Lacan’s concept of objet petit a in “Gadis Kretek”

I recently caught a new Indonesian series titled “Gadis Kretek”, or “Cigarette Girl”, premiered in Netflix. It’s set in 1960s Indonesia, and the historical backdrop piqued my interest. The series revolves around themes of womanhood in Indonesia, freedom, Indonesia’s darkest history in the 1960s and love, but there’s an underlying element that goes beyond these aspects – a kind of “desire” that isn’t exactly what it appears to be.

The story kicks off by introducing Dasiyah, the eldest daughter of a respected Javanese family in Indonesia. Growing up, she developed a strong passion for cigarettes, much like her father, Idroes Moeria, a prominent businessman who owned a large cigarette factory during that era. As part of a respected family, particularly within the confines of a traditional Javanese society, which was (or still is) deeply patriarchal, women were expected to embody the ideal traits of femininity, gentleness, and readiness to marry into another respected family.

When delving into this tale of passion, her focal point was the mysterious ‘sauce room,’ reserved for crafting cigarette blends and strictly off-limits to women. According to the story’s widely held belief, a woman’s presence in this room could sour the taste of the cigarettes. Despite society’s strictures and this common belief, her deepest ambition was to perfect the sauce, challenging the norms of her time.

Initially, it may seem like her goal is to perfect the sauce. Yet, it’s much more than that. Lacan proposes that all individuals grapple with an innate sense of insufficiency — a feeling of ‘lacking completeness and wholeness within oneself.’

The “objet petit a” is like a fantasy that shapes our desires. It decides whether we’ll stick to seeking pleasure within usual boundaries or if we’ll chase an impossible and sometimes dangerous form of extreme enjoyment. It’s like having a strong desire for something special, but that thing is always a little bit out of your reach, and you can never fully get it.

Dasiyah’s desire goes beyond perfecting the sauce; it’s about breaking free from the confines of her conventional life. She rejects the idea of fitting into the stereotype of “the perfect woman” and instead craves something unconventional. She holds a strong disdain for the male-dominated cigarette factories and aims to challenge a notion that limits her freedom. Her goal isn’t about finding the best tobacco leaves or dominating the cigarette industry in Indonesia. Her mission centers on reaching the off-limits sauce room, the crucial step in crafting cigarettes. Her goal is not just to create the sauce within it, but challenging common beliefs and showcasing her abilities. To me, it was never about the sauce.

Even to me, at first, her interest in Raja seemed practical, a means to fulfill her true desires. However, as the story progresses, it becomes apparent that the sauce was never her true desire. Yes, she loses her passion or motivation to create the sauce after enduring various hardships, signifying that her desires are more complex, but ultimately, her sense of identity becomes less rigid, and her boundaries are no longer constricted. She no longer yearns for ‘freedom’ or ‘recognition’ as intensely as before. She lost that “objet petit a”.

It’s quite refreshing to witness such cinematic storytelling emerging from Indonesia. The portrayal of the 1960s genocide and kidnappings was hauntingly realistic. Considering the historical significance of these events, which holds personal connections for many, it was a powerful and emotional experience, to say the least.