Afterword: Commentary

Timothy Daniels has inspired and organized an excellent volume, neatly pairing two countries, Malaysia and Indonesia, with two kinds of forms from each: electronic media (including cinema, television, and recorded music) and live performance, including ritual theater, dance, and song. Together, these fields span a wide spectrum and they reflect virtuoso fieldwork. First, let us applaud the virtuoso fieldwork. Fieldwork of this depth demands expert performances parallel to the artistic performances; such fieldwork entails language skill, scholarly knowledge, technical recording, physical stamina, and psychic sensibility plus toughness and courage, all of which can be appreciated only by those who have done such work. The fruits of this immense labor are huge and will be appreciated and treasured increasingly as time erases the forms disclosed. The primary value of this volume, then, is in the detailed descriptions of these art forms, captured at a certain juncture in time and place.