Memes And Funny Videos During Floods How People Convey Criticism

One of the evacuation efforts of flood victims (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - Heavy rains that hit DKI Jakarta and its surroundings on New Year's Eve 2020 caused flooding in a number of areas. Citizens flock to discuss this disaster on social media, especially Twitter, by uploading funny videos and pictures (memes). No doubt, some of them have gone viral.

I became one of the netizens who also uploaded funny pictures when it was flooded. Starting from a prank because I had to wake up at around 03.00 WIB to save items from the flood that entered the house, I took a photo of the red sandals floating in the living room and collected the photo with a picture of the floating breakfast that is usually available in hotels.

I uploaded the photo on my personal Twitter @tsatsiaaa and the result was 5,219 retweets and 7,504 likes. In fact, when I uploaded the photo, what I had in mind at that time was irritation because this was the first time my family and I who live in the West Bekasi area, West Java experienced a flood disaster.

What are you doing to Bali if you can also have a floating breakfast in the living room? pic.twitter.com/rMfQ101Dax

- TSATSIA (@tsatsiaaa) December 31, 2019

Not only me, another Twitter account, @wowadit, also uploaded a video he found on the WhatsApp Group. This video uses a theme song from Dunia Fantasi (Dufan) and depicts the floods in early 2020 like a fun new travel vehicle in Jakarta.

Yes Allah, who made this? really time 😂 this i got from group wa. I didn't make it. I didn't watermark it as if I was the source. pic.twitter.com/CjVv5ccUtX

- 📷📹🎶🐱🐳🌊♒️🇮🇩 (@wowadit) January 2, 2020

This phenomenon of funny photos and videos might entertain many social media users from various platforms. However, according to the sociologist from UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Tantan Hermansyah, the various uploads of memes or parody videos are not merely entertainment but a form of criticism of all those responsible for flooding in DKI Jakarta and its surroundings.

"If we look at the existing memes, in fact criticism is not only directed at the local government (Pemda). The meme is never one-way and sometimes it cannot be structured according to the subject's wishes," said Tantan when contacted by VOI reporters via text message, Monday, 6 January.

For Tantan, memes or funny videos in the form of parodies can be present because of public unrest related to an issue. For example, the issue of flooding in Jakarta and its surroundings was due to heavy rains for dozens of hours.

"In a more sociological context, memes are present as public reasoning. In the case of floods, of course, the issues raised will adjust to their needs," said Tantan, saying that anyone who saw the funny pictures or parody videos should not be upset or carried away with feelings so as not to be offended.

Class action lawsuit to sue for compensation

If you are not satisfied just by uploading memes or parody videos to convey criticism to related parties, maybe the people affected by the floods can file a class action lawsuit like the suggestion of lawyer Hotman Paris.

Through his Instagram account, this legal practitioner said that the public could file a class action lawsuit with the assistance of the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) in Jakarta.

"To all LBH, Legal Aid Institutions in Indonesia, if it is true you are LBH, quickly file a class action lawsuit," Hotman said in a video uploaded to the @hotmanparisofficial Instagram account taken when he had just landed from Bali.

According to this legal practitioner, class action suits for flood victims are also often carried out by many people from western countries when they are hit by floods. This kind of lawsuit, he said, could be made to demand compensation.

Reflecting on the floods that hit DKI Jakarta and its surroundings, Hotman said, this class action lawsuit actually met the requirements.

"I see that all of them have fulfilled the requirements for a class action lawsuit. Ok, hello LBH, don't use LBH just for a career leap because you haven't got a job yet," said Hotman.

Previously reported, heavy rains from December 31 to January 1 caused flooding of varying heights in the areas of Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi (Jabodetabek). As a result of the flood disaster, thousands of people had to take refuge in evacuation posts.

In addition to the thousands of people who had to evacuate, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) noted that 60 people died due to floods and landslides in Jabodetabek, Banten and West Java. Of that number, two of them are still missing and their news is not yet known.

"The number of victims as of January 4, 2020, at 18.00 WIB, as many as 60 people died and two people were missing," said Head of Data Information and Public Relations Center of BNPB Agus Wibowo from a written statement, Sunday, January 5, adding that this data was taken from BPBD data, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Social Affairs.

As for the number of refugees, Agus said, currently the number has started to decline. "Refugees in several areas have experienced a decline, because they returned to their homes," he concluded.