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This article discusses the first Indonesian film to deal with specifically gay rather than waria (male to female transvestites) subjectivities. The 1980s was a period that saw growing public consciousness of the gay subject position, and the release of this film in 1988 may be seen as the first cinematic attempt to react to this new level of awareness. For this reason, it can be argued that the film says as much about Indonesian perceptions of the gay world as it does about the reality of life as a gay man in Jakarta. The movie has been criticized for its pessimism and negativity regarding the portrayal of gay life in Indonesia, the main character being imprisoned for murder in the final scene. This stands in contrast with more upbeat representations in the recent film, Arisan. However, despite a generally pessimistic ending, the film's portrayal of homosexuality is perhaps more complex, particularly with regard to how family, friends and even psychiatrists relate to the principal gay character. This article argues that rather than the lead character's homosexuality being the reason for his eventual demise, it is his perceived hypocrisy that leads to his ultimate incarceration.

This article focuses on the 2007 Indonesian film Coklat Stroberi and its accompanying novel and pop video. The novel by Christian Simamora was based on the film script. The song ‘Di sini untukmu’ was written especially for the film, in which the band Ungu made a cameo appearance, and the accompanying pop video features numerous scenes from it. While in recent years quite a number of Indonesian films have featured gay characters, this film is notable for the fact that it puts a gay relationship at the very centre of a romantic comedy, and is clearly aimed at a young (17–25) audience. Coklat Stroberi is undoubtedly trying to show same-sex relationships in a progressive light. Nonetheless, the representation of the characters and the film's final outcome highlight an ambivalent attitude towards homosexuality that is common in many Indonesian films. This article pays particular attention to those ambivalences and explores how our understanding of them is enhanced by analysing the transformation of the film into the genres of novel and pop video. Attention is also paid to an apparent mismatch in the filmic imagination of gay characters and the reality of gay lives as they are lived in Indonesia today.

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