unique culture is largely built upon religious

practices. For the western foreigner, religious rituals have a degree of historic and

nostalgic quality that they rarely experience in their supposedly more “modern”

culture. Here, Indonesia promotes religion as an attraction to tourists. The image of

Candi Borobudur, a Hindu Temple, is used as the main scene of the Yogyakarta video

(Appendix A.iii.1). This image of a legendary temple connotes a long history of

rituals that date back into early civilizations, and the fact that this religious site is still

used today signifies a traditional and pre-modern characteristic.

  28  

E. Conclusion We return to Ooi’s argument that in cultural tourism, the foreigner does not seek to

learn about a nation but wants to reaffirm his pre-existing stereotypical thoughts on

that country (2002,p.36). Nation branding campaigns like Wonderful Indonesia is a

perfect example of this theory, as the exhibition of exoticism in the cultural images

used in these videos confirms these qualities as being inherently Indonesian. Here, the

campaign highlights these assumptions above conflicting images (such as modern

architecture and transportation in cities) not only to the foreign audience seeking to

reaffirm their preconceptions, but to the local audience as well. As discussed before,

nation branding also targets its own citizens in order to install a set of instructions to

create and express their national and cultural identity. It becomes the blueprint of a

nation’s people, for example the stress upon culture in these videos convey the

responsibility for Indonesian people to embrace these cultural images, know about

them, practice them, and promote them. In a way, these videos also teach Indonesians

to exude that traditional, religious and communalist character within the assimilation

of their identity. It encourages them to be brand ambassadors, portraying the kind of

character Indonesians should include in their identity for the further success of the

campaign. However, this analysis can only be proven through deep interviews with

Indonesian citizens.

  29  

I N T E R V I E W A N A L Y S I S

Nine interviews with Indonesian citizens in London are compared to draw patterns

regarding how branding campaigns use culture to delegate the responsibility of

becoming brand ambassadors.

A. Understanding of Nation Branding All of the interviewees agreed that nation branding is a necessity for Indonesia as a

country because it is important to educate other people about Indonesia. This could be

for a variety of reasons; first, national pride and the will to share their beloved culture.

It can also be for the advancement of Indonesia as a country. According to Linda

Widyanti, if other countries knew more about Indonesia, it makes future co-operations

easier. Arienska Aliani adds that nation branding is needed in order to keep up with

the global competition as all countries are branding their nation. Sonny Rustiadi

argues that a major reason why nation branding is very much needed is because the

current media representation surrounding Indonesia is negative. Also, recognition of

Indonesia is taken from other countries or institutions, not from within the country

itself. Thus, Indonesia needs to ‘fix’ its reputation. This implies that Indonesia is

inherently wonderful, as opposed to creating good reputation from nothing. Nation

branding also gives citizens material to further promote their nation, according to

Linda Widyanti. This especially applies to citizens who live outside of the country,

like the interviewees themselves. “When we go out of the country, we could represent

our country easily. [Nation branding] is a way to give a guideline, resources to talk

about when you want to promote your country to others,” she stated. Therefore,

nation branding campaigns act as supporting material for ‘brand ambassadors’ to

  30  

successfully promote one coherent message about Indonesia. This shows that the

internal reception of these campaigns is positive.

Only one interviewee has not heard about Wonderful Indonesia, the rest have already

seen the campaign through posters, advertisements and events. In particular, a few of

them have heard it through their University courses, which goes to show that nation

branding is starting to be recognized, legitimized and treated as important to teach to

future generations. Arienska Aliani stated that “I took visual arts as a major, and we

were always reminded to use Indonesian culture in our designs, so we are always

aware about these things.” National identity, further propagated by nation branding

campaigns, is incorporated in education as well as lifestyle. The fact that most of the

interviewees have heard about this campaign shows that it is quite effective in its

action and circulation, especially within the nation. This proves that branding

campaigns also operate within the country in hopes to raise the public’s awareness of

the theme.

B. National Character The interviewees are asked to state qualities of the Indonesian identity represented in

this video. Some words used were “preserved”, “cultured”, “friendly”, “warm”,

“kind”, “traditional”, and “communal values”. These words are in sync with the

results of the content analysis. Most of them agreed that these qualities are actually

found in Indonesian culture, for example, Atika Cendikianti noted that the gotong

royong culture is seen throughout the Toraja clip. Gotong Royong, or working

together for the community’s greater good, is also pointed out by Arienska Aliani

while watching the Flores clip.

  31  

However, almost all of the interviewees found it hard to treat these videos as

portraying Indonesian culture, as opposed to Toraja, Yogyakarta and Flores cultures.

Because Indonesia is so diverse, and these interviewees are not watching their own

tribe/city’s culture, there is still some distance. Yanti Sastrawan noted that she felt

like a tourist when watching the video because she is not from the Yogyakarta area.

When asked whether Indonesia has a unifying culture apart from the collection of

these mini-cultures pertaining to each region, the interviewees stated that it can only

be in the form of ways of thinking and qualities like politeness, friendliness, and a

love of their individual ethnic culture. This shows that nation branding does not only

operate at national levels, but has an ethnic layer to it. Linda Widyanti stated that the

context matters—if she were to show this to foreigners, she would claim the

Yogyakarta culture to be hers, as an Indonesian. However, amongst Indonesians, the

degree of relevance to the video would differ, as she cannot say that the Yogyakarta

video represents her cultural identity. Therefore, cultural identity is proven to be

different from national identity—and the Wonderful Indonesia campaign can only

impact the latter.

C. Tradition/Modernity One of the debates found through semiotic analysis is the heavy use of tradition and

heritage over modern depictions of the country. All of the interviewees agreed that the

video seldom shows modern buildings, infrastructure and lifestyle.

While theorists like bell hooks worry about cultural exoticization in branding

campaigns, this is not something citizens are concerned about, primarily because their

  32  

protective attitude towards Indonesian culture. Nuanza Adita argues that “we have to

know to what extent Indonesia can be modern,” because tradition is more attractive

than generic modern architecture and lifestyles. Astri Arifin claims that the focus on

tradition is a good strategy, because when other nation brands show luxurious sides,

Indonesia is placed at a more unique selling point. Atika Cendikianti claims that

instead of “Wonderful Indonesia”, the slogan should be geared towards a more

“ancient” or “traditional” direction. It seems like Indonesians are comfortable being

portrayed as ‘unmodern’, which shows that they may be so involved in this national

identity that they fail to see the possibilities of being constantly secondary to Western

‘civilized’ countries. David Kurniawan stated that the Toraja video showed a lot of

“old culture”. Interestingly, culture is seen as having a historic quality, which

legitimizes bell hooks’ statement that culture is increasingly sold for its exoticness.

In terms of accurately portraying tradition, some interviewees claim that the video

depicts Indonesian culture, while others argue that the video makes heritage seem

stronger than it actually is in real life. David Kurniawan stated that the “untouched my

modern life” line is not accurate, as people in Toraja are already dressed in modern

clothing. It is not as ‘primitive’ as the video depicts it to be. Although they understand

that culture is ‘spiced up’ in the video to make the nation brand more memorable, this

is again thought of as a good thing—as it is the appropriate strategy to gain attention

from potential tourists and investors.

All of the interviewees agreed that tradition and modernity could coexist, contrary to

my analysis. However, they do recognize the struggle to achieve this equilibrium—

Annisa Jullison argues that it is quite hard to achieve especially in less developed

parts of Indonesia. It is also a problem of control, as Indonesia’s population is simply

  33  

too big, causing the movement towards modernity while still maintaining tradition a

hard process to impose.

D. Culture The majority of interviewees agreed that culture is a large part of our identity. Sonny

Rustiadi claims that culture gives a sense of belonging, especially when living

abroad—meeting fellow Indonesians would automatically create a bond. Although the

interviewees, living in metropolis areas, do not practice customs, they agreed that

culture is still evident in weddings, funerals, and other occasions. Apart from that,

culture involves the particular ways of thinking that Indonesians share, and this is

seen as a more day-to-day implementation of culture that builds their national

identity.

