Oohh-Ahhh OOOH-AHH, Empat Mata

I have been trying to make myself watch more TV. I usually enjoy the ads more than the actual shows because I either can’t understand much of the meaning or I can’t get over the slapstick yelling comedy and soap operas. I have found a few shows I like to watch though. I will only be able to approximate their names as I can’t really remember them.

My favorite show of all (Indonesian) time, Is Surat Sahabat. Something like “Letters from a Friend.” It is geared towards a young audience and shows the lives of children all around Indonesia. I love it because it is so low-key and the children and their friends don’t mug for the camera. They help their parents look for snails to eat or kill chickens. They go to school in their tiny school rooms. One of the last shows I watched showed some kids, I think in Kalimantan, who were really jazzed because they got to buy a big blackboard for their school room; before they had one that was about 2 by 2 feet. This show is on in the afternoon when I go to the gym, and I get to watch it on the exercise bike.

Another show I like is called something like “Ten Times!” It has people pretend to “beg” for money in exchange for not undisireable products they are selling. When someone finally takes pity on them and gives them some money (usually about 2-5 dollars, a big chunk for a lot of people here), an announcer’s voice comes in (not unlike the voice of God) and praises them for being generous. Then the “beggar” comes back with a tv personality and they give the person 10 times the money they have just offered the beggar, plus their original money back. The givers are usually very joyful. The money is at most $50 but it means a lot to the people, as that could be someone’s entire month’s salary.

Empat Mata—Four Eyes
A “late night” comedy show akin to David Letterman, or at least a distant, distant cousin. He is apparently popular because he is humble and appeals to the “common” man. There is lots of slapstick humor and there are lots of silly jokes but I like it because four eyes doesn’t yell at or patronize his audience. He does have a catch phrase “oooh ahhh, ooohh-ahhhhh.” He also does lots of ads for virility pills for men.


My favorite ad is really relevant to the social climate in Indonesia. There is a young man at a wedding as a guest and everyone keeps asking him “Kapan kawin?” or “When will you get married?” He finally says “May.” And an auntie says “Oh! The month of May!” He looks sly and says, “May-be Maybe not.”

One of the younger guys at my school is getting married this summer and wanted to know when I am getting married. I told him sometime in the next 10 years. He found that remarkable. I find it remarkable when Indonesians can have a specific time period that they plan to get married, without a boyfriend/girlfriend in sight. I am sure they must find it remarkable that I could continue to go on for so long “alone.”I would be scared of marrying the wrong person. And they might be scared of not getting married at all if they’ve past their prime.

I just saw an ad for cigarettes, where this Indonesian guy “grows” dreads and starts playing music. The tag line is “Djarum, think black.” I don’t think that would go over too well in the US.

Oh and by the way, the only ads that are mildly funny (by my high standards) are for Mc Donalds and cigarette companies. Great.