During the time of its release in Indonesia, Laskar Pelangi competed with many Indonesian films that focused more on young romance, horror, actions, wrapped in a Westernized-like settings. The movie caught many attentions because it reflected perfectly what has been going on in Indonesia if people take a look outside of the capital cities. The movie pulls people back from their escape into glamorous life of imported cars, overpriced designer bags, and the joys of night life offered by the mainstream Indonesian movies and offers the audience to face the reality that the country has been neglecting so far.
Laskar Pelangi has gained many popularity both domestically and internationally. According to Andrea Hirata’s official website, some of the example of the awards are
Best Film, Bandung Film Festival, 2009
Best Film, Indonesian Film Festival, 2009
Nomination for Best Film and Best Editor, Asian Film Awards, 2009
SIGNIS Award, Hong Kong International Film Festival, 2009
Golden Butterfly Award, 23rd International Children & Young Adults Film Festival, Iran, 2009
3rd Place Audience Award, 11th Udine Far East International Film Festival, Italy, 2009
With the fame and popularity gained by both novel and film, Laskar Pelangi also brought strong influence towards the better use of education and society. In Indonesia, many social organizations started to look into the deeper part of the rural society and start volunteering to build a free-tuition school to make sure that the young people there receive a proper education regardless of where they live. The most notable influence that the movie has made was the “Yayasan Laskar Pelangi Nusantara“ (Eng: Rainbow Troops Foundation). The Rainbow Troops Foundation was first established in 2008, around the same time that Laskar Pelangi movie was released. The foundation at first focuses mainly on building schools with free tuition for people who cannot afford for their children’s education. Over the past years however, the foundation has developed its goals on not only to improve the education in rural areas but also to encourage the people in those community to ameliorate their social system. As an example, the foundation has helped the community with free health treatment and support the people to raise their children even though they also struggles with poverty.
As we can see, media can play a big part in a country’s improvement, especially the more popular it becomes, the bigger impact it will have in the society and its people. Based on Laskar Pelangi, its impact has made many non-governmental organizations to take actions to make a better education for the country along with its society.
References:
Andrea Hirata Official Website. (2013). Retrieved from: http://andrea-hirata.com/
Rainbow Troops Foundation. (2013). Retrieved from: http://laskarpelangi.co.id/
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