Nuanza Adita stated that although the function of culture is not defined, Indonesians

are still required to appreciate it. This kind of mind-set can be understood in two

ways. First, for citizens culture can serve an unexplainable, but core function in their

lives. Although one cannot pinpoint where it is actually needed, in the overall life of

an Indonesian, culture is essential. However, this unexplainable need to appreciate

culture can also be seen as a deployment of ‘national responsibilities’ that emerge

from national identity and is further propagated by past branding campaigns.

For Indonesians, culture cannot be separated from ancestral heritage. Astri Arifin

stated that although she does not know her Padang culture extensively, she still

values it because it connects her to her great-grandfathers. She stated, “It cannot be

sold or replaced…The fact that it resembles someone, a family member, makes it

important.” Therefore culture will always link back to history and olden traditions, it

  34  

is not something that fits well with modern development. There is a component of

‘traveling back in time’ to revisit culture, as opposed to it being a developing aspect

of modernity.

Many interviewees agreed that the main use of culture is to distinguish between

Indonesians and people from other countries. Thus, nation branding uses culture as a

unique selling point. Increasingly commodified as promotional tools, culture’s

primary function has translated into economic goals. Although this, Yanti Sastrawan

says that she avoids seeing culture as a product, although admittedly there is a

consumer aspect. To her, the portrayal of culture in branding campaigns is a way to

share experiences and educate people about Indonesia, rather than a commodifiying

practice. Nuanza Adita concurs by saying that although it may cause some issues to

arise, promoting culture is beneficial to the locals who can receive income through

selling their cultural practices/products. This shows that citizens are aware of the

negative impacts of “selling culture”, however their involvement as brand

ambassadors makes them view this issue in a different perspective.

The literature studied has shown that the commodification of culture makes it

inauthentic. Some interviewees say that culture is always authentic, but Yanti

Sastrawan noted that authenticity can only be at the origin of culture, it will

undoubtedly receive influences as it is passed down to generations, making it lose its

authenticity. However, as long as it still serves the community in the same way, this

culture must be protected and appreciated.

  35  

E. Brand Ambassadors One of the key arguments found through studying literature and the videos was that

nation branding campaigns aim to assign the duty of becoming brand ambassadors,

expressing it in the daily lives of citizens. The hypothesis was that being a part of the

diaspora community, the interviewees, who all currently live in London, have a

heightened national identity and a will to promote Indonesia abroad. This is because

living in another country where Indonesians are the minority forces citizens to

increase the expression of their “Indonesian-ness” as a way of distinguishing from

others. These videos can be a way of reimagining their nationhood as they can relate

to the cultural representations that appear.

The interviewees attested to this hypothesis. Although not of all of them reacted

positively to the campaign video per se, all of them agreed that the idea of branding

itself is compulsory. Linda Widyanti stated that citizens are responsible to

communicate their identity to others as a way of promoting the nation brand, however

this is not so much of a duty, but it stems from national pride. Similarly, Yanti

Sastrawan claims that her way of promoting Indonesian culture, through performing

Balinese dance in London, is a voluntary action. Sonny Rustiadi took this point

further by saying that it is not only a responsibility but a privilege. This specific word

choice highlights the citizens’ attachment to the aims of branding campaigns. Far

from acknowledging the negative aspects of a brand, citizens are more than willing to

take on the role of a brand ambassador. It is a way to ‘give back’ to their country and

perhaps, a way of reconnecting with their national identity. This is done by

understanding the nation brand and partaking in activities that communicate

Indonesian values. Atika Cendikianti says that she does this by writing about

  36  

Indonesia in her academic essays, so that University staff would want to know more

about Indonesia.

Nuanza Adita stated that all Indonesians, irrespective of whether they live abroad or

not, should appreciate and promote Indonesian culture simply because they’re

Indonesian. Hence, national identity is tied to becoming brand ambassadors. Astri

Arifin however stated that it is not a deliberate effort to promote Indonesia to others,

because “it’s already embodied in the way I move, talk, present myself, and will

always reflect to Indonesian culture,” she stated in the interview. Again this refers to

an innate national identity that is interwoven with branding purposes.

  37  

C O N C L U S I O N The study has shown that nation branding is more than a superficial trend. All of the

interviewees agreed that culture should continue to be the main message of branding

campaigns, and therefore must be cultivated within local communities to ensure that it

can remain to be a way of promoting Indonesia to foreigners. Branding culture in

Wonderful Indonesia impacts citizens in four ways.

The discussed analysis results showed the correlation between the use of culture in

branding campaigns, national identity, and brand ambassador duties. The analyses

have shown that the use of images referring to one's culture solidifies national

identity, because the main function of culture is providing a sense of belonging. This

national identity is then transformed into nationalistic pride, as the videos continue to

depict Indonesia in a positive light. Combined with a reverence to ancestral heritage,

this gives birth to the responsibility of becoming a brand ambassador. The role of

brand ambassadors is to 1) know about their culture, 2) appreciate it to the point of

wanting to protect it, 3) practicing it or supporting the practice of these cultures, and

4) supporting the promotion of these cultures to raise awareness about Indonesia. The

results of these interviews did not show obedience to this responsibility, but instead,

citizens feel the privilege to be brand ambassadors; its voluntary nature stems from

their pride of Indonesian culture, and citizens understand that in order for the brand to

be disseminated successfully, their support is crucial to the process. Thus, securing

identity achieves the further propagation of this campaign.

After studying the literature on nation branding, one of the main issues found was the

commodification of culture as it strives to sell the country as a consumable product.

  38  

The content analysis has shown that the overemphasis on cultural practices signifies

the performative nature of culture when put in a branding context. The viewers

become the audience to the consumable performance of culture that is supposedly

sacred to the community. However, the interviews conducted proved that citizens

understand the need for Indonesia to commodify its culture, as it is the one unique

selling point the country can offer. Secondly, interviewees understand the potential

benefits, for example, it is able to educate people about their beloved culture and

bring forth economic benefits not only at the national level, but also at the local level

through providing jobs to the indigenous community. In fact, nation branding is

understood by citizens from an economic perspective, looking at the videos as

inherently serving promotional purposes. This shows that nation branding has been

circulated amongst these brand ambassadors successfully so that they are on board

with the project, and that perhaps scholars should focus less on potential cultural

threats, and more towards the possible benefits such practices can offer to the society.

The portrayal of Indonesian culture as being ancient, exotic, and borderline primitive

also involves the further propagation of western supremacy over developing countries

like Indonesia. Being portrayed as inherently unmodern, citizens are encouraged to

appreciate tradition over modernity, aligning their identities to the brand. The

exclusion of modern depictions of Indonesia also teaches citizens to exude this

'traditional' and 'cultural' character, strengthening the difference between first-world

countries that are always seen as developed, high-tech and modern- and Indonesia, an

exotic place from the past. Content analysis results showed that the diction and choice

of images rely heavily on associations relating to history and tradition. This quality is

  39  

sold within cultural commodification, and is consumed by citizens just as much as

foreigners.

Nation branding campaigns target citizens through disseminating guidelines of

performing national character. The Wonderful Indonesia campaign describes the

Indonesian citizen with qualities like being cultured, at one with nature, having high

art values, loving their community, and friendliness. These qualities, confirmed by the

researcher herself as well as the interviewees as Indonesian citizens, communicate

how one would exude his/her 'Indonesianness'. This occurs especially when citizens

are living abroad as a way of distinguishing Indonesian citizenship but also to become

brand ambassadors of the desired national image. I argue that this is also done within

the country, as 'acting Indonesian' amongst Indonesians can heighten national unity,

however this cannot be proven with the current limitations of the study. Performing

this character affects Indonesians' national identity, which is strongly tied to

the country's branding objectives to start with, forming a positive feedback loop.

An important conclusion to be drawn is that culture is defined to be local wisdom

carried on through generations, in the form of practices, rituals, performative events,

and ways of thinking. This definition of culture includes the Indonesian mindset and

cultural rituals, however it does not include the modern aspects of today's way of life.

According to Raymond Williams (1997), culture is a whole way of life- this includes

going to malls, working in sky-high office towers, and driving cars; this is something

that is particularly evident in Indonesia’s big cities (including Yogyakarta). However,

this part of culture is not included in the overall understanding of ‘culture’ during this

study; confirming the thought that tradition is valued more than modernity in

Indonesia’s brand. However it limits the research as the definition of culture is not

  40  

specifically laid out prior to conducting the study, and the researcher and interviewees

might have totally different concepts of culture.

