The surreal world of soap operas in Indonesia, where the more unbelievable it is the better

Over-the-top acting with evil stepmothers and women who sleep in full make-up. Tragic scenes played out in slow motion and loud, dramatic background music. Welcome to the weird world of Indonesian soap operas.

Sinetron – as they are called in Indonesian – are the highest rated and longest running shows in the country. That is not unusual, considering the popularity of soap operas such as Eastenders in Britain or Neighbours in Australia. But Western and Indonesian soap operas are alike as football and ice hockey – both are sports, but entirely different games.

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In one of the southeast Asian nation’s most popular soap operas, Nadin, produced by sinetron mogul Ramm Punjabi and aired on the ANTV network, the plot might be considered downright absurd. Set in modern times, one recent storyline begins with the young Ihsan entering a forest with his father. They encounter a snake – except that it’s a man called Manu who has mysteriously shape-shifted. Manu is engaged in a fight with Chandra, an evil sorcerer. Ishan’s father tries to protect Manu but gets killed, while Ihsan is badly hurt. Two other snakes also die in the clash, after which they transform back into human form as the parents of the titular female character. Still with us?

A foreign producer would probably be left agog witnessing the results of the post-production process. One trademark camera trick is a rapid zooming in and out on a character’s face to stress a dramatic reaction – in case over-acting didn’t get the message across.

“More is more” sums up the approach to background music. To emphasise humour, production editors turn to Tom and Jerry cartoons for inspiration – using sound clips of bells and whistles. Ominous organ music adds ambience to a dramatic scene, while a cheesy piano ballad is a must when a character is sobbing.

Critics claim sinetron portray an unrealistic view of the world. The main actors are almost always young and attractive. If there’s an unattractive actor in a sinetron, they’re usually playing the part of the token comedic character – the fat friend, or the ugly aunt.