'Lost in Papua': The Myth of Women cannibals in Eastern Indonesia

Entered as a primitive vocabulary of anthropology since the eighteenth century. The term is used to describe the isolated tribes. In 1933, Hollywood made the film 'Gameloft' after the film makers venturing into Sumatra and found a species of orangutan.While films about primitive Amazonian tribes have been made since the 1980s after exploration by anthropologists since the 1930s. 

Movies about a primitive tribe that usually describes the tribes in the rainforests as an exotic group of human beings and the outside of modern civilization. In addition to not wearing clothes (or dressing in 'unfit' in the modern sense), the tribes were described as cannibals (love to eat the flesh of another human being) and cruel. The films that want to convey the message that the tribes do not have a social conscience as a human, and closer to the animal world.
   Film 'Lost in Papua' may depart from such an assumption, too.Which was interesting, the film is trying to move between demolition and the affirmation of the myth of primitive tribes and cannibals. The film begins with aerial images of tropical forests of Papua are green, vast and mysterious. Seven men, including Rangga wandering in the jungles of Papua to find a point of mine, in a location known as CTR 2000. They then disappear without leaving a message.
The story turned to Nadia, Rangga's fiancee (played Edo Borne) from Jakarta, which was assigned to her boss to Merauke. Alone, without a clear job description, Nadia (Fanny Fabriana) captivated by the beauty of nature and the hospitality of friends Papuanya.Instead of working, Nadia instead go into the woods with his friends. Merry, Peranakan Chinese-Papuan girl, want to find traces of his uncle who lost in the expedition to CTR 2000 while Nadia's necklace from his grandfather wanted to convey to the head of the Korowai tribe who had saved him.
The four of them on the path of the Boven Digul diasingkannya which is where many national fighters in the Dutch colonial period (such as Bung Hatta, Sutan Syahrir). After that, they went into the woods by road and meet Korowai tribe. It turned out the way they were followed by David (Fauzi Baadilla) who has long liked Nadia but always refused. Due to an incident, David shot one of the Korowai tribe members. They lash out and chase guests.
In flight, they arrived in the township of the all-female cannibals.There, the men will be raped and murdered. They also tried to run away but the poor can not be avoided. Cannibal tribe continues to pursue.
  The film is actually quite interesting, especially in the involvement of actors and the portrayal of the people of Papua Papua quite realistic. But the screenplay is not made with a clear story line so it is very boring. Not to mention the characterization and acting of the two actors from Jakarta (Fauzi Baadilla and Fanny Fabriana) is very cliche, if not disturbing. The depiction of Papua's natural that usually so characteristic of the films which are located in this place, kind of 'Denias, Senandung above the Clouds' (2008), it is not too prominent.
As a film that aims "to show the uniqueness and richness of cultural tourism in southern Papua and all the mysteries that you've never seen ',' Lost in Papua 'trying to incorporate local elements such as cultural performances typical traditional Papuan society. However, due to various technical shortcomings, especially in the editing and cinematography (not mention the sound and music are highly exaggerated) the film is less able to achieve its objectives.
  Beyond the technical problems and especially stories that are far from perfect, this film presents an interesting discourse on how the tribe once considered primitive, is now able to designate other tribes as primitive. Papua depiction in movies has always identified with the primitive and even cannibalism. This is especially apparent in ethnographic documentaries that circulated on television.
However, in a film directed by "local son" Papua, Irham Bachtiar Acho, the Papuan people in the Merauke described as an advanced and civilized society, together with the Indonesian people in general. And the only remaining primitive cannibalism in the mountains and countryside in which women have control.
The transfer of stereotypes of Papuans living in Merauke (city) with a primitive tribe membered isolated women showed that the process of stigmatization has spread and reproduced by the victim. Thus, there is a liberated community groups and emerges a new victim, a group of cannibal women. Figures of women cannibals who raped men can be just a fantasy (or fear) of men over women's strength. Because according to anthropological records, modern civilization has never been 'discovered' the tribe like that in the interior of Papua.
The filmmaker certainly get the idea from Hollywood movies of two classes of the Amazon tribe of cannibals in Latin America. Beyond all that, this movie will be a text that appeal to filmgoers of Indonesia, and Papua own particular audience in view of Papua with a 'new way'.