Mohamad Saleeh Rahamad

The Rise of Islamic Values in Media: A Three Dimensions Analysis of Film Industry in Indonesia

This article focuses on the rise of Islamic values in media with concern to the film industry in Indonesia. In this nation, 88.22% of 254 million of the population are Muslims. However, this substantial quantity is burden some if Muslims have a lack of appreciation to history and are intellectually weak. In addition, cultural degradation due to the rapid changes in information & communication technology diminishes moral and ethics of society. The growth of film industry in the Soeharto era which curb freedom of expression and media resulted in films which were more oriented to comedy, horror, and vulgar. The aims of this study specifically are: (1) to identify the film industry (macro) in the context of challenge of Indonesian Muslim in social and culture; (2) to analyze the political interests of film production company owner (meso) in his films; (3) to conduct textual analysis (micro) of two films which include Islamic values in the dialogues. Two films, Nagabonar Jadi 2 (Nagabonar Become 2) and Alangkah Lucunya Negeri Ini (How Funny This Country Is), were selected as samples for their contents that fearlessly criticize corrupt governance and promote integrity and good deeds. The three dimensions of critical discourse which was proposed by Norman Fairlough (1992) was used to evaluate the local film industry from the perspective of macro, meso, and micro. The macro-analysis found that Indonesian films act should be modified to keep up with modernized and recent trends in media and film industry. The meso analysis showed that competition between film companies are very though, however, film quality determines the popularity of the company in public. According to the company owner’s agenda, Deddy Mizwar determines the quality of films produced, instead of quantity, as apriority. Thus, in post-reform era, the freedom of expression which enforced by the Act No. 9 of 1998, the company start producing Islamic films. Deddy Mizwar concerns for society are not only through the media but also political. He recently elected as the deputy governor of West Java province with the full support of an Islamic Party (Partai Keadilan Sejahtera). The textual studies have found similarities of the Islamic values in the content of the two films which are tawaqal (trust and reliance on God) and Taqwa, the pursuit of knowledge, respecting for the elderly, and belief in the Hereafter.