Music

Main article: Music of Cambodia

Sinn Sisamouth, a famous Cambodian singer

Traditional Cambodian music dates back as far as the Khmer Empire.[217] Royal dances like the Apsara Dance are icons of the Cambodian
culture as are the Mahori ensembles that accompany them. More rural forms of music include Chapei and A Yai. The former is popular among the
older generation and is most often a solo performance of a man plucking a Cambodian guitar (chapei) in between a cappella verses. The lyrics
usually have moral or religious theme.

A Yai can be performed solo or by a man and woman and is often comedic in nature. It is a form of lyrical poetry, often full of double entendres,
that can be either scripted or completely impromptu and ad-libbed. When sung by a duo, the man and women take turns, "answering" the other's
verse or posing riddles for the other to solve, with short instrumental breaks in between verses. Pleng kaah (lit. "wedding music") is a set of
traditional music and songs played both for entertainment and as accompaniment for the various ceremonial parts of a traditional, days-long
Khmer wedding.

Cambodian popular music is performed with western style instruments or a mixture of traditional and western instruments. Dance music is
composed in particular styles for social dances. The music of crooner Sinn Sisamouth and Ros Sereysothea from the 1960s to the 1970s is
considered to be the classic pop music of Cambodia. During the Khmer Rouge Revolution, many classic and popular singers of the 1960s and
1970s were murdered, starved to death, or overwork to death by the Khmer Rouge.[218] and many original master tapes from the period were
lost or destroyed.

In the 1980s, Keo Surath, (a refugee resettled in the United States) and others carried on the legacy of the classic singers, often remaking
their popular songs. The 1980s and 1990s also saw the rise in popularity of kantrum, a music style of the Khmer Surin set to modern
instrumentation.[219]

The Australian hip hop group Astronomy Class has recorded with Kak Channthy, a native born Cambodian female singer.[220][221]

The Dengue Fever rock and roll band features a Cambodian female singer and back-up band from California. It is classified as "world music" and
combines Cambodian music with Western style rock.

Science and technology

Main article: Science and technology in Cambodia
A National Committee for Science and Technology representing 11 ministries has been in place since 1999. Although seven ministries are
responsible for the country's 33 public universities, the majority of these institutions come under the umbrella of the Ministry of Education,
Youth and Support.[222]

In 2010, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Support approved a Policy on Research Development in the Education Sector. This move
represented a first step towards a national approach to research and development across the university sector and the application of research
for the purposes of national development.[222]

This policy was followed by the country's first National Science and Technology Master Plan 2014–2020. It was officially launched by the
Ministry of Planning in December 2014, as the culmination of a two-year process supported by the Korea International Cooperation Agency. The
plan makes provision for establishing a science and technology foundation to promote industrial innovation, with a particular focus on agriculture,
primary industry and ICTs.

Music, dance and clothing

Main articles: Music of Indonesia, Dance in Indonesia, and National costume of Indonesia

Indonesian music and dance. Clockwise from top: A gamelan player, Angklung, Sundanese Jaipongan Mojang Priangan dance, Balinese Pendet
dance.
The music of Indonesia predates historical records. Various indigenous tribes incorporate chants and songs accompanied by musical instruments
in their rituals. Angklung, kacapi suling, siteran, gong, gamelan, degung, gong kebyar, bumbung, talempong, kulintang, and sasando are examples of
traditional Indonesian instruments. The diverse world of Indonesian music genres is the result of the musical creativity of its people, and
subsequent cultural encounters with foreign influences. These include gambus and qasida from the Middle East,[277] keroncong from
Portugal,[278] and dangdut—one of the most popular music genres in Indonesia—with notable Hindi influence as well as Malay orchestras.[279]
Today, the Indonesian music industry enjoys both nationwide and regional popularity in Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, due to common culture
and intelligible languages between Indonesian and Malay.
An Indonesian batik
Indonesian dances have a diverse history, with more than 3,000 original dances. Scholars believe that they had their beginning in rituals and
religious worship,[280] such as war dances, dance of witch doctors, and dance to call for rain or any agricultural-related rituals such as Hudoq.
Indonesian dances derive its influences from the archipelago's three distinct historical eras: the prehistoric and tribal era, the Hindu-Buddhist
era, and the Islamic era. In recent times, modern dances are also showcased in show business, such as those that accompany music
performances or entertainment. Influenced by Western culture, urban teen dances such as street dances have gained popularity among the
Indonesian youth. Traditional dances, however, such as the Javanese, Sundanese, Minang, Balinese, Saman continue to be a living and dynamic
tradition.

Indonesia has variety styles of clothing as a result of its long and rich cultural history. Its national costume is derived from the indigenous
culture of the country and traditional textile traditions. Since Java is the political, economic and cultural centre of Indonesia, the Javanese
Batik and Kebaya[281] are arguably Indonesia's most recognised national costume, although they originally belong not only to the Javanese but
also Sundanese and Balinese cultures as well.[282] Each province in the country has its own representation of traditional attire and dress,[267]
such as Ulos of Batak from North Sumatra; Songket of Malay and Minangkabau from Sumatra; and Ikat of Sasak from Lombok. National
costumes are worn during traditional weddings, formal ceremonies and music performances where attires of regional costumes are visible
ranging from traditional to modern attire, as well as on government and official occasions,[282] with the most visible display being those worn
by diplomats, the President, and the First Lady. In 2009, Batik was recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of
Humanity.[283]

Theatre and cinema

Main article: Cinema of Indonesia

Pandava and Krishna in an act of the wayang wong performance.

