Wacana, Vol. 11 No. 1 (April 2009): 107—128 BAYU KRISTIANTO adalah pengajar pada Program Studi Inggris dan pada Kajian Wilayah Amerika serta Lembaga Bahasa Internasional, Fakultas Ilmu Pengetahuan Budaya Universitas Indonesia. Program Magister diselesaikannya pada tahun 2006 di State University of New York, Buffalo, di bidang Kajian Amerika dengan tesis berjudul Man and the World in Heidegger, Emerson, and Native American Philosophy. Ia memiliki minat penelitian di bidang kesusastraan, pemikiran ilsafat Amerika dan Inggris, serta Cultural Studies. E-mail: baladewabayu@gmail.com. © 2009 Fakultas Ilmu Pengetahuan Budaya, Universitas Indonesia Film Mendadak dangdut (2006) Pemahaman geograi budaya dan identitas BAYU KRISTIANTO Abstract Place has certain connotations that are involved in shaping the identity of an individual or a community. Due to the importance of place or location in identity formation, Cultural Studies has its own area of analysis focusing on the understanding of place, which is cultural geography. Peter Jackson (1989: 23, quoted by Giles and Middleton 1999: 104) deines cultural geography as a study on how cultures are constituted by social practises occurring in certain contexts which are inluenced by historical and geographical factors. The discussion of artistic works centred on the role of place in identity formation becomes an interesting analysis. This research focuses on Rudi Soejarwo’s ilm Mendadak Dangdut ('Suddenly Dangdut'). The ilm’s setting is a densely populated district in Jakarta. As the plot centres around this setting, an analysis of how place inluences the identity formation of the ilm’s main character becomes signiicant. The research is made using approaches in cultural geography, along with two key concepts in Cultural Studies, which are identity and representation. It is aimed at inding a new consciousness as to how urban context, especially that related to an understanding of place, takes part in the formation of identity of individuals and communities. Keywords Geografi budaya (cultural geography) , identitas ( identity), representasi (representation), esensialisme (essentialism), perkotaan (urban), konteks (context), tempat ( place), relasi sosial ( social relation), konflik ( conflict ), kontestasi (contestation), negosiasi (negotiation), pemaknaan (interpretation), tatapan (gaze), globalisasi (globalization), fetish, kamera (camera), luiditas (luidity). Dua tahanan wanita yang masih muda bergegas memasuki sebuah toko kecil yang menjual barang kebutuhan sehari-hari. Alih-alih membeli barang yang diperlukan, mereka menuju ke kamar kecil di bagian belakang toko. Di