Probably The Only Indonesian Ever to Read "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh"

A guy whom I befriended with in goodreads recently sent me an online message. He noticed that I had just finished reading this novel by Michael Chabon, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. Apparently, this guy works in a local publishing company. He said that his company wants to translate said novel into Bahasa and subsequently publish it in this country. He also asked me whether I have time to read their translated draft and give comment.

Remembering how I keep breaking promises, even the ones I made myself for my own good, I simply refused. But I gave him a very different reason. I told this guy, that I can’t imagine this novel being published in Indonesia. Not because it dealt with certain issues like the Jewish mob organization or homosexuality among young men (hey, we’ve seen and read enough about them already!), but because it’s probably going to be “religion-sensitive” case.

You see, one of the novel’s supporting characters is an Arab guy who happens to be a quite flamboyant homosexual. I don’t care what Mahmoud Ahmadinedjad said, but different sexual preference is not race-exclusive. What I found most unsettling about this character that might wreak havoc and cause storm of protests among many Indonesians, is because this Arab gay guy’s name is Mohammed – quite similar with the name of Islam's highest prophet.

Even though I have to honestly admit, that if readers set the Arab gay guy issue aside, this novel may make a good read. It has romance (though more about confused love interests between male-male-female), a little bit of action (a chasing scene involving a police helicopter), talks about the search for personal identity and coming-of-age, intimate feelings (losing the one you loved most), and tragic death. To make it short, a complete novel.

Somehow, I found it quite a relief that probably, I’m the only Indonesian who ever read this novel.

Images were taken from various sources, depicting scenes in the movie adaptation of "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh".

The Mysteries, Has Yet To Be Exposed

"Men who sleep with men are just big cowards."


That’s what Phlox Lombardi said to Arthur Bechstein, while leaving Arthur Bellwether and his date for that night, a young skinny guy, at their table.

If it’s not because of the party proposal I should submit by tomorrow, I’d spent these nights devouring the many pages of this intriguing novel.

Menikmati Secangkir Teh Prancis

“I can’t understand any French movies. Probably, they’re just not my cup of tea ...”


Sahabatku Bradley pernah bersumpah bahwa dia tak akan pernah lagi mau membuang waktunya untuk menonton film Prancis manapun. Aku tak tahu apakah Francophone movies termasuk dalam kategori sumpahnya itu, yang jelas sepanjang pengetahuanku sejak dia mengucap sumpah itu usai menonton salah satu film produksi Prancis dalam ajang Festival Sinema Prancis tiga tahun silam, tak pernah sekalipun dia menonton lagi film dari negara mode itu.

Sumpah Bradley terujar bukan karena kala itu dia dipaksa – dan setengah diseret menuju bioskop – oleh salah satu teman dekatnya yang kebetulan juga kukenal untuk menemaninya menonton, tapi lebih karena menurutnya menonton film Prancis merupakan pengalaman traumatis yang menyiksa. Dia tak bisa mengerti dimana bagusnya film Prancis manapun yang pernah dia lihat, dan dia tidak terlalu terkesan dengan kenyataan betapa mudahnya aktor-aktris Prancis tampil polos tanpa malu seperti bayi baru dilahirkan di layar lebar untuk dipelototi dan dikonsumsi dengan rakus oleh mata para penonton. Padahal bagiku dulu waktu baru mulai memasuki usia puber, justru inilah alasan satu-satunya aku bertahan dan membetahkan diri menonton TV5 Monde.

Pada masa-masa awal ketika aku tahu tentang sumpah Bradley ini, entah mengapa aku berusaha membuat Bradley mengubah pikirannya. Alasanku waktu itu, it’s going to be his loss kalau menolak menonton film-film yang bagus dan bermutu dari negara moyangnya sinema dunia itu. Ketika dia bertanya balik setengah mendesak, apakah aku bisa menyebutkan film Prancis apa yang telah dia lewatkan sehingga akan membuat dia menyesali keputusannya itu, giliran aku yang terdiam.

Aku nyaris menyebut “Léon The Professional”, lalu aku teringat bahwa Jean Reno memang aktor Prancis dan Luc Besson adalah sutradara kondang Prancis, tapi film itu diproduksi oleh Sony Pictures dan juga dibintangi oleh Natalie Portman dan Gary Oldman yang notabene berstempel “Made in Hollywood”. So it is not a pure French movie, in a ‘traditional’ sense. (By the way while I’m still on this subject, can someone tell me why oh why Monsieur Reno agreed to act in such a stupid monster movie, “Godzilla”?)

