Memaksa Ibu Jadi Hantu: Wacana Maternal Horror dalam Film Indonesia Kontemporer

by Annissa Winda Larasati, Justito Adiprasetio

Ambivalensi pemaknaan dan pemosisian ibu dan pengibuan dalam kultur patriarkal dihadirkan secara kritis dalam buku ini melalui lensa film horor. Buku ini mendedah bagaimana bahasa dan ruang sinema di Indonesia bekerja untuk mengonstruksi figur ibu dan pengibuan sebagai horor dan teror. Kekuatan lain dari buku ini adalah tekanan pada politics of location, di mana batasan geografis, historis, dan kultural menjadi aspek penting dalam membaca figur ibu dan pengibuan dalam ruang sinema di Indonesia. Abjeksi tubuh ibu dan pengibuan pun selalu berkelindan dengan konteks sosio-historis dan regime of truth serta kepentingan politik dominan yang beroperasi dalam satu periode tertentu.

—Ratna Noviani, Ketua Prodi Magister Kajian Budaya dan Media, Universitas Gadjah Mada

Belum banyak penelitian yang mengelaborasi topik maternal horror di Indonesia. Disampaikan dengan gaya populer namun mendalam, buku ini adalah napas baru yang dibawa oleh Annisa Winda Larasati dan Justito Adiprasetio dalam dunia pengkajian film di Indonesia, sekaligus menawarkan pendekatan berbeda untuk mengungkap jaring-jaring kerja patriarki dalam budaya populer, khususnya film horor.

—Sri Seti Indriani, Ketua Prodi Televisi dan Film, Fakultas Ilmu Komunikasi, Universitas Padjadjaran

256 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2022

Reviews

[Leila Safira · Rating 3 out of 5]

The central thesis is very interesting, especially it discusses about a specific director who’s also currently very popular. I just wish the book brought to a competent editor and make it into a more proper non fiction book than a post graduate thesis made into a book. Could be so much better and trim all the repetition, also make it deeper rather than wider.

[Agung Wicaksono · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dapat sudut pandang baru dan cukup menjawab rasa penasaran saya selama ini tentang alasan film-film horor yang tayang di Indonesia (dan sebagian besar di negara lain) sering memakai karakter perempuan sebagai hantunya, seperti kuntilanak, wewe gombel, sundel bolong, atau suster ngesot (untuk hantu lokal). Lebih lanjut, buku ini berfokus kepada film 'Pengabdi Setan' (2017) dan 'Perempuan Tanah Jahanam' (2019) karya Joko Anwar untuk mengeksplorasi peran perempuan, khususnya sosok ibu, yang dijadikan karakter hantu di dalam film. Sebab, sosok ibu yang seharusnya melindungi, malah suka meneror anak-anaknya ('Pengabdi Setan', 2017); dan sifat protektif ibu dalam melindungi aib anaknya sehingga desa tempatnya tinggal mendapatkan kutukan (Perempuan Tanah Jahanam, 2019). Lantas, dari kedua film tersebut, kedua penulis di buku ini mulai meneliti dan mengkritisi isu-isu yang ada di dalamnya, terutama tentang maternal horror, patriarki, misogini, dan peran negara dalam merawat sistem yang merendahkan perempuan.

[ariemega · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buku pertama yg gue coret2 dan kasih catatan. 🩷

[melancholinary · Rating 2 out of 5]

An important and urgently timely subject to discuss and analyse. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this book is too repetitive with many big claims. Another thing that makes me unconvinced is that many ideas/claims explored in this book are not further elaborated or rigorously explored. For example, there is no detailed approach/discussion about what maternal horror means. Is maternal horror a discourse? Or a narrative device? Is it a formula? Or is maternal horror a genre? And if it is a genre, what are its recurring patterns? What are its conventions? I think it is crucial to elaborate further on this, considering the term originates from Sarah Arnold with the proposition of looking at maternal figures/mothers in cinema through binary, regardless of the complexity of the character and how the character is entangled with their world. I'm also not entirely convinced by Sarah Arnold's psychoanalytic approach—or any psychoanalytic approach in cinema—which sometimes seems to project psychoanalysis as a method rather than looking at cinema as an art form and the intersubjectivity of its creators.

I would also like to see further elaboration on the data collected regarding maternal horror. For example, the presentation of subgenres in Indonesian horror. Many interesting aspects can be explored from here. For instance, what variables can be categorised as maternal horror? Considering Sarah Arnold's maternal horror is very much tied to Hollywood films, therefore there might be interesting aspects to be explored in understanding maternal horror in Indonesia—especially in horror films from the period of 1970-1990. One quite distracting and seemingly substantial thing is that except for one paragraph, the analysis of films made by female filmmakers is never explored in detail. Assuming that female filmmakers follow patriarchal logic does not mean that these films are not worthy of discussion. Perhaps the filmmaker is for hire, and made films intentionally for the market. This then exposes how the mechanism behind the industry and why we don't see exciting and thought-provoking "maternal horror." From this dynamic, I am convinced many interesting references can be made. By neglecting the works of female filmmakers, the arguments put forward in this book become somewhat incomplete. And please, with all due respect, stop quoting Richard Dawkins when discussing religiosity and secularism.

