Novia Stephani

Indonesian Star Trek fans posing with their Singaporean counterparts. (Photo: Yudhi Sukma Wijaya, JG)

An Indonesian Star Trek Generation

Indonesian Star Trek fans. (Photo: Yudhi Sukma Wijaya, JG)

The Star Trek fans are of all ages, including 8-year-old Adrian, front. (Photo: Yudhi Sukma Wijaya, JG)

Budiss, 59, is possibly the oldest member of the Indonesian Star Trek community, a group of dedicated fans from different parts of the archipelago.

A retired production manager, he was drawn to Star Trek and its glitzy technology when the original series was screened by state-owned TVRI back in the 1980s.

“Back then, it was all in black and white,” he said.

Budiss said he admired Capt. James T. Kirk for his leadership style that bordered on the reckless and tried to emulate it at work by taking a results-oriented approach. Budiss said it was tough to find fellow Trekkies in Indonesia, especially outside Jakarta. Despite his enthusiasm for the television series and subsequent movies, he has been unable to convert family members into becoming die-hard Trekkies.

So Sunday was a special treat for Budiss when he travelled from his hometown of Bandung to attend a special screening of the latest movie, the J.J. Abrams-directed “Star Trek” at the IMAX theater in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, a theme park in East Jakarta. The 800-seat amphitheater was filled to capacity for the screening, arranged by the community in collaboration with telephone provider Indosat, with excess audience members spilling into the adjacent alleyway.

Syaiful, a community member who helped organize the screening, said such a large audience for a science fiction movie was “unheard of in Indonesia.”

“This is our biggest gathering so far,” said Erianto, who was in charge of ticketing. “We sold out in just two weeks. As of [Saturday], there were some 150 people on a waiting list, still hoping to make it.”

In addition to fans from out of town like Budiss, two delegates from the Singaporean Star Trek fan site attended.

“I’ve seen the movie six times before, because it was released on May 8 in Singapore,” said James Lee, founder and webmaster of the Singapore site. “But I came because I’ve never seen the movie in an IMAX theater before and so I got to meet my Indonesian Trekkie friends. Indonesians are so passionate. They clapped many times even before the ending of the movie. Compared to them, the Singaporean fans are so Vulcan, so serious.”

The good turnout and enthusiastic response was a vindication for organizers of the event. Bowo Trahutomo, who signs his letters to fellow trekkies as “Bowo T. Kirk” after Capt. James T. Kirk, one of the heroes of the original 1960s series, said the group had been trying to convince film importers since 2008 to buy the rights to play the latest “Star Trek” in Indonesian theaters. “They were initially wary because the previous movies didn’t do so well in Indonesia,” he said.

Bowo believes that lack of interest in science fiction movies in Indonesia is partly attributable to a shift in government attention on technological advancements. “Back when we had BJ Habibie as the Minister for Research and Technology some 20 years ago,” he said, “The drive for scientific research could be seen everywhere, from government research institutes, to science clubs in schools, and TV stations aired science fiction movies like ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Battlestar Galactica’ and ‘Babylon V’ to enthusiastic viewers. Now, just look at the programs offered on local TV.”

It seems only apt then that it was technology that eventually brought Indonesian Trekkies together, with the Internet making it easier for them to find like-minded fans through forums and chat rooms. Fan groups started up, including USS Batavia in Jakarta and USS Parahyangan in Bandung, as did a forum called Trekkies List. An Internet mailing list, indo-Star Trek, was established in 2003. Members of the different groups came together in 2006 at an event called First Contact, named after the title of the 1996 Star Trek movie, and the Indonesian Star Trek Community was born.

Just as Starfleet is made up of members from different planets, the community harnesses the zeal and skills of members from various parts in Indonesia. Its Web site, www.indo-StarTrek.org, is designed, programmed and owned by three members living in different cities, who met for the first time only recently. Lately, the community has attracted many new members through the social networking site Facebook.

“Facebook helps us to communicate with other Trekkies in Indonesia,” Bowo said. “Sixty percent of those who came to the gathering knew about it from Facebook.”

The members come from all walks of life and have different interests, but share their common passion for the Star Trek franchise. Akhmad, whose favorite characters are the tacticians, enjoys the military aspect of the series and likes to engage fellow Trekkies in war games.

Wibowo is most fascinated by the philosophy of coexistence and communication with different races that is woven throughout the stories.

Women, too, find Star Trek captivating despite a heavily male cast and action-packed plots. Yona, who wore the short tan uniform and tall black boots of a female officer in the original series to the screening, said her favorite character is Capt. Kathryn Janeway, the first female captain to be a lead character in the television series “Star Trek: Voyager.”

“She has an iron fist but also has a good personal approach and that is why her crew respect her,” Yona said. Anis said she finds both the advanced technology and romantic entanglement of the characters equally captivating. Juliana said she loves the swashbuckling adventures by the crew in “Star Trek: the Next Generation.”

The Trekkies often meet to dissect the movies and shows from every possible angle, from technological to theological. Some like to build, display and swap collections of Star Trek merchandise.

As Indonesian media outlets become increasingly interested in a variety of fan communities, the Trekkies have also made TV and radio appearances and taken part in events dressed in costumes. Recently, the community compiled science fiction stories from 11 Indonesian authors to be released by Azka Press on June 27.

“The stories have a decidedly Indonesian flavor to them,” said Nova, a representative of the publishing house.

Asked if the community might stagnate now the hype for the new movie is over, Erianto said, “With 700 episodes, 11 movies and countless novelizations to discuss? Unlikely.”

With new frontiers to cover and a crew that boldly goes where few Indonesians have gone before, who knows? Perhaps the community will live long and prosper.