Ada “Belphegor La Phantom de Louvre”, tapi film itu standar horor a la Hollywood, ga bisa juga disebut bagus. Yang lebih buruk lagi adalah film komedi slapstick “Taxi” dan semua sekuelnya yang garing bin boring itu. Sedangkan menonton film kelas festival semacam “Baise Moi” terasa lebih seperti menonton orgy of sex (obviously!) and violence, dan “Irreversible” malah membuatku sempat beberapa kali memalingkan wajah karena ngeri saat adegan-adegan kekerasan yang (bagiku) tampak sangat nyata dan vulgar dijembreng di depan mata (adegan pemerkosaan di underground tunnel itu membuat aku mual-mual seharian).

Ada juga ”Bleu”, yang diikuti oleh sekuelnya ”Bialy” dan ”Rouge”, tapi aku belum menontonnya, jadi ga bisa juga kupakai judul-judul itu sebagai argument untuk meyakinkan Bradley mengubah pikirannya. Dari hasilku meng-googling sembari menulis this ramblings, ada beberapa judul film yang disutradarai Francois Truffaut dan Jean Luc Goddard yang sepertinya pantas disebut, tapi kasusnya sama seperti trilogi tiga warnanya Krzystof Kieslowski (yes, I have to google in order to spell his name correctly), aku ga pernah menontonnya.

Sekian tahun kemudian, ada satu film Prancis yang ketika kusaksikan di salah satu bioskop di daerah Jakarta Pusat, masih dalam ajang Festival Sinema Prancis, nyaris bikin aku tersedak kaget – dan bagi beberapa penonton perempuan membuat mereka tertawa terkikik-kikik serta penonton laki-laki mendadak gelisah dan tak nyaman – karena memperlihatkan adegan di mana sepasang pria homoseksual sedang bercinta. Ya, betul. Dalam keadaan telanjang bugil bulat. And you can see some very visibly hard cocks (I was about to say, erected penises, but opted for a less formal term instead) on the big screen. Tapi film yang tak akan kusebutkan di sini judulnya, menurut hematku bukanlah film yang bagus-bagus amat, karena plotnya yang sangat tipikal: homosexual charater(s) are doomed to meet horrible death or ugly fate in the end of the movie. Euch!

Masih dari ajang yang sama, meskipun beda tahun pelaksanaan, aku sempat menonton “Cache” dan “L’enfant” serta “La Marche de l’empereur”. Tapi dua judul pertama membuat aku menyesal membuang waktu masing-masing lebih dari dua jam untuk menontonnya, karena kembali menurut hematku pribadi, kedua judul ini ga ada bagus-bagusnya !
“Cache” berakhir dengan kebingungan dan tanda tanya besar yang sangat menyebalkan dan mengganggu (daripada jadi spoiler dengan membeberkan akhir ceritanya di sini jadi sengaja tidak diungkap), sedangkan “L’enfant” – yang sebenarnya adalah film Belgia tapi karena mereka juga bertutur dalam bahasa Prancis jadi bisalah dimasukkan dalam pembahasan kali ini – membuatku pengen melompat dari kursi dan memukuli si aktor utama saking kesalnya (I even posted a specific blog entry for this ugly feature). Sedangkan judul ketiga yang kusebutkan, adalah film documenter yang lucu dan mengharukan, rasa-rasanya malah jadi ineligible to ‘compete’ dalam kategori yang sama dengan judul-judul lainnya yang sudah kusebutkan di muka.

Dan di sinilah aku mulai kehabisan ‘amunisi’ untuk mendebat Bradley dan meminta dia mengubah pikiran serta untuk menarik / membatalkan sumpah anti-film Prancisnya. Secara film Prancis terakhir yang kutonton, “De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté”, sama sekali tidak bisa membantuku berargumentasi positif, karena aku sendiri merasa tersiksa waktu menonton film tentang perselingkuhan ini. Ugh!

Akhirnya apabila kamu yang membaca tulisan ini bertanya, what is my standpoint now on the issue of watching French movies after all those experiences, well, sadly to say, aku jadi cenderung mengikuti dan mengamini sumpah Bradley (walau tidak sampai bibir ini mengucap seperti yang ia lakukan beberapa tahun lalu).
Meskipun tentu saja, dalam beberapa kondisi khusus dan untuk beberapa judul aku mencoba membuat perkecualian, misalnya untuk film animasi hitam putih “Renaissance” yang lumayan mendebarkan, film musikal "Les choristes" yang lumayan menyentuh, the feel good romantic comedy "Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain", serta biopic “La Môme” yang membuat mata ini berkaca-kaca karena terharu (and yes, I do believe Marianne Cotillard deserved her Oscar).

