Songs and Films of the Betawi Comedian, Benyamin S, in the 1970s: A Popular Culture of the Poor

Abstract

A remarkable figure in Indonesian popular culture from the early 1970s to the mid-1990s was the Betawi singer and film comedian, Benyamin S . Benyamin S-Benyamin Sueb, also sometimes referred to as 'Bang Ben' (older brother Ben)-celebrated in his songs and films the lives of the Betawi poor, the Betawi being the ethnic group widely regarded as Jakarta's original inhabitants. In the 1970s, Benyamin S gained fame for his numerous songs and film roles. For his music career, he was known particularly for his adaptation of a traditional Betawi musical form, gambang kromong , into a modernized form, gambang A lengthier version of this chapter was published as an article in the journal Indonesia in April 2011. See David Hanan and Basoeki Koesasi, 'Betawi Moderen: Songs and Films of Benyamin S from Jakarta in the 1970s-Further Dimensions of Indonesian Popular Culture', Indonesia 91, 2011, 35-76. I am grateful to my friend and colleague, Basoeki Koesasi, for his advice regarding the original article. All translations of songs by Benyamin S and dialogue from his films were undertaken with assistance from Pak Koesasi. This chapter and the 2011 article are both based on a paper I first presented at a symposium on 'Performance and Mediatization', held at Leiden University in December 1998, organized by Ben Arps, to whom thanks are also due.