INDO 1011

SPRING 2009

Please fill this out while you watch the film. If you know Indonesian, you may write in
Indonesian as well.

REFLECTION ON FILMS

Date: February 12, 2009

Your name: Chandler Routman
The title of the film: East of Krakatoa

Name the islands or ethnic groups that you remember from the film:
• The islands mentioned in the film are Krakatoa, Surakarta, Bali, and Sulawesi.
The ethnic group mentioned is the Toraja people.
What new information did you learn from this film?
• The island of Krakatoa is located between Java and Sumatra. The island of Java is
an astounding 95% Muslim. Java is also home to a Sultan. The Sultan of Java has
an incredible sacred sword collection. These swords are only cleaned once a year
using scented water and the poison arsenic. Interestingly enough, after the swords
are cleaned, the cleaning solution is given to the people of Java who fight each
other for the right to both use and even just to touch the solution. The Sultan of
Java is also known for his passion for the Goddess of the Moon. Volcanoes are
problematic of the entirety of Indonesia. They not only do they emit poisonous
gases, they also are continually active. Volcano eruptions are a very severe natural
disaster and they are also very hard to predict. When the Portuguese first came to
Sulawesi they called it Celebes. Bira is a very important village on this island. On
Sulawesi there are many legends that refer to the vicious pirates as boogiemen.
Also on this island is the Cave of the Dead. The people of Sulawesi sacrifice
buffaloes in this cave to ensure a happy afterlife. The more buffalo that you
sacrifice the greater the after life you will receive.
How did you relate this film to any other history of some countries that you know about?
Please explain.
• When colonization occurred in the United States, the new locations were given
completely different names from what the indigenous people called it, just as it
happened in Indonesia. Volcanoes are problematic for millions of people around
the world and cause profound impacts on the world when they erupt, this has been
happening since the beginning of time.
What did you find interesting about this film?
• The Sultan of Java seems like a very interesting man, as a Westerner, I find it
strange that people fight over a mixture of scented water and arsenic. The legends
of the pirate boogiemen are extremely fascinating.
If you follow any news about Indonesia at all, what are the things that remain the same as
what the movie portrays, and if there are some changes, what are they?
• N/A
What questions do you have about this film, or about today’s Indonesia?
• Have any volcanoes erupted recently? How badly do pirates still plague the
people of Sulawesi?
Margaretha Sudarsih
Department of Asian Languages & Civilizations
University of Colorado-Boulder