The interest of
Indonesian television viewers in electronic cinema or the so-called sinetron or a kind of
soap opera had been decreasing some years ago. The situational comedy or sitcom namely Bajaj
Bajuri was becoming the favorite of people's choice. The sitcom appeared on
television when the viewers were eventually fed up with the
excessive production of sinetron. Shortly after its initial appearance
the sitcom drew people's interest all over the country. Even then the popularity
of Bajaj Bajuri had 'inspired' those who formerly were known for
producing sinetron. Bajaj Bajuri then became the new model for
some opportunistic producers who soon tried to imitate it. But unlike Bajaj
Bajuri no success was gained by these producers.
There were some
characteristics in Bajaj Bajuri which made the sitcom appealing to
television viewers. In contrast to most sinetron shows which were known for
their portrayal of luxurious and almost dream-like lifestyle, Bajaj Bajuri
concerned with the life of ordinary people. Indeed, common people take up the majority of the Indonesian society. Until nowadays, in sinetron, some
characters are presented as physically perfect individuals who live in a
mansion and drive fancy cars, while Bajaj Bajuri presented humble
surroundings of a community along with their idiosyncrasies. Unlike sinetron,
there were no 'perfect' characters in Bajaj Bajuri. The characters
in Bajaj Bajuri were people who also possessed imperfect qualities. All of their human sides including the bad ones were
explored and revealed to the viewers. For example, a respectable character may
also behaved negatively at one time.
Both sinetron
and Bajaj Bajuri were entertainment television shows. But while sinetron
was trying to entertain its viewers by spoon-feeding them with dreams of
fake glamorous lifestyle, Bajaj Bajuri entertained by showing the reality, the face of
ordinary life. And that was not only entertaining but also enlightening.
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