In the methodology chapter, limitations to the chosen research methods were outlined.

Evaluating the process has shed light on a couple of other improvements for further

study. Firstly, the pool of interviewees could be expanded, not only in quantity but

also in quality: this could mean interviewing people from different socioeconomic

backgrounds, perhaps have greater variety of age, occupation, geographic location, as

these factors actually play a big part in one's national/cultural identity, albeit not

explored in the analysis of these interviews. Being able to live in London signifies

that the interviewees are in an upper middle class. A more diverse pool of participants

will allow more conclusions to be drawn in confidence. Secondly, although the semi-

structured questions is sufficient for this study, however, to understand the isolated

impact of nation branding, more questions could be added that only focus on the

content of each video. Interviewees talked more about identity, culture and tourism as

a whole concept: not in specific relevance to the particular video they have seen.

Thus, their responses could be based from a lifetime of collecting experiences

regarding these matters, and may have less relevance to the actual

campaign. However, the current results of this research are sufficient for the purposes

of the study, as it gives a deeper understanding of how nation branding campaigns

target citizens to be brand ambassadors, further propagating the nation brand into

existence.

  41  

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A P P E N D I X A. Figures i. TORAJA

1.  Skulls  in  funeral  wall   2.  Toraja’s  landscape,  known  as  ‘home  

of  the  mighty  buffaloes’    

3.  Carved  stones  in  the  funeral  wall  of  the  deceased  

4.  Man  carving  a  stone  sculpture  of  the  deceased  

5.  Funeral  rituals  performed  by  the  whole  community  

6.  Close  up  of  old  woman    

7.  A  group  of  people  performing  Angklung  music  

8.  Old  woman  weaving  traditional  textile  

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ii. FLORES

1.  Village  set  in  the  mountains   2.  Woman  working  in  rice  fields  

3.  Men  in  headgear  performing  ritual   4.  Women  in  traditional  costume  performing  a  cultural  dance  

5.  Beautiful  view  of  Kelimutu  crater   6.  Traditional  rituals  in  the  village  

7.  Close  up  of  children  smiling   8.  Close  up  of  old  woman  smiling  

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iii. YOGYAKARTA

1.  Borobudur  at  a  distance   2.  Temple  ruins  against  mountain  view  

4.  Men  in  blangkon  playing  gamelan  (traditional  music  instrument)    

3.  Borobudur  temple  statues  up  close  

5.  Traditional  way  of  making  Batik  ,  traditional  textile  

6.  Resorts  that  use  the  traditional  look  

7.  Close  up  of  smiling  men  in  traditional  blangkon    

8.  Performing  cultural  dance  in  traditional  costumes  

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B. Video Transcripts

Toraja Transcript: (words that symbolize tradition, exotic qualities, culture are italicized) Land of the heavenly kings Enigmatic beyond transcendental Toraja Breathtaking landscape, home of the mighty buffaloes Picturesque villages, untouched by modern life Upholding old traditions Displayed in crafts and feasts Incredibly preserved Remarkable funeral rights? Where the king’s family comes together from all over the world A magical celebration of an eternal journey to the after life An ancient way of life celebrated And beyond Toraja, in Sulawesi there is a myriad of marvels From prehistoric megaliths To the race of a lifetime A feast of the senses Endless stream of excitement, a never ending adventure In Sulawesi Wonderful Indonesia Notes on the different images seen in the video Culture

-­‐ 0:10 close up on skulls, grave yard, bones -­‐ 0:23 coffins -­‐ 0:26 human statues in the cave -­‐ 0:39 a man carving wood into shape of woman -­‐ 0:48 a row of thee sculptures -­‐ 1:08 villages, toraja typical house -­‐ 1:15 old woman weaving cloth “upholding old traditions” -­‐ 1:23 bull fighting with the village in the background -­‐ 1:28 “crafts” a man is drawing Toraja village on a piece of wood -­‐ 1:32 a group of women beating wood with long rods of wood, Happens again

at 2:13, with the text “an ancient way of life” -­‐ 1:35 a group of dancers with buffalo following them, wearing headgear and

traditional outfits, in the village -­‐ 1:39 performing funeral rituals, a large group of people performing dance in

the village. This funeral celebration goes on till the night, with a bonfire, people in a circle chanting and dancing

-­‐ 2:26 Image of people wearing traditional outfits playing traditional music with unique instruments. They are doing this in a open hut made out of bamboo/light wood

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Nature -­‐ 0:01 opening scene mountain -­‐ 0:57 “breath taking landscapes, home of the mighty buffalo” fields, buffalo, -­‐ prehistoric megaliths (2:40): stones with backdrop of nature -­‐ 2:46 people sailing in the ocean -­‐ 3:01 waterfalls “a never ending adventure”

Modern -­‐ 2:57 impressive bridge

Summary:

-­‐ High emphasis on funeral rituals of Toraja. A lot of the clip is dedicated to portraying the cultural dances, performances, and communal activities that take place in a ritual. Supported by the text also.

-­‐ The location of the video is mostly in the village, they specifically said “untouched by modern life.”

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Flores Transcript: (words that symbolize tradition, exotic qualities, culture are italicized) Mystical Flores Life in unison with enchanting nature Sustaining heritage Preserving the craft A way of life Hospitality is a fundamental custom Tradition maintained through celebrations Captivating ritual Vibrant culture Solemn acts of devotion Humble offering to the mother earth Travel back in time to meet history of the nation’s founding father View the spectacular crater lakes of Kelimutu A precious experience, A magnificent sight to behold Encounter a new world Lively, Amusing, Whimsical, Warm-hearted An enchanting universe generously welcomes you to an experience of a lifetime Gentle people of Flores Wonderful Indonesia Notes on images seen in the video Culture

-­‐ 0:19 farmers in fields/paddies, picking up the crops manually -­‐ 0:29 shows the village with unique looking houses, roof made from straw -­‐ 0:42 a woman wearing traditional outfit weaving traditional cloth -­‐ 0:48 a group of men welcoming a white person with a dance, they are all in

traditional costume wearing headgear, chanting out in their ethnic language -­‐ 0:58 men performing some sort of ritual, shirtless, wearing colourful and

intricate headgear. -­‐ 1:00 a man is covering his face with a cloth -­‐ 1:04 tradition, some sort of dance/fight scene as ritual of the village. -­‐ 1:25 women participate in a dance with sticks -­‐ 1:39 making music with types of gendang, while dancers perform ritual. Text

is “vibrant culture, solemn acts of devotion” -­‐ 2:48 lots of close up of kids, old people smiling, wearing headgear, text is

“warm-hearted” -­‐ 2:53 “enchanting universe” shows people in rows dressed in costumes, doing a

dance routine -­‐ 3:00 kids running around the straw village

Nature -­‐ opening scene: mountains, forests (0:04) -­‐ fields (0:15), -­‐ crater lake 2:16 -­‐ photographer taking picture of lake, fields 2:30

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Modern -­‐ a woman wearing modern clothes is looking at a historical site, looking at

Soekarno pics 2:08 -­‐

Summary

-­‐ Lots of emphasis on particular ritual involving headgears, costumes, fighting routine. This is set against the background of a village with straw roofs, showing that they are still not modern.

-­‐ Setting really relies on nature, does not show any sign of modern buildings, roads, or infrastructure. Lots of emphasis on connection between people and Mother Nature.

-­‐ Use of close-ups of children and old people, similar to Yogyakarta, to show the culture of warm-hearted people in Indonesia.

