Why You Should (not) Give McDonalds to Your Grandma on Her Birthday
This isn’t a fiction writing eventhough the title supposed to be. This writing is my response to a presenter from history of food/gastronomy seminar I attended in my Campus, University of Indonesia. I do apologize for forgetting his name and date he was presenting but here we goes
I rethink this question which (I do not know if spontanious/not) from the presenter wheter is it accepteble for him to give his grandmother Mc Donalds on her birthday. Well as an Indonesian I would give some of my opinion toward this:
I wonder if the presenter have knew that in Indonesia family celebrate their children birthday on a fastfood restaurant so I was confused why giving McDonald to your grandparents in their birthday counted as unpolite one.
Several things need to be examined by comparing living in Europe and Indonesia as a developed countries. To be frank, the mind and cultures are diffrent. As historian, my lecturer said we are constructed to analizing social phenomena trough times or thinking diachronic. So here my opinion to response that question:
Making periodization in order to make historian easier to comparing one era to another by leadership as a common practice by Indonesianist/historian. They are usually dividing period by four stages (1). Revolution/Liberal Democratic era and (2). Old Orde by leadership of Soekarno, (3).New Order Era by Soeharto and (4). Reformation Transistion Era by Habibie, Gus Dur and Megawati and followed by Reformation Neoliberal Era during Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and current president Jokowi. The two lastest periodization I mention was categorized by my self (probably several social scientist/Indonesianis has done before but I haven’t read it). Those eras should be compared to see how Indonesian thinking their selves as a nation, to find what is their natural culture and how to act in globalized era.
Every leadership has their slogan on ‘making Indonesian’ Soekarno would said ‘revolution’ as a glue to uniting people to the nation, and Soeharto use ‘Development’ as a slogan under his period. Slogan works and legitimate Soekarno for getting closer to the leftiest and communist states, buliding mega-projects during poor economy, those slogan also legitimate Soeharto for purge every groups/person whom threatening the necessity of stability for developing economy and politics as well shaping culture and nationality to the people.
And what kind of slogan used for reformation neoliberal Era? that probably Economic Growth. Because after stabilization of politics and economic recover after the decline in 1998, Indonesia as a state hard to take off a barometer for sucesessfull democratization country. Economic grows has become a goals that this country about to dream. And this economic grows adjusted by purchasing power parity. Consuming has been the side effect (or a goals?) and to calculate prosperity for the peoples. Both SBY and Jokowi era are pushing so hard to reach the growth. The evidence of this forced of consuming under SBY era can be clearly seen by spreading of Indomaret/Alfamart minimarket in almost every kecamatan/sub-district.
Jokowi as a president put a target and it has been plugged into us: Indonesian economic growth should reach 5,3. Lately, when the ‘puschase power’ or consuming number declining slightly, markets were flagging. Look how this country tries to denied the declining in order to make the investor/multinational companies believe that their markets were okay with this news: https://www.pressreader.com/indonesia/the-jakarta-post/20170726/281973197720288).
Then what is corelation between that question of Mcdonalds and slogan of Indonesian leader?
That economic growth created a new layer of middleclass and urban city. Middle class has created their culture. During the periods and years, expansed of multinational company and eager to be ‘modern and civilized’ people in developing/post-colonial country. This middle class and current economy created their culture of consuming which complicated to be understood for common Indonesanist which European centrist (for my Indonesianist spouse for example).
Some history that happened in Europe jumped in post-colonial/developing country like Indonesia. The growth of middleclass totaly were not the borgues class which arised. Meanwhile borgue class has their own conciousness of liberalization mind and economy, this middleclass Indonesian created by feudal birocrat and blue collar workers. All their desire is to reproduce their class and having birocrat jobs with steady income (look Gerry van Klinken-In the Search of Middle Indonesian chapter Young People dream in Pontianak).
But still, desire to upgrading the class still lay inside these people mind but how to create it? how to be an upper class whom live in a metropolitan country? Ariel Heryanto in Identitas dan Kenikmatan explainded how consuming has become a tools to ‘reach’ the upper class, desire of become a globalized nation by watching television and international pop culture. Indonesian tries to process the symbol which appeared in medias: how to be a person from modern/developed country by seeing televison: what we’ve seen? brand.
Here the McDonald stands for a brand of modern/globalized people. Yet we knew that McDonalds has become an symbol for both capitalism and globalization. But what if a common middleclass seen it? it is a status symbol to be globalized, things that we almost forgot: the money rate also occurs comparing to developed-developing countries. Because of the money rate for instance,Mc Donalds present as a cheap-fast food foods in European-Australian-American countries while here in Indonesia it become an expensive meals which only eaten by the uper-middleclass and by consuming Mc Donalds, you rising the status as middleclass: modern and also globalized.
That explained why celebrities in Indonesia celebrating their children birthday in Mc Donalds because it yet expensive and valuable. It could upgrading their social status, because consuming is an instant way to upgrading class despite struggling for revolution on economic system which has been rooted since previous Indonesian leaders.
