Javanese Shadow Plays

I wasn't sure what to expect when I began to read what I thought to be a simple, documented account of a Javanese art form. The Shadow Play Ceremony takes all night, and the plot is constantly interrupted by announcements. Keeler makes one feel that they are experiencing the evening by interrupting this specific plays plot with facts about the culture and the Dhalang. As I read an account of a typical Javanese Shadow Play, I began to question American Culture. I immersed myself in a world that seemed more concerned about the community itself than the actual performance. Instead of sitting down quietly and dimming the lights before a performance, as is the culture in Western Civilization, the Javanese continue to socialize throughout the Dhalang's songs and introduction until the main plot begins to unfold. However, it is more than evident that this is not because the Javanese are only concerned with the actual story of the play because most of them leave before three in the morning when the plot really begins to "take off." They must truely be excited by the talent of the Dhalang and the musicians. They must also take pride in a traditional art form and care about preserving it.
What really enticed me about the Javanese Culture is their treatment of the musicians. It seems that the hosts care more about making the musicians happy than the sponsors! I suppose that unlike in America, the artists are valued and not held far below investors. The musicians are fed "several other kinds of goodies...piled high on plates and laid on mats among the instruments..." The sponsors, however, seem to be fed a rather measly snack of sticky rice with pieces of meat inside and a little piece of cake.
I am not naive enough to believe that Java is a Utopia. One cannot ignore that seldom women are present at this event and that those who are are stuck in the back behind the men. However, I did begin to wonder if living in a technologically advanced country has a downside. As I read about strangers talking to each other, of boys climbing into trees to get a better look at the show, of hundreds of people listening to an instrument as simple as the gamelan and remaining interested, I couldn't help but feel second rate. As a college student who needs to be listening to music while driving or watching television while doing my homework, I couldn't help but wonder if I was missing an important quality of life.
I wondered what Keeler would have to say. Not surprisingly, he sounds a lot like Geertz. Keeler expresses that Westerners cannot possibly understand the Javanese art forms because we do not understand their social life. ..."and clearly the cultural distance between Java and the West-the gap between their assumptions and ours-is great."
What can we do to bring us together and remind us of the simpler joys in life? Keeler describes the Dhalang as the center of the Javanese Culture. I think about how great it might be to unite the states through theater with a central figure or figures like the Dhalang. Someone who isn't at the center of our country consumed by a political or religious agenda, but by a creative one.