In Search of “Unity in Diversity”: The Image of Women in New Order Indonesia

Abstract

This paper analyzes the conflict between the aims and desires of the New Order regime and the actual course that social change took in Indonesia. Through the analysis, it attempts to answer what “Unity in Diversity”, the national motto means in practice under the government. To the aim, this paper first examines the efficacy of films as historical evidence. Secondly, it reviews several films released in New Order Indonesia by the 1980's and observes a multiplicity of images of women reflected in films. Thirdly, this paper analyzes New Order regime's image of women and interprets the reasons why the government ignored social changes reflected in films. Based upon the examinations, it concludes that “Unity” was the creation of a shared civic culture seen as an essential component of the modernization and development process. “Diversity” was the tolerance of the varied traditional cultures of the new nation in New Order Indonesia.