Bomb the base in the bus: Public transport as intersections of a local popular culture in Padang, Indonesia
Most research into consumption and popular culture in Indonesia has been focussed on the middle and upper classes who have been characterised as opting for a consumption-based culture over traditional ways of life. However, this paper on popular culture in Padang, West Sumatra, demonstrates that con...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Routledge: Taylor and Francis Group
2008
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/29406 |
| _version_ | 1848752794575568896 |
|---|---|
| author | Jones, Tod |
| author_facet | Jones, Tod |
| author_sort | Jones, Tod |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Most research into consumption and popular culture in Indonesia has been focussed on the middle and upper classes who have been characterised as opting for a consumption-based culture over traditional ways of life. However, this paper on popular culture in Padang, West Sumatra, demonstrates that consumption is also an important element of working class Indonesians' lives. The angkutan (modified vans used for public transport) and bis kota (city buses) in Padang in the Indonesian province of West Sumatra are brightly decorated with pictures and items depicting local and global themes. They are also equipped with expensive entertainment systems, produced by an expanding global marketplace, that broadcast local, Indonesian and foreign music in a variety of genres. In this paper, I explore the different factors that shape visual and musical expression on local transport. After providing a description of this popular cultural formation, I identify two constructions as the most prominent organising sensibilities: a youth culture that celebrates modernity and the culture of an older generation that emphasises an ongoing relationship to tradition and nature. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:14:17Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-29406 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:14:17Z |
| publishDate | 2008 |
| publisher | Routledge: Taylor and Francis Group |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-294062019-02-19T04:27:29Z Bomb the base in the bus: Public transport as intersections of a local popular culture in Padang, Indonesia Jones, Tod Cultural Theory Media Studies Most research into consumption and popular culture in Indonesia has been focussed on the middle and upper classes who have been characterised as opting for a consumption-based culture over traditional ways of life. However, this paper on popular culture in Padang, West Sumatra, demonstrates that consumption is also an important element of working class Indonesians' lives. The angkutan (modified vans used for public transport) and bis kota (city buses) in Padang in the Indonesian province of West Sumatra are brightly decorated with pictures and items depicting local and global themes. They are also equipped with expensive entertainment systems, produced by an expanding global marketplace, that broadcast local, Indonesian and foreign music in a variety of genres. In this paper, I explore the different factors that shape visual and musical expression on local transport. After providing a description of this popular cultural formation, I identify two constructions as the most prominent organising sensibilities: a youth culture that celebrates modernity and the culture of an older generation that emphasises an ongoing relationship to tradition and nature. 2008 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/29406 10.1080/10304310701729910 Routledge: Taylor and Francis Group fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Cultural Theory Media Studies Jones, Tod Bomb the base in the bus: Public transport as intersections of a local popular culture in Padang, Indonesia |
| title | Bomb the base in the bus: Public transport as intersections of a local popular culture in Padang, Indonesia |
| title_full | Bomb the base in the bus: Public transport as intersections of a local popular culture in Padang, Indonesia |
| title_fullStr | Bomb the base in the bus: Public transport as intersections of a local popular culture in Padang, Indonesia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bomb the base in the bus: Public transport as intersections of a local popular culture in Padang, Indonesia |
| title_short | Bomb the base in the bus: Public transport as intersections of a local popular culture in Padang, Indonesia |
| title_sort | bomb the base in the bus: public transport as intersections of a local popular culture in padang, indonesia |
| topic | Cultural Theory Media Studies |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/29406 |