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Yogyakarta Transcript: (words that symbolize tradition, exotic qualities, culture are italicized) A wondrous civilization Disposed to tranquillity With scenic landscapes bordered by the sea Here, mythologies become principle And religions create the cornerstones of life It is contained in the arts and crafts Where celestial ceremonies become part of popular culture Legacies of glorious traditions Where folkstales are regarded as guidebooks to perfection, honed over centuries Yet possible to experience within a few hours Experiences you can take home Here, art preservation is a tourist attraction History is a living monument Even shopping is meaningful See world famous resorts compete with local means of accommodation Enjoy natural kindness Or the excitement of exploring nature with endless stories to tell And the never ending feasts Never ending possibilities to get more out of life and journeys Yogyakarta Wonderful Indonesia. Notes on the different images seen in the video Culture

-­‐ Opening scene shows Candi Borobudur with gamelan music in the background (0:02)

-­‐ Image of what looks like to be farmers/villagers picking up crops in a rice paddy (0:07)

-­‐ Candi Borobudur, close up on statues (0:58) -­‐ a man hammering a stone, cut to statue close up, showing that he is making

the sculptures (1:06) -­‐ (1:11) people playing gamelan -­‐ traditional dance (1:17) wearing costumes -­‐ two men in blangkon and sarong riding bicycle (1:32) -­‐ women in traditional outfit entering water (1:42) -­‐ batik techniques (1:50) batik clothes drooped over a small house made out of

wood, the house looks very traditional and simple, not modern (2:01) -­‐ woman riding traditional delman through town (2:29) -­‐ “natural kindness”, old men in blangkon smiling at the camera (2:58) -­‐ close up on food (3:23) -­‐ wonderful Indonesia shown with two dancers posing while wearing a

traditional costume (3:50) Nature

-­‐ 0:21 mountains seen from afar, thick clouds -­‐ beach/sea landscapes 0:45

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-­‐ riding jeep while seeing nature (3:08) -­‐ going in a cave (3:16)

More modern depictions -­‐ two women in resort, pool, having lunch served by waiter in a blangkon (0:28) -­‐ shopping for jewellery in a department store (2:08) -­‐ modern art (2:20) -­‐ modern hotel (2;39), but the hotels still have traditional vibe eg lots of trees,

hut looking villas Summary:

-­‐ Highlights arts and crafts culture of Yogyakarta, seen in the many images of batik, jewellery, making sculptures from stone

-­‐ Depicts Indonesian people as being “naturally kind”, living a traditional, simple life. This is seen in the many images of people in traditional outfits smiling, and capturing them in their daily life riding on a delman, shopping in local market, farming.

-­‐ Some aspects of modernity are shown, but only seen in images of hotels. However, the hotels try to look ‘local’, decorated as cottages with tropical trees, architecture is not like modern tall hotels.

-­‐ Highlight candi Borobudur as symbol of mystical history, combined with depictions of clouds

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C. Interview Guide

Interview Structure/ Guidance for Questions

Before the video 1. In your opinion, what is Indonesia known for? 2. How would you describe Indonesia to someone who’s never heard of it

before?

After the video 3. Can you summarize what you’ve just seen? Tell me a couple of images or

scenes that you remember from it. 4. What does it tell you about Indonesia? 5. According to this clip, how would you describe Indonesia to others? 6. How do you feel after watching this clip? 7. Would you share this clip to people, why? To who? 8. Why do you think Indonesia have made this clip? 9. Did you see any stereotypes about Indonesia used in this clip? 10. Are there any misrepresentations you see in the video? Or did it depict

Indonesia correctly?

Focusing on nation branding 11. The branding slogan used here is ‘Wonderful Indonesia’. Do you know

anything about this campaign? 12. What do you think being ‘Wonderful’ entails? In what ways do you see/not

see it in your country? 13. Does Indonesia need a brand? Why? 14. Describe your thoughts on the significance and accuracy of this brand 15. Is Indonesia depicted as modern or traditional? Is this accurate, why?

Focusing on culture commodification

16. What will attract tourists and investment to Indonesia? 17. What role does culture play in Indonesian identity? 18. Why is culture so important in Indonesia? 19. Do you consider culture to be important in your daily life? If so, how? 20. In what ways should we promote culture to foreigners? 21. Is this video showing authentic Indonesian culture? 22. How do you measure authenticity in culture? 23. Is authenticity in culture in danger or is it being preserved? How? 24. One of the concerns people have is that culture is increasingly

commodified as a sellable object. Is this really happening? 25. Do you think the commodification of culture affects you in any way? If

yes, why?

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D. Interview Transcripts Interview with Annisa Julisson London, 5th of April 2014 Video: Toraja How would you describe Indonesia to someone who’s never heard it before? Its very diverse, its big, not very well developed. Some parts are nice to be explored, but the transport and infrastructure is not well developed yet, making it hard to reach that certain place. The population is very dense but it’s not divided equally, as the majority flocks in Java island. Indonesia is very rich, diverse, and the heritage in some parts is still unique. Jakarta and Bandung is very westernized, so you can’t really tell the heritage anymore, but when you go to places like Padang or Medan, the heritage still exists, be it the way the locals dress, speak, the buildings overall, and their day to day life. Jakarta, Bandung, Bali, it’s so touristy, so modern, it’s like London. What did you think about the video? I like it because it is different, it touched about the heritage, untouched modernism, and the culture is still very thick. I like the bit about the funeral practices, they tell the story about how if someone dies, somebody carves that person to preserve their soul, and puts it in the stone wall. That story must have been from hundreds of years, it’s nice because we don’t see that very often. Do you think it’s attractive to tourists? I would find it attractive, but maybe it’s not for everyone. I wouldn’t want to see something that I can find somewhere else, I want to find something different, local, traditional. Can indo only be traditional or modern? It can be both, but the less developed places are very preserved, whereas the more developed places like Jakarta and java is more exploited, they’re in your face. Is it good that we’re heading towards a more developed direction, if it means our culture is in jeopardy? It doesn’t prevent us from developing our nation altogether, but I think because Indonesia’s population is so big, its more difficult to maintain. So many people in the less developed parts are not as well educated as people in the capital city, hence their awareness level is low. It’s a shame, because we have so much heritage to show people, even though the only ones who preserve it are the local people there. It’s because to get there itself is a hard and complicated process. So people choose to go abroad, because its so difficult to get there. And we’re so brainwashed, so westernized, so we always see Malaysia and Singapore as better holiday options. As an Indonesian, is it our responsibility to know our culture? I don’t think it’s compulsory, but it’s all down to the individual. In primary school, I had a book that taught me the culture of each province, starting from their traditional costumes, their language, their daily activities, what food they serve, so we know those things. But I think that book isn’t in schools anymore. Back then, we were demanded to know about our culture, but now not so much because people are being more educated, thinking about western standards of modernity. Although some are still interested, culture itself is less important. Is culture in danger? The younger generation is less aware, there are some who care but the mentality is not there yet. For example, old buildings are automatically demolished, unlike London that protects old buildings. There are already rules here because people have thought about this way back then. In Indonesia, the law is still not clear.

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So there is a way to balance, but it is difficult because there’s so many people in Indonesia. You have to start at the bottom, but the public isn’t aware. How do they depict the Indonesian character? What qualities are they showing? We see Makassar as being so underdeveloped, like they still live in the jungle, when we know that the airport is nice. The funeral ceremony, the statues, it shows that the community is not civilized, that’s how they would see it, very preserved. Is this a good or bad quality? To me, its positive to me, because I know that Makassar is also developed, I know you don’t have to sleep in the jungle. But for others, what you see is how you picture it. I guess it would be better if you can not only show the olden and traditional bits, but also show the modern parts as well.

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Interview with Astri Arifin London, April 5 2014 Video: Flores What is Indonesia best known for? It’s a hot country, Bali. How would you describe Indonesia to someone who’s never been? A tropical warm country with sociable and warm culture. What do you think about the video? I don’t like it, because it doesn’t portray all of Indonesia. I don’t think flores is the starting point to sell Indonesia. If this was meant to sell to foreigners, I think people want to know more about food and places to visit, not just the village. They want to see a bit of everything, this is too traditional, which might make people wonder what they can do there, unless they’re backpackers or cultural sociologist researches. The scenery itself you can get in other Asian countries, what’s so Indonesian about that? So, it doesn’t communicate anything? As an Indonesian, I don’t think so. However maybe it’s because I don’t know much about Flores, but it doesn’t make me want to go to Flores. I don’t see the difference between that and a village somewhere else, apart from the dances that can be found in other places too. It’s not interactive, people want to be involved and want to be active, not just watching the people dance. Does it show the culture though? Probably a bit, but the people in the video don’t interact with each other, we don’t see them doing any daily activities. It’s more like a performance, you can watch this anywhere else, in the cinema for example. Culture that should be portrayed is their daily life, it doesn’t have to be old or modern culture, because there’s no distinction, culture just adapts. There’s no explanation about the costumes, or what the dances mean, it’s more of a spectacle. Do you think there’s a difference between performing culture and living it, or doing those rituals for yourself? No, the difference is just the intention. One is for personal reasons, the other is to show off. Do you think it shows Indonesia as an unmodern place? Yes, but it isn’t true. It doesn’t sell Indonesia because that’s only a glimpse. Indonesia has so many other things to explore, its hard to expose all the things in one video, but they should take general things like food and batik.

