Analysis of the Play The Struggle of the Naga Tribe By W. S. Rendra - Essay Example

Analysis of the Play ‘The Struggle of the Naga Tribe’ By W. S. Rendra Introduction of the Play:W. S. Rendra is a very famous play writer and a performer belonging to Indonesia. The Struggle of the Naga Tribe is one of his most popular play write. In 1975, Rendra wrote the play ‘The Struggle of the Naga Tribe’, which tells us the story the Naga Tribe. The story revolves around the struggle of Naga tribe who strongly oppose the revolution of industrialization and modernization in their culture. Rendra shows that the some foreign forces are trying to implement this change of culture in the Naga Tribe. Actually, the tribal people want to save or one can say protect their culture, which is going to be ruled over by the external forces they named as ‘the foreign-based’ transnational companies. The Naga tribal area is enriched by the terrestrial land and they do not want to ruin the land by changing into a modern and industrial place. One can conclude that the play actually portrays the war between the agriculture and the industry. The tribal people want to save their land in any case from the foreign forces. The play grabbed the audiences’ attention just because of its powerful script and the strong performances. The transition from agriculture to the modern industry is the cruel reality of the society. This play highlights the meeting between the cultural experiences and social reality of life. Some people are also of the opinion that this play is actually a kind of critique on the socio-economic conditions of the country of Indonesia. True Representation of Asia through the Play (Justification and Detail): It is a fact that the writer, Rendra, has tried to match the social and the economic conditions of Indonesia and then portray it in the form of Wayang. Wayang is a foreign word and it means the theatrical performance or, one may say, use of puppets in order to convey any message to the particular audience (Rahman 2). The writer wants to show the clear cleavage and the differences between the people who are supporting industrial wave and the others who are supporting agricultural wave. On the other hand, the play also point out the differences between the eastern and the western cultures. A particular scene in the play shows the two characters of Chinese and the Japanese ambassador, depicting the differences in their thought patterns and the respective cultures. Rendra is of the opinion that the Asian culture is likely to be ruled over by the western cultures just because of the reason that they are not willing to go for transition from agriculture to the industrial revolution. According to Rendra, the nations in the Asian countries are not unified on the transition of the cultures and the socio-economic conditions. For this reason, future may witness the lack of change in some Asian countries. Though Chinese and Japanese are Asian nations but they are having a different ideology, therefore, they have adopted the industrial revolution. Rendra portrays in his play that the Asian cultures are highly hierarchal and power focused; for this reason, they are not unified on any single point. Many of the dialogues in The Struggle of Naga Tribe show the crucial nature of the issue (Lane 1). Some sections of the play show that the Tribal people are strongly opposing the capitalism in their country and therefore, it also show their emotions and their sincerity towards their cultures. Rendra clarify the link or the relationship between the technology development and the capitalism. He is of the opinion that technology is the basic tool or the building block for the transition towards capitalism. According to Rendra, the process starts with the industry development and then shifts towards the commercialism and the final stage may appear as the emergence of capitalism in the society (Lane 1). In this way, the whole scenario may change and the Tribal people were not ready to accept this transition, as the novel represented. In other words, we can say that the whole story revolves around the differences between the capitalism and the socialism, industry and the agriculture, good or bad, evil and angel. Different nations have their own thought patterns and thus they do not want to change it. Some nations like china and Japan have developed their ideologies and thus the cultures; but contrary to them, many others are not willing to do (Lane 1). Rendra actually clarifies both sides of the situation or we can say that he portrays both sides of the picture and then compel audience to analyze it and decide on their own perception. Being a sensitive artist, Rendra just highlights the important and the critical issues of the society and now it is upon the people that how they perceive it. Rendra has tried to show every possible reality of the situation of the Naga in his play. According to Rendra, every nation has its own cultural and inherent values that are the actual base of his thought pattern. These inherent values actually show a humane approach towards different situations. The only requirement from the audience is to examine and then analyze accordingly. Another highlight of the play lies in the demonstration of the linkage between the politics and the economy of the country. It is a matter of fact that if any group is controlling the economy of the country then it means that actually it is also controlling the developmental process of the country, and to control the economic resources and developmental control means the control of the state or the area. The tribal people are of the opinion that if the external modern forces may come and start ruling over their economic resources then the entire developmental process of the country will depend upon them. If any group from foreign areas is trying to change the social and the economic conditions i.e. by transition from agriculture to industrial economy, then it truly means that they are changing the basic economic resources. The change of economic resources will definitely cause a change in the developmental process of the tribal people. These tribal people are scared of that change, and thus, want to put barrier against it. According to the writer, these tribal people are not willing to adopt modern and industrial transition. Conclusion: In short, we can say that Rendra is not a political personality rather he is a sensitive artist and a sensitive part of the society. Therefore, he just feels the emotions and the injustice towards the nations and tries to show his emotions in the form of a play write. Rendra cannot offer any solution to the situation but he can portray the situation because of the importance of the issue. It is the duty of an artist or a writer that he analyzes social behaviors and then highlights them in his writings. Rendra truly deserves appreciation on this art piece in the form of ‘The Struggle of the Naga Tribe’. The Struggle of the Naga Tribe shows the true picture of the economic conditions of the country Indonesia. The unwillingness of accepting the modernization is also evident in the people of Indonesia, which is very much clear from the story of the play. However, we cannot generalize that all the eastern cultures are over protective towards their values; rather, some of the nations are willing to transform their traditions towards modernization. These nations are actually willing rather they are also adopting newer technologies and advancements in other fields. Works Cited Rahman, Azly, ‘Rereading W.S. Rendra’s The Struggle of the Naga Tribe’, Between Cybernetics and Existentialism, (August 6, 2009), Web Access October 23, 2014 Lane, Max, ‘Play Review: The Struggle of the Naga Tribe’, The Journal of Asian Studies, Volume 40, Issue 2, Number 3, (February 23, 2001), page 428 – 430 Read More