Time's Up

So I've watched Moana.

And I really loved it.

I adored how she's so tough and independent, how she's not a crybaby about being forbidden to follow her dream -well Disney Princesses won't easily get what they want, eh?- and how she finally break the rules anyway -yes, it's not a Disney Princess if they're not being a rebel. And her adventure is a badass one. Wandering the ocean all by herself when she doesn't even know how to sail? That's sick! In short:

"Moana is flawless. But remember, the ocean's got its dark side too."

Hm. Sounds like a contrast summary to something I clearly said I was so in love with, don't you think? Well, no, it's not about the film. The film's good, too good, if I may say.

It's about something else.

Vicky Amin presents

I used to take Disney Princesses for granted. I mean, I adored each and every single of them, but that's all, nothing special. It's not until my high school years when I realized that this franchise is more than just featuring ladies with their beauty and moral of story—there's also history in it, sense of timeline, science facts, legends, and -here's what I like the most- nationality. And ever since I realized about this, I've always hoped that there'll be at least one coming from Indonesia.

I know, I know, we got China with Mulan, and Arabic with Jasmine—Asia's pretty much represented already. Plus, Japan and India haven't got their spots and I think they are more likely to be featured if there'll ever be more Princesses from Asia. So, if Indonesia can make it, I think it will happen like, in 20 years?

Then Moana came.

With her ocean spirit and maritime way of living, with her voyager ancestors and sea myths and mother nature—oh Lord, I swear, it was an indigenous Indonesian woman and culture that I saw.

Of course, Polynesia shares culture with us. We're just separated with the ocean, and our old men used to sail a lot so, it's no wonder that they look just like our people from eastern Indonesia.

But it's just too similar. Their physical appearance, their outfit, their houses, their boats, their value about coconut which all elements can be benefited—OMG IT'S WHAT I'VE ALWAYS LEARNED IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Along the film all I did was gasping and whispering to myself, oh my God it is obviously Indonesia! or oh my God, it is what my people do! and in the end, I was just sitting there in silent, stressed, because that was it for my country to step up.

They will never create something so similar just to feature some new Princess from Indonesia. They will never use the ocean's approach again for their next Princesses, and guess what, ocean is Indonesia's best asset...

Well actually, if I should see things from the positive side, there's not even once in the film that they clearly stated where this Moana universe took place. So we Indonesians can actually claim that this one will be ours.

But let's not be shallow here. We all know that this lady is more like Hawaiian than Moluccan. And we know that the combination of ocean and lava is identically related to Hawaii.

So no matter how persistent and stubborn I want to be,

I know that I won't win it. Time's up for Indonesia.

However.

We also know that Indonesia possesses more culture than any other nations in this world. We know that ocean is the best asset, yes, but there are others we can highlight.

I think I'm just being too much here.

We can still make it into the Princess lineup.

So it's time, Indonesia.

To show the world what else we got

As for slacking off and goofing around,

Time's up