I have been working on narrowing down the focus of my research these past few weeks. I have also been watching the Indonesian films with female leads that I have on my list with my friends, while asking them for their opinions on the film. In terms of Indonesian women’s representation in global cinema, I am discussing the fact that both on-screen and off-screen representation is essential for an authentic and personally, for me, entertaining film. Although, I am aware that there are many steps in producing a movie and a misstep from one area can impact the whole outcome. A screenwriter’s screenplay might be different than the finished product because of the director’s decisions, among a million other possible changes that a project can go through. As a case study, I want to explore the fact that more women-led films are being produced in terms of quantity, although in terms of quality, it has yet to progress as much as it should from several years or even decades ago. We have to think about how we present these female characters in their own stories. Female leads are still victimized in their own titular films. I am in no way against telling authentic stories that represent what’s going on in the world towards women, but we have to stop presenting this idea that women cannot reclaim their agency after being thrown with challenges, because it is not the truth. And that these stereotypical representations have repercussions. There is certainly harm in re-telling the same stories with the same outcomes over and over again. It can be harmful to show audiences that time and time again, women cannot take agency in their own stories, even when the discussion around women’s rights is progressing. I am simply providing an alternative that I think can do more good than harm by providing hope and representing a woman succeeding in their mission. That is why I am starting to draft the script for my short film which includes certain beats that I wanted to be represented in the film. It is nearly impossible to get the details of every film in the world of when and if there is a misstep in production that would allow these female representations to be skewed or if it was intended to be like that originally, but, creating my own work and producing it will certainly be my act of disruption into the tiring narrative.