Kita lihat saja apakah dalam waktu dekat aku kembali akan membuat perkecualian lainnya (termasuk untuk other Francophone titles), yang dalam istilah Bradley, “Now that’s what I call my cup of tea”.

A Good Reason to Support Same-Sex Marriage

Quite a smart way in communicating a gay rights movement's message, indeed.

Orange Suede Shoes

I once read from a fashion magazine that a man is measured by the shoes he’s wearing.

What if that guy is wearing orange suede shoes with synthetic leather-like brownish sidelines and interlacing red and green stripes on the soles?

“Simply gay,” said William, while supporting a big grin on his oval plumpy face.

Being a gay guy himself, whatever judgement William made, we as his friends need to listen. Though this time I don’t think I’d listen and ‘obey’ his suggestion. Because it was me who wore the shoes described above in our monthly get-together. They were gift. And everyone knows how much I love getting gifts. Haha!

*image above is just an illustration to the article

Reminiscing "Janji Joni"

It was when I saw cameo appearances of Tora Sudiro and Winky Wiryawan in Janji Joni back in a couple of months ago that gave me the beginning idea of this writing. To me, both of them looked pretty much convincing as ideal poster-gay-couple: fashionable gorgeous looking hunks whom seemed completely falling into each other.

The audiences laughed very hard when Laki-Laki Urinoar 2 bit his fingernails in such a cute way while asking Laki-Laki Urinoir 1 with a particular look on his face, "Did you already find the one you really love?" (or a question similar to that, I kind of forgot).

And that was when suddenly Diane, while holding my upper arms whispered, "Hey, it's just like what Freddy did to you yesterday, don't you think?", then she laughed in such a way that made me blushed.

Thank God it's dark inside the theater; otherwise she could see my reddened face.

I think it was the awkward situation inside the men’s room, or maybe Winky's facial expression when he looked at Tora that reminded Diane about that particular scene the other day.

It was Freddy's 29th birthday, he of a nice funny good-looking guy who I kind of suspected of liking me. He didn’t plan any party or celebration, but I still went to his place, accompanied by Diane, to congratulate him and wish him everything nice will happen to him. He’s the kind of guy who already has everything a man’s need (and what I mean by that is credit cards, cellular phones, a car and an establishment not necessarily have to be a house), so I didn’t bring him any present. Or in other word, my practical mind told me that all I have got to do was presenting me in front of him.
Because he kind of likes me, right?

When he showed up at the front door, Diane did just like what any other girl does to her friends while congratulating them on something: hugging and kissing them lightly on both cheeks.

After that, it was my turn.
Freddy still spreading his arms widely, just like a teddy bear waiting for a big hug.
I thought, "Oh, okay, it's not a problem, just make him feel special for today."

So I went to hug him and kissed him lightly on both cheeks, and he went on as far as squeezed me closely and lightly and said, "Thank you, dear."
If you could see Freddy's sparkling eyes that moment, I believe you will think the same way as I did that time, that he seemed to enjoy hugging me much.

As I turned around to see who stood behind him, I saw that Laetitia, Freddy's closest best-friend who happened to be there standing within arms reach from us while we were making that scene, looking at us with such a surprise look upon her face.
I remember her jaw hung open in amazement.
Maybe she couldn't (or refused to?) believe what she just saw.
And when I turned around to face Diane, she did support the same mimic on her face.

Freddy started blushing and giggling nervously, and knowing that I should *neutralized* that situation, my only response to Diane - and Laetitia - was like, "What?! Is there anything wrong? Don't tell me you girls never see two guys hugging each other before?", and then I started to walk away from the door.

Felt a bit embarrassed with my emotionally-panicked response to Diane and Laetitia, but never regretted the hug and kisses I gave him.
I know Fred likes me, based on his gestures all this time.
And somehow I do as well, though in inexact same sense.

I believe there is nothing wrong in making someone who likes you feels happy and joyful, even though what you do is only to give hugs and kisses.
Spread the love and make others happy, is there anything wrong in doing so?

No one ever mentioned Freddy’s birthday-wishing scene again until today (with the exception of me with this writing!), but every time I see Janji Joni poster and related items from the movie I’d smile to myself and thought, "Boy, what a scene you and Fred caused back then!"



< Reminiscing “Janji Joni” was originally posted online under the title of "Janji Joni" and What It Would Forever Reminds Me of ... on June 22, 2005 >