Cinema, Social Disparity and Urban Infrastructure in Case of the Indonesian Blockbuster Film “Ajari Aku Islam (Teach Me Islam)”

Abstract

The feature film Ajari Aku Islam (Teach Me Islam) was directed by Deni Pusung in 2019 and is based on the story of Jaymes Riyanto (Setuningsih, N., 2020) who worked also as one a film producer and scriptwriter. The film was mostly shot in the city center of Medan such as at the Chinese Pecinan Area Kesawan, Masjid Agung Sumatra Utara, and the old settlement of Jalan Sei Sirah. The film shows the love relationship between Kenny Huang, who has Chinese roots, in the Confucianist religion, and Fidya Lubis, a Muslim woman from Batak ethnic group. They both come from the middle economic class and live in the city center of Medan. According to the producer Jaymes Riyanto, the film has the intention to remove the ethnic gap and show the potential co-existence of Muslims and non-Muslims in Medan (Padang Time, 2019). Using Christian Metz's semiotic analysis, the paper will show how the film due to using the stereotypes in its mise en scéne reproduces on the contrary, even more, the prejudices and solidifies the stigmatization and segregation among the two ethnicities. However, this paper also suggests potential measures to overcome the social disparity and ethnic segregation such as through the just urban transportation system, the urban green infrastructure, and the production of local cinema culture which can produce inter-ethnic and religious dialogues among ethnic groups.