Book Presentation
6. Using the Arts, Media and Culture: Contestations and Collaborations
The epic poem Ramayana, that means Rama’s itinerary, narrates Prince Rama’s battle with the demon king Ravana, who kidnapped Rama’s beautiful wife Sita, and how he saves his wife with the help of the monkey’s army. Ramayana is widely known in Southeast Asia and has been transmitted with its own developments in various fields. Depicting the battle, the adventure, the love and romance, and the human way of life, it has been one of the main subjects where people in Southeast Asia have generated various interpretations based on its outline or character setting, pursuing effective artistic expression.
This book showcases Ramayana theater as a platform where the multiple meanings and senses of values are negotiated. It focuses on the relationships between the cultural representation and the various meanings of Ramayana theater as well as other dramatic art forms. Focusing on the various contemporary contexts of art performances where the epic poem has been represented, the book also presents the ideologies and moral values contained in the theatrical forms of the epic poem. It discusses various performance contexts, such as diaspora communities, production of popular content culture, cultural diplomacy, designation as intangible cultural heritage, transmission, tourism, and the representation/exhibition of culture as well as the performance in rituals. This book also includes the artwork performances of three contemporary and inspiring artists from Indonesia: dance drama by cross-gender dancer Didik Nini Thowok, wayang animation by animator as well as puppeteer Nanang Ananto Wicaksono, choral music by composer Ken Steven.
Madoka Fukuoka
Osaka University, Japan