Did they use any stereotypes to portray Indonesia? Yes, everyone perceives Indonesia as friendly people, who loves to smile and laugh, kind-hearted, problem-free, even the poor people can be happy. Indonesia is such a friendly country that it might be a problem because people feel that they can take advantage of us.

Can culture be authentic/inauthentic? Yes. Compare it to Singapore, I think its very inauthentic because it’s a combination. I measure authenticity by how pure it is. The problem is, developed countries becomes inauthentic because too many people go there. But developing countries remain untainted because only few people go there carrying their own cultural perspective.

Is that a good thing, then? It’s not a bad thing, but its inevitable. But the most important thing is teaching the generations, the locals, to still love their culture, cause we take it for granted because we feel like our culture is inferior to other cultures that’s why we try to absorb so much. Whereas the west sees this as

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something precious cause they don’t have any authentic culture, I guess it’s a trade off between developed developing countries. What we don’t like they use as a form of pleasure and leisure.

Being a padang person, do you know padang culture? No, not really. But I know that I love it deep down, because that’s where my grandpa was from. It cannot be sold or replaced, it’s a part of my heritage and genes. It’s something you learn, but also its an experience that you embody, a memory that you can come back to and say that this is where your ancestors came from. The fact that it resembles someone, a family member, it becomes important.

As an Indonesian person, is it a requirement to know about your culture? Do you feel like you are responsible to tell people about Indonesia and its culture? It’s necessary to know about it, but I don’t need to teach people about it. I don’t need to give effort, its already embodied in the way I move, talk, present myself, will always reflect to Indonesian culture.

Do you know anything about the Wonderful Indonesia campaign? No

Is it important to have this slogan or brand? Yes, because when I watch it in London, and my friend watch the video in France, when we watch it it still reminds us of the same place. It becomes a communal practice of watching, when you share it to other Indonesian people, you feel like, “this is our culture that’s so Indonesian.”. Something that represents our shared communal values, it should represent us but it doesn’t. But I don’t think that the audience is Indonesian, because this area specifically there’s not much to do, especially for our age.

But the fact that you think some cultures are better to be represented, does it form a hierarchy of which culture is worth attention? Yeah, because whatever is represented is already selected.

What is the use of culture? Identity, I don’t think there’s anyone without a culture. It’s a form of belonging.

With increasing cultural commodification in tourism, does it harm culture? Maybe, but its always a trade off. Maybe we can get more investment, but at the same time we get imperialism too, or foreigners trying to dominate our industries.

Do you think that this representation, when compared to western countries, implies a sort of position? I think it makes us look unique, because commodity tries to sell happiness. When they say this, it doesn’t put Indonesia under, but it makes people commend our ability to be happy, even if we are poor. That becomes an attractive quality.

Is culture in danger? No, cause we’re still a developing country. It’s not being sold out as much. How can it be in danger when not many are interested in it yet. Not many are aware of the potential it has. I think there’s a way out of tradition/modernity but I don’t know what that is. I consider myself as traditional, having traditional Indonesian values, but still think in a modern way. I see my friends from Bandung continually try to perform another culture such as copying British fashion or American fashion, performing a different identity. But I think it will take a lot more than teenagers to threaten a nation’s culture. We won’t want to lose culture because it is a way of revisiting our past.

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Interview with David Kurniawan London, 5 April 2015 Video: Toraja

What is Indonesia best known for? Bali. Because bali attracts lots of tourists, not only for its many tourist attractions, its culture, its history, the temples, but it is also very accepting in terms of religion. Theres some parts of Indonesia that is still very radically muslim, but bali is more welcoming. How would you describe Indonesia to someone? Indonesia is a country with two seasons, it is tropical, beautiful, full of nature and flora and fauna. You can expect food that is different from western countries, wth lots of spices. From that video, what are a couple of images or scenes that strike out to you? The Toraja houses What does it tell you about Indonesia? It doesn’t say anything about Indonesia, just describes about Toraja. It is too specific, because it only focuses on one tribe. Is there an overall Indonesian culture, as opposed to separate cultures of different areas and tribes? Well, they should still aim to collect images from different places, for example the main cities of every island. Who is the audience? Young people, especially those who likes nature, eco-traveling and adventures. People who have interest in these things. You won’t show this to a businessman, because it is more geared towards the backpacker, environmental message. Untouched by modern life: is Indonesia really like that? In real life we are already modern. For example, the Toraja people dresses in modern clothing, wearing Casio watches, t-shirts. It’s different from the local tribes deep in Banten that still wears the koteka. I saw on the BBC a few times before, the Toraja people are already wearing t-shirts and converse sneakers. Their culture is already influenced by other cultures, especially the city culture. Is it a bad thing? You cant really stop it. It’s both a good and bad thing. But actually it’s for their own development. To be modern, they cannot forever live primitively as shown in the video. Are there any stereotypes that are used in depicting the national character? No. From what I know Toraja people are more tough and rough. Here in this video, they are portrayed as being warm and nice. I guess the inaccuracy is for promotional reasons, so that people are attracted. Have you heard about wonderful Indonesia before? Yes, from my marketing class. Does Indonesia need a brand? It is important, because it’s something to attract visitors from other countries. For example, Incredible India, or the Thailand campaign. However, the selection of the word ‘wonderful’ is too plain, there’s not much substance in it. WONDERFUL signifies beauty, but only beauty. If you’re talking about Indonesia, it should have been something that resembles diversity, to emphasize our cultural diversity.

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Is culture important in our life? It is important to know our history, to understand old culture that had everything done manually. Today we rely too much on technology, it is a way of rediscovering the things we have learned. Is there old/new culture? Yes, old culture is something that’s above 45 years old.Ada, budaya lama yang umurnya udah 45 ke atas. For example, is the Kecak dance considered to be an old/new culture? Kecak is already accepted by ne w culture. Basically, there are some things that can be accepted, while other cannot. For example, the Kejawen religious practices is hard to accept. But it still survives as a cultural practice because it is already practiced for so many years, as a form of respect to our ancestors. Do you think you have to know those things? My mother does not tell me to practice Kejawen but I am interested to see it. We are the generation Y, whereas our parents are generation X, that still practices old culture. My friends in Pekalongan, Surabaya, they still do these practices, but it is now fading away. It’s different with Torajathat still has a strong culture, kept away from any western influences. At some point will culture die? Do we need to protect it? Some cultures are simply too strongly embedded in society for it to be threatened. Can culture be authentic/inauthentic? Indonesian culture is always all authentic. Is tourism a good or bad thing? Both. It is happening at the same time. If someone comes to know about our country, it’s not a problem. But sometimes they come to do business or other purposes. Is culture commodified? It has to be, because people only know Bali. Other cultures are not seen, so they must be promoted. This is why some places are so behind, they are primitive. It must be sold in order for it to develop.

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Interview with Nuanza Cinta Adita London, 31 March 2014 Video: Yogyakarta

How do you describe Indonesia to someone who’s never heard of it before? Indonesia is a country where you can see many different culture as it is a big country with many small islands, you cant find it in another place. What is the goal of the video? It is more towards selling/promotional functions, but using culture, art, and landscapes. There’s a lot of nature views that you can get anywhere else though. But culture becomes one of the things that sells. Why do you think culture is emphasized? Because if you’re targeting people from outside Indonesia, they will not know about our culture. What I understand from this video, they mix culture with history. Maybe this can be more attractive to people. Even with the Borobudur landscape, they tell you some information about it. Culture has a story behind it. Do you think it’s important that other people know about our culture? It depends on the person. If they appreciate culture and history, it is important. But if they’re not interested, for example, teenagers, they would think, “okay, culture, sowhat?”. It depends on their taste, their interest. What scenes struck out to you from the video? The fact that nature can be seen infront of your eyes without having to go somewhere. Culture, in terms of dances, gamelan music, and others. Also, there is a sense of community, from the video you can see becak men and the people, something very Yogyakarta, or rather, very Indonesian. Does it portray Indonesia accurately? Not accurately cause to be honest as an Indonesian who knows Yogyakarta, its not as good as it was portrayed now that many people from Jakarta is going there. What do you mean, it’s not good? I mean that Yogyakarta isn’t as ‘conducive’ anymore like Jakarta. If you go to the touristy place, it is not pure anymore, unless you go to some parts that are outside the city, that are less crowded. But if you go to the city, it’s changing. Why is it changing? There’s lots of people who migrate to Jogja, making it start to become overcrowded, as they bring in all their cars and make it seem like Jakarta. Is it more modern? Yes, because when I was there when I was a child there wasn’t any malls. Now there are many renovated malls. It doesn’t show culture anymore, back then when you go to the Malioboro district, you could see sweet shops selling local food, but now people choose to go to shopping malls. It is better to maintain our culture, because whats the point of becoming more modern? It’s fine if other cities are doing that, so that we don’t become the same. If you become similar to other places, you can’t sell it in terms of culture and tourism anymore.

