Armando Siahaan

From left, Syaiful Bahri, Akhmad Hersapto, Ismanto Saputro and Erianto Rahman in costume with Star Trek memorabilia. (Photo courtesy of the Indonesian Star Trek Community)

Indonesian Trekkies to Invade Theater

The Keong Mas Imax Theater in East Jakarta is expecting an invasion this Sunday as 800 Trekkies unite to watch the journey of Captain Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members in the new “Star Trek” film.

“This movie is the newest since 2004, it is conceptualized differently and is being rebooted to the beginning of the story,” said Akhmad Hersapto, a member of the Indonesian Star Trek Community, which arranged the event in cooperation with telephone provider Indosat. “This is something that we’ve been waiting for.”

The gathering was announced on May 16, and tickets, which cost Rp 65,000 ($6.5)each, sold out in just two and a half weeks.
About 550 of the expected attendees are members of the community, coming from the Greater Jakarta area, Bandung and Semarang, Akhmad said.

Akhmad said many members planned to wear costumes and carry replicas of weapons that feature in the Star Trek television series and movies.  “Some buy their costumes from the Internet because there’s no store that sells Star Trek costumes here,” Akhmad said. “But most people make the costume themselves.”

Prior to the screening, the Star Trek community will launch an anthology of science fiction short stories written by its members.

Established in April 2003, Indonesian Star Trek Community is the country’s only group for Trekkies. It currently has more than 550 followers, although Akhmad said only about 350 of them were considered active members. “We have both male and female members, young and old,” he said. “The youngest Trekkie is 5 years old, and the oldest in the group is in his 60s.”

Organized activities include group screenings of the TV series and movies, discussions on the relevance of science fiction to the real world and taking part in exhibitions.

When asked whether the Indonesian Trekkies favored the era of Captain Kirk or Captain Picard, Akhmad said there was no clear answer. “From 1966 to 2004, there have been five different series. Each series has its own fan base. We as a community cannot generalize.”

The community’s Web site sets out its mission statement: “Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Star Trek Indonesia. Its continuing mission: To explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no Indonesian has gone before.”

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