Wayang, the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese shadow puppet theatre display several mythological legends such as Ramayana and
Mahabharata.[284] Various Balinese dance drama can also be included within the traditional form of Indonesian drama. Another form of local
drama is the Javanese Ludruk and Ketoprak, the Sundanese Sandiwara, and Betawi Lenong.[285][286] These dramas incorporate humour and
jest and often involve audiences in their performances.[287] Some theatre tradition involves not only drama but also music, dancing and the
silat martial art such as Randai from Minangkabau people of West Sumatra. It is usually performed for traditional ceremonies and
festivals,[288][289] and based on semi-historical Minangkabau legends and love story.[289] Modern performing art also developed in Indonesia
with their distinct style of drama. Notable theatre, dance, and drama troupe such as Teater Koma are popular in the country as it often
portrays social and political satire of Indonesian society.[290]

Advertisement for Loetoeng Kasaroeng (1926), the first fiction film produced in the Dutch East Indies.
The first domestically produced film in the archipelago was Loetoeng Kasaroeng, a silent film by Dutch director L. Heuveldorp. This adaptation
of the Sundanese legend was made with local actors by the NV Java Film Company in Bandung. After independence, the film industry expanded
rapidly, with six films made in 1949 rising to 58 in 1955. Djamaluddin Malik's Persari Film often emulated American genre films and the working
practices of the Hollywood studio system, as well as remaking popular Indian films.[291] The latter part of Sukarno era saw the use of cinema
for nationalistic, anti-Western purposes, and foreign films were subsequently banned, while the New Order utilised a censorship code that
aimed to maintain social order.[292] The film industry's popularity peaked in the 1980s and dominated cinemas,[293] although it declined
significantly in the early 1990s.[294] Films made during this period include Pintar-pintar Bodoh (1982), Maju Kena Mundur Kena (1984),
Nagabonar (1987), Catatan Si Boy (1989), and Warkop's comedy films. Deddy Mizwar, Eva Arnaz, Meriam Bellina, and Rano Karno were among
the well-known actors during this period.

Independent filmmaking was a rebirth of the film industry in the post-Suharto era, where films started addressing topics that were previously
banned, such as religion, race, and love.[292] Between 2000 and 2005, the number of films released each year steadily increased.[293] Riri Riza
and Mira Lesmana were among the new generation of film figures who co-directed Kuldesak (1999), Petualangan Sherina (2000), Ada Apa dengan
Cinta? (2002) and Laskar Pelangi (2008). In 2016, Warkop DKI Reborn: Jangkrik Boss Part 1 smashed box office records, becoming the most-
watched Indonesian film with 6.8 million tickets sold.[295] Indonesia has held annual film festivals and awards, including the Indonesian Film
Festival (Festival Film Indonesia) that has been held intermittently since 1955. It hands out the Citra Award, the film industry's most
prestigious award. From 1973 to 1992, the festival was held annually and then discontinued until it was revived in 2004.

Media and literature

Main articles: Media of Indonesia and Indonesian literature

Metro TV at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, reporting the 2010 AFF Championship.
Media freedom increased considerably after the fall of New Order, during which the Ministry of Information monitored and controlled
domestic media, and restricted foreign media.[296] The television market includes several national commercial networks and provincial networks
that compete with public TVRI, which held monopoly on TV broadcasting from 1962 to 1989. By early 21st century, the improved communications
system had brought television signals to every village and people can choose from up to 11 channels.[297] Private radio stations carry their own
news bulletins and foreign broadcasters supply programmes. The number of printed publications has increased significantly since 1998.[297]
More than 30 million cell phones are sold each year, with 27% of them are local brands.[298]

Pramoedya Ananta Toer (c. 1955)

Like other developing countries, Indonesia began the development of Internet in the early 1990s. Its first commercial Internet service
provider, PT. Indo Internet, began operation in Jakarta in 1994.[299] With estimated users of 88 million as of 2016, Indonesia is among the
largest countries by a number of Internet users,[300] though penetration is relatively low. The majority of Internet users are between the
ages of 18 and 25, with an average usage of 4.7 hours daily,[301] and depend primarily on mobile phones for access, which outnumber both laptop
and personal computer users.[300]

The oldest evidence of writing in the Indonesian archipelago is a series of Sanskrit inscriptions dated to the 5th century. Many of Indonesia's
peoples have strongly rooted oral traditions, which help to define and preserve their cultural identities.[302] In written poetry and prose,
several traditional forms dominate, mainly syair, pantun, gurindam, hikayat and babad. Some of these works are Syair Raja Siak, Syair Abdul
Muluk, Hikayat Abdullah, Hikayat Bayan Budiman, Hikayat Hang Tuah, Sulalatus Salatin, and Babad Tanah Jawi.[303]

Early modern Indonesian literature originates in Sumatran tradition.[304] Balai Pustaka, the government bureau for popular literature, was
instituted around 1920 to promote the development of indigenous literature. It adopted Malay as the preferred common medium for Indonesia.
Important figures in modern Indonesian literature include Dutch author Multatuli, who criticised the treatment of natives under Dutch colonial
rule; Sumatrans Mohammad Yamin and Hamka, who were influential pre-independence nationalist writers and politicians;[305] and proletarian
writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Indonesia's most famous novelist.[306][307] Pramoedya earned several accolades, and was often discussed as
Indonesia's and Southeast Asia's best candidate for a Nobel Prize in Literature.[308] Literature and poetry flourished even more in the first
half of the 20th century. Major authors include Chairil Anwar (Aku), Marah Roesli (Sitti Nurbaya), Merari Siregar (Azab dan Sengsara), Abdul
Muis (Salah Asuhan), Djamaluddin Adinegoro (Darah Muda), Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana (Layar Terkembang), and Amir Hamzah (Nyanyi Sunyi)
whose works are among the most well known in Maritime Southeast Asia.[309]