Laughing Together Without Stigmatization

KOMPAS/ALOYSIUS BUDI KURNIAWAN

Comedians take to an outdoors stage on Friday (23/11/2018) during the Forest Stand Up 2018 at the Mangunan Pine Forest in Dlingo, Bantul, Yogyakarta. The show, themed “United Through Laugher in Diversity”, featured up to 60 national stand-up comedians.

Public sensitivity can be strong in cyberspace. Some public figures, including stand-up comedians, have been lambasted for their jokes. However, in Bantul’s Mangunan pine forest, all can laugh without lambasting, let alone stigmatizing, anyone.

In accordance with the agreed-upon “rules” as in previous years, around 2,000 stand-up comedians and their fans are not allowed to record or upload the comedians’ shows. With this shared commitment, the comedians can be more relaxed in performing and the audience is freed from social media conversations that often only lead to misunderstandings.

Based on this understanding, the Forest Stand-Up 2018 was held under the theme “United Through Laughter in Diversity” in reflection of the shared awareness that shared laughter can unite all differences. The event involved more than 60 national stand-up comedians and was held on Nov. 23-25 in the Mangunan pine forest in Dlingo, Bantul, Yogyakarta.

“Why is everyone so sensitive on social media these days? It’s just awful. You need to realize that social media is artificial. Everything is made-up. People should only upload positive and unimportant things. The solution is simple: just put spam, ad promos and curse words as keywords in the comments control and you won’t see [such] things,” said Jakarta-based comedian and filmmaker Ernest Prakasa.

Ernest continued to list the words he had eliminated from his social media feeds through this feature, including provocative political hashtags, ads on bleach and the so-called secret benefits of fruit X. “If it’s such a secret, why upload it to WhatsApp?” Ernest said, to the audience’s laughter.

Tolerance

Ernest said he was grateful that comedians were discussing tolerance at the Forest Stand-Up 2018. Ever since he started his career as a professional comedian, Ernest said that he had never shied away from talking about his experiences of being discriminated as a Chinese-Indonesian.

“I was endlessly bullied as a boy, but it’s okay. It’s from these experiences that I can earn my living nowadays,” he said.

Bogor-based comedian Jui Purwoto said he regretted that Indonesians had grown too sensitive today. People can too easily become angry and many were reluctant to stand united with others. “My neighbors got into a fight because of the Jakarta gubernatorial election. Are they registered voters [in Jakarta]? No. Have they ever visited [the National Monument]? No,” he joked.

Comedian Boris Bokir, a contestant in the 2012 season of Kompas TV’s Stand-Up Comedy Indonesia, also shared his unique experience of living in a religiously diverse community in Bandung. Although  a Christian, Boris often joined his classmates in the Islamic class.

“I was the only Christian in the room. After skipping two classes, I felt bored and lonely so I decided to join the Islamic class. My house is near a mosque so we know by heart the words of the azan [Islamic call to prayer] as we hear it all the time. It’s not a problem,” he said.

Comedian Priska Baru Segu also talked about tolerance. “Once, I worked in a hijab store. When new products arrived, I tried on everything. Just like that, the store became known as a hub of tolerance. My friends said, ‘Priska, you are so awesome. You are a Catholic working in a hijab store’,” she said.

The audience gave a warm and enthusiastic response to the comedians’ performances. There were no hurt feelings or obscene words as everyone shared the awareness of being united in joy and laughter.

Relaxation

The Mangunan pine forest is a highly suitable venue for the stand-up comedy show. On the one hand, the fans were entertained by a parade of dozens of comics. On the other, they could enjoy a relaxing time away from the hustle and bustle of daily life by camping in the pine forest, untouched by cellular signals

Mangunan has developed as a major tourist destination in Bantul, highly popular among domestic and foreign travelers due to its natural and photogenic charms. During the three-day comedy event, the local economy boomed. Food stalls, which were usually only packed at lunchtime, were busy all day long.

Around 2,000 camped at the forest. The comedians mingled with their fans in the camp, boosting the atmosphere of togetherness. Visitors could also stay at local homes in and around Mangunan.

Forest Stand-Up 2018 initiator Anang Batas said that the event saw a growingw number of visitors every year. The Mountain Stand-Up 2016, the event’s predecessor, attracted around 400 participants. The following year, the Mountain Stand-Up 2017 attracted 1,300 people to the Wonogondang camping ground where it was held in Cangkringan, Sleman, Yogyakarta. This year, the comedy event attracted 2,000 people.