The Indonesian theater’s laku aktor: a counter discourse to the neoliberal depoliticization of the subject

ABSTRACT

Neoliberalism is getting more intense in line with the increasing democratization of Indonesia’s post-Reformation political economy. The discourse of neoliberal freedom that positions individuals as a commodity and an object of administration leads to a process of depoliticization of the subject which is increasingly becoming a serious challenge for the Indonesian norm of collectivity. In moving toward an answer to this challenge, this experience-based article presents the spirit of Laku Aktor in the Indonesian theatrical acting system as a form of political subject category that can be positioned as a counter-discourse to the problem.

KEYWORDS:

• Depoliticization
• Indonesian theater
• Laku aktor
• neoliberal individualization
• political theater

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Prof. Dr. Augustinus Supratiknya, Min Seong Kim Ph.D., Helly Minarti, Ph.D., and Dr. Yustina Devi Ardhiani for their supervision of this work.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The Education Financing Service Center (PUSLAPDIK) of Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek), and Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education Agency (LPDP), under Grant number 202209090809 of Indonesian Education Scholarships (BPI).

Notes on contributors

Zuhdi Siswanto

Zuhdi Siswanto is a PhD candidate in Cultural Studies at Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. His research interests include local culture, psychoanalysis, cultural politics, and performance arts, as well as posthuman theater which is the topic of his ongoing dissertation research. Apart from being an academic, he is also a theater artist and musician.