Popular Culture Review Vol. 14, No. 1, February 2003 | Page 101

Indonesia Honors Political Cartoonist

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From the other two directions he is confronted by even more scary and hostile
threats. Behind him is a band of tough and dangerous looking criminals that ap
pear eager to rob and perhaps hurt him. In front of him is an ominous wave of drug
dealers and sex workers eager to tempt, seduce, and exploit him. If he isn’t very
careful, he could end up dying the agonizing death of a victim of AIDS who can't
afford the high cost of medical treatment.
In the lower right corner, I Brewok is observing the whole situation and com
menting, “A most dangerous inundation...” in a very worried manner. A Balinese
viewer of this cartoon world probably be aware of most if not all of these develop
ing problems that threaten Bali’s environment and people, but would be surprised
if not shocked to see how dangerous these four threats combined could become.
Clearly, the cartoonist hopes to motivate his viewers to take effective actions to
control these fast-developing problems before it is too late.
The Original Apple
In his Figure 3 cartoon. Gun Gun elaborates on the serious threat AIDS poses
to the people of Bali. The over three million foreign tourists Bali attracts annually
is about equal to the entire population of the island. A significant number of these
tourists are interested in the services of the growing number of sex workers who
are selling themselves in Bali.

Figure 3.