Standing before hundreds of bumper stickers, I was amazed when I realized that one can define one's identity, and broadcast it to others, quite so easily. For a small price, of course. But without years of personal contemplation, wading waist-deep in modern philosophy, ingesting alcohol and nicotin, or suicidal attempts.
Here, at the stickerguy's place near the bridge on Jalan Agus Salim, one can, for example, simply opt to define oneself as a Liverpool fan. A lover of Padi's music. A patron of HuGo's or Hard Rock Cafe. An enthusiast of Honda motorcycles, Arai helmets, Japanese anime, Fender guitars, or even Durex condoms.
An arabic calligraphy depicting the shape of Semar may indicate one's religious stance and ethnical background simultaneously. A crude yellow 'Hari gini masih pindah gigi' over black background declared one's partiality towards automatic motorcycles. One's decalaration of sexual preferences or general attitude toward sex, or to a certain extent, romance--if the two could somehow be linked together, are also readily available in explicit or implicit version.
The most interesting category, however, was the region of origin. In the spirit of Mie Ayam Wonogiri, Bakso Arema, and Warkop Putra Sunda, we now have bumper stickers declaring Cah (from Javanese bocah>>guy) Pekalongan, Cah Kutoarjo, Cah Banjarnegara, Putra Kuningan, and the likes. This is new. I have never seen this before. I have of course seen Arek Suroboyo or Budak Bandung. That's big cities. Cool cities. But to go to district level like Ngawi was quite something else. I mean, how many of you know where Delanggu is?
This got me thinking, which is a rare occasion. In this vast modernity jungle known as Jakarta, one could easily lost oneself in the face of sooo many cool identities one could conveniently assume. Why choose sticking with their origin, their roots? To identify oneself with Jakarta, or anything associated with it, is perhaps a surefire ticket to coolness. Hell, most of the times I enjoy hearing myself say 'I work in Jakarta' in a conversation with strangers residing in my place of origin. So again, why would in Jakarta some people proudly announce that they are not from Jakarta? My guess is that it's one of those 'being cool by remaining uncool' thing. I don't know. Maybe.
But anyway, if you ever saw a motorcyclist wearing a blue helmet with red 'Cah Cilacap' written on it, there's a good chance that it would be me.
Here, at the stickerguy's place near the bridge on Jalan Agus Salim, one can, for example, simply opt to define oneself as a Liverpool fan. A lover of Padi's music. A patron of HuGo's or Hard Rock Cafe. An enthusiast of Honda motorcycles, Arai helmets, Japanese anime, Fender guitars, or even Durex condoms.
An arabic calligraphy depicting the shape of Semar may indicate one's religious stance and ethnical background simultaneously. A crude yellow 'Hari gini masih pindah gigi' over black background declared one's partiality towards automatic motorcycles. One's decalaration of sexual preferences or general attitude toward sex, or to a certain extent, romance--if the two could somehow be linked together, are also readily available in explicit or implicit version.
The most interesting category, however, was the region of origin. In the spirit of Mie Ayam Wonogiri, Bakso Arema, and Warkop Putra Sunda, we now have bumper stickers declaring Cah (from Javanese bocah>>guy) Pekalongan, Cah Kutoarjo, Cah Banjarnegara, Putra Kuningan, and the likes. This is new. I have never seen this before. I have of course seen Arek Suroboyo or Budak Bandung. That's big cities. Cool cities. But to go to district level like Ngawi was quite something else. I mean, how many of you know where Delanggu is?
This got me thinking, which is a rare occasion. In this vast modernity jungle known as Jakarta, one could easily lost oneself in the face of sooo many cool identities one could conveniently assume. Why choose sticking with their origin, their roots? To identify oneself with Jakarta, or anything associated with it, is perhaps a surefire ticket to coolness. Hell, most of the times I enjoy hearing myself say 'I work in Jakarta' in a conversation with strangers residing in my place of origin. So again, why would in Jakarta some people proudly announce that they are not from Jakarta? My guess is that it's one of those 'being cool by remaining uncool' thing. I don't know. Maybe.
But anyway, if you ever saw a motorcyclist wearing a blue helmet with red 'Cah Cilacap' written on it, there's a good chance that it would be me.
2 comments:
cah delanggu protes ah....
Have you try to write for The Weekender?
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