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I’m not saying we have to avoid becoming modern, but you have to know to what extent you can be modern. We should not aim to show people that we have malls because Yogyakarta isn’t a central business place, but that’s typical Indonesia. Not improving its tourism with what we have, but opening modern stuff to give pleasure to the market without thinking of what we got. From the video, do you think we are depicted as traditional or modern? Traditional. I don’t know much about Yogyakarta but when I see that video, I’ll think it’s cool, all these Borobudur stuff, you would want to see it. Of course they wont show the modern stuff because tourists wont come, because they’ll have the same thing in their own city. What’s attractive is that they can’t experience this in their own city. Is there any difference between us watching cultural performances and foreign tourists watching it? Yes, in terms of how they perceive it, how they are interested in it. Only some foreigners would be interested, but if they’re local, they might appreciate it more, as they know it better, because they heard it from their parents and grandparents, they would appreciate it more. What is the function of culture in Indonesia? That’s a tricky question. It is important for me, because I really appreciate culture especially our own culture. If I could talk to each Indonesian citizen one by one, I will tell them to study at least one form of culture, at least a dance or something. I like culture and love arts. If you’re talking about function, I don’t know if there’s any reason why it’s important, there’s no function. It’s just if you’re Indonesian, at some point you will appreciate what your ancestors gave you, what is the point of appreciating other people’s culture? Knowing you’re Indonesian, you are required to appreciate it. Wonderful Indonesia, have u heard about it? Yes, from advertisements, posters, I’ve seen it in Singapore and on a London taxi cab. Why do you think they chose wonderful? Did they choose the right slogan Its too generic. It didn’t explain, because being wonderful doesn’t have to mean unique. Wonderful is wonderful, you can see the Westfield mall as wonderful. Indonesia should have picked a better word, something that is more selling. It does represent Indonesia, but doesn’t say why it’s unique. Does Indonesia need a brand? Yes, because there’s many people who do not know about our country yet. The goal is so that people know about us. How do they depict the Indonesian character? Warm and kind. In every scene all the local people are being represented as nice, smiling, even if they are tukang becak, a dancer, or someone who sells asongan on the street. They are all lively and kind, vibrant. There’s life in the city. Is there such a thing as inauthentic culture? How do you measure authenticity? You cannot measure it, it is either or. Authentic means something that is original, something that is from the place, without any influence from others. However, somehow Jakarta’s culture is mixed, there are influences from Arab and China, but I still find it authentic, cause that’s where it comes from. I guess, inauthentic means when it has western influence. Does tourism threaten authenticity of culture? In Bali yes, in Yogyakarta not yet. Because the culture and lifestyle becomes very westernized, there’s many clubs and cafes, theres no Indonesian essence. It’s not a bad thing, but if it’s too much, than it starts to become bad.

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Is tourism good or bad for our culture? If they just come to se our culture, it’s a good thing because they can know about our country. It’s OK to have balance, because we also need to understand the needs of the market. But in the end, there’s no one who wants to watch cultural performances such as the kecak dance in uluwatu. People would rather go clubbing or to a café. Is culture being commodified? Is it a good or bad thing? Yes. It is a good thing because that’s the only way we can let people know about our culture. If we don’t do that, no one will ever know or be interested in it. Does it affect the locals though? Yes, they are happy because by commodifying their culture, they can make it a business and earn money. Although sometimes the money doesn’t actually end up going to them. Living in London, do you feel any responsibility to help promote Indonesia? Personally, even if you live in Indonesia, you are also responsible for that. It doesn’t mater if you live abroad, everyone is an ambassador of Indonesia. That’s everyone’s duty as a Indonesian. Is this video important to be watched by Indonesians? It’s important because there’s many places that I don’t recognize when watching it. But at the same time, it’s not because we already know most of it, even though we don’t know the detailed history. We don’t need images to become attracted to our own culture.

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Interview with Sonny Rustiadi London, 12 April 2014 Video: Flores What do you think about the video? The colours are nice, it pops out. I can see that it’s really traditional and ethnic, the way that they portray Indonesia. The friendliness of Indonesia. Does it represent indo successfully? In terms of its rich culture, yes. But in terms of how developed the nation is now, no. The video only highlights the culture, traditional houses.. Although that it is a part of Indonesia, it’s not all of it. It’s for tourism, on top of experiences, people try to find something more like comfort, or some activities to do. The video only shows us watching something, like performances. However, it should not only show the ethnic richness, but also what tourists can do there, the food, or accommodation that is comfortable. Although there is some history on Soekarno, it is not enticing yet, if I am a tourist, although it’s interesting, I am not sure I would want to go there. Is the strategy to put videos of each area good? Maybe they should have a unifying theme like Wonderful Indonesia. However, we should be more like America, who have VISIT US, but also Wonderful California, etc. So, Indonesia should have a brand for smaller areas, perhaps each province, under the general theme. Also it should focus on the subject, not the object. This video focuses on the object, the culture, the houses, to show who we are. However it doesn’t serve the consumer, there’s no interaction. Where did you hear about Wonderful Indonesia? From advertisements in Indonesia, the Internet mostly, links from Indonesian websites. What do you think of the word ‘wonderful’? Do you think it represents our country well? Wonderful is something related to softness, something warm, kind. It represents Indonesia, but it might not be as enticing for tourism. It shows friendliness, warmth, approachability. Do we need a brand? Very much. Indonesia is currently known from promotions done by other countries. For example, news about IMF lending money to us, or Indonesia having the MINT countries name. But that’s from external, I don’t see any action that is led by the government itself. I don’t see much effort from our country about national branding, the things we do now are sporadic and not coherent to one theme or strategy. It is not supported by all industries from society. There’s no direction overseeing sporadic small projects. Nation branding is important to straighten perceptions of others on Indonesia. Indonesia is known as a country that violates human rights, corrupt nation, a country that doesn’t take care of its environment…we need to portray Indonesia in a more positive way to show that those cases are not happening all over the country. Indonesia has only been free from colonization for 65 years, so we are still learning. We need to show that Indonesia is warm-hearted, kind, friendly, having beautiful culture. Is there a choice between tradition and modernity that we have to make? Can we have both? I don’t think it’s the case of or, but and. For example, the creative industry is an effort to marry the traditional and the modern. Like a clothing brand that uses traditional designs to print T-shirts. There’s now an awareness in Indonesian young people to combine tradition in a contemporary way without losing its heritage. Now people are still trying to realize that this is possible. However, there are some things that cannot be contemporary, it must be protected, because it’s a custom. For example. wedding ceremonies, religious rituals. We cannot live in the olden times,

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but we can protect it in new ways. I think the trend in the world is ‘back to nature’ or ‘back to local wisdom and culture’. We are returning back to what’s traditional. Is tourism helping keeping our culture alive, or threatening it? It’s both. Because anything that’s positive, if you have too much of it, becomes negative. Tourism is positive as it is beneficial economically, but once you go past its limit, it becomes bad. This is the job of the government to spread the spirit of tourism and the interest in culture to other parts that are not explored, although those parts are equally rich. So that there’s a balance between local culture and the benefits of tourism. It’s like make-up, it only emphasizes the positive aspects of a place, without being the same generic pattern that can be applied to each area. What is the function of culture? Culture is the root of our identity. I am proud to say that I am Sundanese, Indonesian, because we have our own identity that is different than others. For example, when you meet Indonesians in London, you feel like you have your own group, it’s a sense of belonging. I can speak Sundanese, I can eat Sundanese food, I know its dances, I am Sundanese. Is it our duty to know, love or practice our culture? It is both our duty, and our right. It’s also a privilege. The government should promote the privilege of cultural preservation, because it’s our asset and its our part of our identity. You have the privilege to learn about your own culture. This is however easier set than done, because most Indonesians don’t realize how rich we are as a country in terms of our culture. Can culture be inauthentic? There’s a difference between customs and culture. Customs, or traditional ways, are rigid, and it’s hard to change. Whereas culture is dynamic and adapts with the influences it encounters. With customs, there is a distinction between what is authentic/not real. But for culture, it all depends to the overall consensus of the society at that current time. Indonesia is social, we are not isolated, so influences will inevitably come. It’s just how we manage to stay to our roots but adapt to modern times too.

