Film Adaptation of Eka Kurniawan’s Short Story Kandang Babi: Imagining Student Life in Post-Reformation Era and Criticism Towards University Apparatus in Indonesia

This article unpacks how the short film adaptation Kandang Babi, based on the short story with the same title by Eka Kurniawan, boldly represents the life of students and their criticism towards the university apparatus in Post-Reformation Indonesia. Furthermore, because the filmmakers of Kandang Babi are students, this essay also investigates how their process of translating the short story Kandang Babi into the film relates to their own experiences and critical perspectives on campus. The research involves the textual analysis of both the film and the short story. Moreover, to explore the motivation and context of making the film adaptation Kandang Babi, I interviewed the student filmmakers and the film adaptation lecturer from the State University of Surabaya. The result shows that the film depicts a poor student, Edi Idiot, who survives by staying in the abandoned warehouse within the campus. However, he articulates voices of resistance toward campus policy and questions sensitive issues such as sexual harassment on campus. The students involved in making this film, both directors and actors, are aware of their college environment and their role in criticising university policies.