Slightly deviating from the discussion of maternal horror, I am also curious to know which Indonesian films are categorised as gore and disturbing from the period of 1970-1990 as presented in this book. This is my personal interest, but also potentially could ignite an interesting discussion, especially in the subgenre of torture and concerning violence during the New Order regime. Aaron Kerner says that torture in horror cinema, especially in America, became more dominant post-9/11 and Abu Ghraib. Looking from the data presented in this book, it would be amazing to know more about the history of torture film in Indonesia. In the context of historiography, apart from the French New Extremity in the late 1990s and early 2000s, splatter films from Germany in the late 1980s and early 1990s, SOV & direct-to-video extreme gore from Japan like the Guinea Pig series, and the tradition of Herschell Gordon Lewis, perhaps Indonesia has a history of gore and disturbing films that have been overlooked. It would also be interesting if this data could be elaborated upon.

Anyway, once again, this is an important book, and I agree with the arguments in this book, especially regarding the two films discussed in detail. However, I also disagree with many of the big claims written in this book.

[Musrifah Arfiati · Rating 5 out of 5]

Akhirnyaaa selesai juga baca buku ini. Cukup lama karena disela oleh Tesis hehe.

Overall, bagi saya, pembahasan di buku ini menarik dan cukup detail. Hampir semua ekspektasi dan pertanyaan di benak saya ketika awal tertarik membeli buku ini, lumayan terjawab dalam penjabaran yg cukup komprehensif.

Hal yang sangat menarik bagi saya adalah analisis kritis mengenai perkembangan film horor Indonesia ditarik jauh ke masa-masa awal film horor di era Orde Baru. Secara simpelnya, formula representasi film horor Indonesia itu akarnya memang cukup umum menjadikan wanita sebagai tokoh utama hantu. Bahkan perbandingan persentase tokoh hantu wanita dan tokoh hantu pria itu cukup jauh, tentu saja film horor dengan tokoh hantu wanita itu sangat banyak.

Sebenernya secara khusus di buku ini menganalisis film Pengabdi Setan (2017) dan Perempuan Tanah Jahanam (2019) yg keduanya disutradarai oleh Joko Anwar. Sebagai seorang yg gandrung dengan segala jenis film horor dari berbagai belahan dunia, ini cukup menarik, karena untuk ukuran sutradara Indonesia, khususnya untuk film horor, Joko Anwar ini bisa dibilang berada di jajaran sutradara kelas A. Hampir semua film-nya punya hal-hal implisit, yg kadang sering menjadi para pecinta film Indonesia tergelitik untuk menganalisis easter egg yg cukup sering diselipkan beliau dalam setiap film-filmnya.

Tapi buku ini tidak membahas easter egg di kedua film itu, sebab hal itu jg sudah banyak dibahas oleh para content creator reviewer film di Youtube atau media sosial lain. Justru yg menarik di buku ini, seluruh wacana analisis dijelaskan dengan perspektif teoritik kajian media budaya.

Mungkin bagi yg jarang baca buku social science akan merasa agak berat membaca buku ini karena diksinya cukup sulit dicerna untuk masyarakat awam. Saya mafhum sebab memang buku ini awalnya adalah merupakan karya tesis, jadi ya tidak heran jika bahasanya cukup banyak teoritisnya. Namun, tidak sesulit itu juga dipahami, sebab dalam penyampaiannya cukup dapat dipahami apalagi jika kita memang cukup akrab dengan istilah dalam ilmu komunikasi.

Intinya, saya sangat puas dengan buku ini karena ekspektasi saya dan segala pertanyaan saya terjawab dengan detail di buku ini ❤️

[n · Rating 3 out of 5]

i find the intro + background to be a bit convoluted and the main point of the book could’ve been deeper and sharper. interesting, but this could’ve been a long form instead of a book 🤷🏻‍♀️ i get it that this was a master’s thesis but i think a trade should’ve been treated differently and not just a Thesis In Layman Terms.

[Manggala Bagaskoro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why do we demonized women, especially mothers, in horror movies? Spoiler alert: it's patriarchy.

Did not vibe with the format of the book. I get that this started out as a thesis but I do think you can still keep all the references, and research methods, while presenting it to be less of a scientific journal and more of a non-fiction book. Might be a me problem though. Good read, overall.

[Katarina Nia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suatu kajian menarik tentang maternal horror di film Indonesia kontemporer. Saya senang dengan gaya bahasa, penjelasan, serta data-data yang dirangkum secara apik. Buku yang layak dijadikan referensi juga jika meneliti tentang perfilman Indonesia khususnya horror.