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Interview with Arienska Aliani London, 13 April 2014 Video: Flores What’s memorable from the video? It’s hard to be objective, because we’ve seen those things for a long time. Maybe as a foreigner, they will be fascinated at the culture. But as an Indonesian, I don’t feel so amazed because we’re already used to it. Why do they focus too much on traditional aspects? Because they’re trying to show the unique part that stands out, something that isn’t there in other countries. They won’t show typical cityscapes, metropolitan life, so they go to the inner most parts of Indonesia to find unique selling point. Can we be both traditional and modern? If we talk about culture, that’s something fundamental. You won’t ever lose culture. Because culture builds our identity, so that won’t ever fade away. Our culture is a guideline for our identity, a sense of self. Does tourism have any bad side effects? Yes, because tourism only shows the good things. Sometimes it sets our expectations too high, so people can be disappointed. It’s making promises that it can’t deliver. For example, you won’t ever get to approach someone who’s planting on the rice fields, you just won’t do that, it doesn’t happen in real life. It doesn’t give facts, only marketing the good things about it. Is culture in danger? No, because culture depends on the individuals. Yes it is westernized and sometimes it fades away. But then, people will go back to it, because here it’s so strong in Indonesia. You can’t run away from it, it doesn’t stop with one generation, it will be passed on. It’s like a loop. But is there such a thing as inauthentic culture? All culture is authentic. You can’t fake it. You can’t question your culture, because it’s already passed down, and will always be authentic. When did you hear about this campaign? From university. I took visual arts as a major, and we were always reminded to use Indonesian culture in our designs, so we are always aware about these things. Is there such a thing as Indonesian culture, or is it a collection of individual cultures? Yes, but it’s more general things. Mindsets and ways of life, such as working together as a community, friendliness; those things are no doubt Indonesian. I saw that in the video too, for example when the tourist comes, the community welcomes her and invites her to join their day-to-day activities. Did you see any misrepresentations about Indonesia in the video? It doesn’t show the daily life, or something that is more specific. You won’t get those experiences when you get there. The language is different, there are many limitations that is not explored in the video. Does Indonesia need a brand? Yes, because we need to compete with other countries who have taglines also. It’s a way to attract people to come to our country. However, wonderful Indonesia is too generic, it is wonderful but there’s a lot of things that are concealed within it. It’s not quite realistic. Is culture important to your personal daily life?

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No. Because being raised in Jakarta, my family is also not too rigid about cultural practices and customs. However, my grandfather always reminds me that culture should be carried on through me. However, I don’t feel that way because I don’t live there, and so I don’t know much about it. The cultural ceremonies are still foreign to me. However, it does play a part in my family, at home, for example in the food that we eat, or the language that we speak. Is it important that culture is carried onto further generations? For our ancestors, it must be important. I know everyone should be proud of their culture. But for me personally, people who lives in the city are already accustomed to living detached from it. I feel like my parents are from Padang, not me.

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Interview with Yanti Sastrawan London, 12 April 2014 Video: Yogyakarta General thoughts on the video? I think it’s what you would expect from a tourism, promotional video. In the beginning, as a viewer I feel like I was placed as a tourist. The narration is leading me to explore Yogyakarta. But getting into the video where they talk about the culture, that brought more of a sense of the local. From looking at Yogyakarta to see the local sense of it, which by the end of it, became a stronger part of the video. What kind of message does it say about Indonesia? We’re very cultural, we have so much traditions. Our culture runs very deep. Every single province, island, tribe has their own culture. One glimpse is not enough sometimes. I think this is why they do a separate video for each region, so it gives you a sense of how unique regions are. We’re very diverse, but we’re also united under that diversity. Is there such a thing as Indonesian culture, or is it only a collection? I don’t think so, you can’t put them together cause they’re all so different and beautiful in their own way. You can’t merge them together. Sometimes it’s based on the popularity of cultures, so only certain cultures are highlighted, like Balinese culture. I do think that the whole Indonesia is worthy to be promoted, but I think it comes back to history, when we were colonized, which one they found first. But I feel like today with technology and globalization, we could travel to almost every single island in the country, so now we are able to promote them. Have you heard about Wonderful Indonesia? Yes, it was a while ago. A friend of mine was looking on YouTube, I was living in London at the moment. As I was watching the video, I remembered the campaign video had a new logo, which struck me as being really simplified and nice. It is a simplified Pancasila symbol with lots of colour to represent diversity. Do you think the slogan is right to represent Indonesia? I think wonderful is in the aesthethic of Indonesia, although it’s a very general term. We have so much culture in our tradition, that’s where we are so different. From the arts to the agriculture, not a lot of countries have what we have. I think wonderful’ sort of puts you in a place that settles, like it’s “good enough.” But they should explore other adjectives. But maybe wonderful is easier to imagine for people who’s never been there before. Do you think Indonesia needs a brand? I think so, because not many people have heard about Indonesia. They get confused where it is. Now it’s better because more people are going there, more people know about it. It’s to bring more awareness, to let people know that we are here. This sort of exposure can let people know about our culture, too. Do you think the video represents Indonesia accurately? I did feel that I was not placed as a local person, I felt like a tourist in the beginning. But the faces of the local people at the end of the video made me able to relate. How did they depict the Indonesian character? We preserve our culture very deeply. But also, I am confused why the tourist is also Indonesian in the video. But I guess when we visit these places, we are also tourists. You could tell that the tourists are from Jakarta, or other big cities. When they are showing the Jogja people however, they were all in their working role. They are drawing the batik, wearing their traditional clothes, welcoming the tourist, they are always in their working/day-to-day activities, in their traditional

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way. They did not only show the outcome, but the actual working process, and the culture is there. This video emphasizes a lot on tradition and heritage, not the modern parts. Can we have both modernity and tradition? I feel that we can have both. Compared to other places, Jakarta’s cultural sense is not that strong. They do have it, but it’s because it’s the capital city, everybody comes there, the strength of the culture isn’t as much. But I think for a place like Jogja, we can have modernity but in the sense of preserving tradition. It’s finding a way to maintain these cultures within these modern developments such as technology and contemporary culture. Identity is within our culture. If we sacrifice our culture, our identity will be lost, and we will be the same as other countries. I feel like we don’t need to sacrifice anything, we need to preserve, because that’s where I feel Indonesian identity is. We could travel abroad, and get so much influences, so we need to maintain our culture. Is it a requirement for Indonesian people to know and love our culture? To be aware of, yes. Although I don’t know much about our culture…I wouldn’t say it’s a responsibility, but it’s a way of supporting your culture. When I was small, I was lazy to do the Balinese dance, but it was my mom who pushed me to do it. Now that I’ve gone abroad, I feel like people assume Indonesian people are able to dance. As Indonesians, the least you can do is to support it. Do you think that there’s such a thing as inauthentic culture? I think the origin of it is what’s authentic. When I hear the word, I think of 100% real. At the beginning it’s authentic, but now it’s passed on. In remote places, there’s still authentic cultures, who are still not exposed to other cultures, such as places where they don’t even speak Bahasa Indonesia and only communicate in their ethnic language. Nowadays it’s impossible to find culture that is ‘real’ and ‘authentic’, because it’s already influenced by many things. But this doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. It doesn’t really matter, as long as it’s still preserved. Because this is a promotional tourism video, do you think culture is commodified? I never see culture as a sell or buy product. There is a consumer part to it, but it’s more towards sharing the experience. Maybe I’m avoiding the reality of it, but I don’t like to see it as we’re selling our culture. If it’s watching a dance, or learning how to do Batik, it’s more sharing, not buying. The tourist is participating actually. Are there any stereotypes used in this video? The locals wearing the traditional clothes, the blangkon. I think that’s just to depict the Yogyakarta people. People whose heritage is still strong.

