English Corner
KAJIAN ?
A Film Studies Major
Speaks Out
Text & Photo by Fira Budiman
“I just happen to know things that you don’t know, but you know things that I don’t know.”
I feel like there has been a colossal sense of confusion created in place of what should be obvious
when it comes to the term ‘kajian’. It is a chasm,
made from too many inaccurate assumptions of
what these students actually do. To be fair, it is
not completely the fault of one party; ‘kajian’ kids
tend to be few and rare in number. The scarcity
over the years has led to unintended separation
and mysteriousness.
The only way to fully explain what we actually
do requires first a brief introduction as to what it
is. What is ‘Kajian’? A simple translation would
clear half the fog. ‘Kajian’, when translated into
English means ‘study’; being a film faculty major,
the subject would be more specifically be translated into ‘film studies’. Quite straightforward now,
Majalah AKSI | 69
isn’t it? In Directing, we direct; in Screen-writing,
we create scripts. Just as painless as that, in Film
Studies, we study film.
Though, it’s not the ‘film’ that common people
would refer to. We study film as a complex art
in itself, as an object and a subject. To put the
difference more clearly, perhaps there needs to be
a slight grammatical contrast. ‘film’ is the object
that majority of the public is familiar with. In this
sense, we are simply referring to the audiovisual product made for viewing. ‘Film’ on the other
hand (note the capital ‘F’) refers to film as a subject; its histories and theories, the study of things
beyond the visible objects on screen.
How, though? What? Or, why?
Why would a linguist study languages? Because
he realizes that there is so much more to a language than letters, symbols and sounds. From
history or philosophy, you can find the insight
and mind of a fundamental creation; that which
causes the change, the progress or regress, the rise
and fall of the world we live in; humanity. For
what do we create things? Who do we use the
knowledge we attain for? Who determines the
meaning or purpose of anything?
If man were the cause of change (changes in
tastes, trends, society, economy, science, etc), then
wouldn’t the product of man reflect the characteristics of man himself ? As film is a man-made
product, then wouldn’t film reflect man and
his community? Couldn’t we then use film as a
Edisi .1 | No.2 | Oktober 2013