Women’s role under the Soeharto regime was to manage the household, educate the children, making sure that home was safe for young generations to grow to become men with Pancasila values, Indonesia’s state ideology. The same government also encouraged a politically conscious act to define women’s identity in Indonesia as housewives. Millions of people became victims of the New Order regime. These young Indonesians did not experience life under the oppressive Soeharto government. The children born during Indonesia’s period of democratisation are now in their late teens or early twenties, the demographic for the Dilan series teen flick. A window on Indonesia’s New OrderĪfter more than 30 years, Soeharto’s dictatorship crumbled in 1998. In Dilan, writer Pidi Baiq and director Fajar Bustomi attempt to subtly portray the culture and politics of the New Order era using the genre of romantic teen flicks.