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Interiew with Atika Cendikianti London, 16 April 2014 Video: Toraja

What is it trying to say about Indonesia, what is the message? The uniqueness of Indonesian culture that cannot be found elsewhere. They focus on the culture and the nature, too.

What is the goal of nation branding? It is to give an image to a country. For example, if you think about UK, you think about development, history, Royal Family…So here, Indonesia wants to give a message to foreigners that Indonesia is rich with unique culture that’s very diversed in the country.

How did they depict the Indonesian character in the video? Indonesian seem to be very close to their family, and it has the gotong royong lifestyle, where people do everything together, have communal values, work together as a group. Also, it shows Indonesians to have very high art values.

How did you hear about Wonderful Indonesia? I knew about the previous campaign, Visit Indonesia. I’ve seen the logo, it’s the same, but I haven’t heard about Wonderful Indonesia until this video.

What is wonderful? Is the word appropriate for Indonesia? Wonderful is something that leaves an impression. Compared to other countries’ brand, such as Malaysia Truly Asia, Incredible India, and others, they do use these words that ‘pop’ a lot, but I think Indonesia shouldn’t be called wonderful. Yes, we have lots of wonders, like our history, culture, and heritage…But, I think wonderful connotes a ‘party’, some metropolitan image, fun, but I think Indonesian is more towards ‘ancient’, ‘nature’, and ‘heritage’.

The video shows more of Indonesia’s tradition, do you think this is a good representation? I think it’s a good strategy, because it makes Indonesia unique. Other brand campaigns show hotels, luxurious stuff, but I think Indonesia can target people who like nature and cultural things, so the target market is more narrow.

What is the function of culture in Indonesia? For our identity, but also for promotional aspects, to bring in tourists.

Is it important in your life? Not so much of the dances and things like that, but there’s norms and ways of thinking that I still include as ‘culture’, such as togetherness, politeness, those values are very important to me. Especially because I live abroad. It’s so important to teach these values, especially to future generations. To remind us of those values.

Do you feel the responsibility to promote Indonesia here? Yes, somehow I feel like I should write about Indonesia in all of my essays. Because then the lecturer will read about Indonesia, and maybe he or she will find out more about Indonesia.

Who is the audience of this video? Foreigners, because they use English language. But I do think it’s very important for Indonesians to watch it, because our culture is so varied, we have to know all about it. Sometimes we ourselves don’t know the whole Indonesian culture.

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Interview with Linda Widiyanti

London, 16 April 2014 Video: Yogyakarta The target market seems to be women, because the attractions are more geared towards women such as shopping, markets, batik clothes. It seems like the tourist in the video is always carrying a shopping bag. In general, what do you feel after watching the video? I’m proud, because I think the ministry of tourism have captured all of Indonesian assets, such as the nature and culture, in a video that’s quite modern. I’m proud of Indonesia as a country, because it’s very rich. But also I’m proud of the ministry that successfully made this innovative video. What scenes stick out to you as being the most memorable? I like the Candi Borobudur, Gunung Merapi, and the batik, because I think that it’s Indonesia’s icons. Also, they show Batik that’s made traditionally. I think for foreigners, traditional aspects are more authentic, thus it’s more interesting. But for Indonesians, sometimes the traditions of Java for someone from the Batak tribe is also foreign, so we still see these things as interesting and new. So do you feel like watching this video, although you are not from Yogyakarta, do you feel like it’s your culture? That depends on the context. When I am abroad, I feel like this is my culture, it’s part of Indonesia. However when I am talking to other Indonesians, from different areas of the country, I don’t feel like that’s my culture. Is there a general Indonesian culture, apart from these collections of ‘mini’ cultures? That’s tough, when you see on TV, you can generalize. But if you actually go there, it’s like two completely different worlds. How did you know about Wonderful Indonesia? I saw their banners, and also when I go to some embassies, they ask for these brochures to be put in their offices. Do you like the choice of ‘Wonderful Indonesia’? Yes, because when I hear the word ‘wodnerful’ I think of positive associations. Also, it’s very open to interpretation, what does wonderful mean can differ for different people. This is a good thing. What is the goal or function of nation branding campaigns? To make us distinct, and also Indonesia needs a brand for our own local citizens. Because when we go out of the country, we could represent the country easily. It’s a way to give a guideline, or resources to talk about when you want to promote your country to others. It’s a way of representing your country, giving supporting materials. Also, we need one unifying brand so that the whole country’s strategies are coherent. I see that many of the different ministries have different strategies to promote Indonesia, they should combine that into one unifying theme so that they don’t contradict each other. They lack one unifying direction, which is what the nation branding aims for. This is from experience, because I work in the ministry of foreign affairs, and I see that sometimes it is not in sync with the strategies of other campaigns. How did they depict the Indonesian national character?

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We see that people are still in their national dress, the traditional blangkon. I think they also have some urban Indonesians to show that Indonesian is quite modern. You see the women shopping in the video is already modern, to show that Indonesia’s tradition is also combined with modernity. Because sometimes people think that we still sleep in trees, still so primitive. But this shows that we can be modern too. What do you think about the tradition/modernity debate? Is there a way to combine them? Yes, the challenge is how to make tradition and modernity co-exist. I think that sometimes tradition fades but it’s a part of the consequence of moving forward, but I think that there’s a possibility to combine the two. If you look at Yogyakarta or Bali, you see that the culture is still very strong, but there are still modern touches. For example, if you look at hotels, they are built to be modern giving modern amenities, but there’s still traditional aspects such as the design, the staff wearing blangkon, and so it’s still a traditional vibe. What is the use of culture for Indonesians? It is for identity, especially when you go abroad. It reminds you of where you came from, it’s a part of your identity, distinguishing you from other people from different countries. Cultural preservation is for identity, too. We want the culture to survive through generations. Do you feel the responsibility to know and help promote our culture abroad? Yes, we need to, because whoever you are, you need to voluntarily want to promote our culture to others. Personally, I’m proud of being Indonesian and I want to communicate my Indonesian identity to others. I guess it’s not a responsibility but it comes from a place of pride. I want to introduce my country to people, especially because I feel like people here don’t know Indonesia. I think people should know more about it though. Why do you think foreigners have to know about our culture? The benefit is because if you don’t know something, you can’t love it. Also, the media around Indonesia is mostly negative, so that we need to achieve our reputation back. That’s why, Indonesian people abroad should reflect the ‘real’ Indonesia, to show that we are better than what they think. It’s so that people have a perception that’s positive about Indonesia, so that it makes it easier for us to be accepted and thus, have smoother relationships for future cooperation. Do we need to show this video to Indonesians? Yes, again it’s a supply of materials to show what things we can talk about.

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E. Participant Consent Form

Acknowledgment of Informed Consent You have been asked to participate in a research study conducted by Raissa Smarasista as a part of her dissertation project at Goldsmiths, University of London. The purpose of the study is to investigate the relationship between nation branding campaigns, the representation of culture and national identity amongst Indonesian citizens in London. You were selected as a participant in this study because you consider your nationality to be Indonesian and you currently reside in London, United Kingdom. The results of this research will be recorded, transcribed and analysed to draw conclusions about the topic. Parts of this interview will be included in the dissertation as direct translated quotes. This interview is voluntary. You have the right to not answer questions that are deemed inappropriate or too personal. The expected duration is 20 minutes. This interview will be recorded for further reference. Upon completion of the research project, all recordings will be deleted. Please note that unless specified otherwise, your full name and quote will be included in the research analysis. ____________________________________________________________________ Name _________________________________________________________ Signature _____________________________________ Date ____________ Researcher ____________________________________ Date ____________ ____________________________________________________________________ Contact Information Should you have any questions or concerns regarding the study or your rights as a participant, please contact me at Raissa Smarasista Goldsmiths College, University of London [email protected]