The Longest Road, The Shortest Memory? A New Face for Djamin Ginting on the Big Screen

A name on a street sign makes us pass by. A face on a screen makes us ask questions.

JurnalPost.com - In North Sumatra, there is a 71.3-kilometer road stretching from Medan, through Deli Serdang, to Karo Regency. The road bears the name of a national hero, Lieutenant General Jamin Ginting. In 2023, the naming of this road received an award from the Indonesian World Records Museum (MURI).

However, the name we pass every day is not necessarily a name we truly know. How many of us can recount the struggles of the figure behind the Jamin Ginting Road?

That question has now found a new space on the big screen. Since October 1, 2026, the film Djamin Setia Selamanya has been showing in Indonesian cinemas. Even before a single scene was played, this Erjege Pictures production made a crucial decision: whose face will the audience remember as Djamin Ginting?

That choice fell to Rafi Sudirman, a young musician and actor trusted to portray the hero from the Karo Highlands.

In my opinion, the selection of a cast or casting in historical films is not just about finding an actor capable of bringing a character to life. The decision is also related to how the public's collective memory is formed.

Whoever holds control over the representation of a hero helps determine the face that will eventually stick in the audience's memory.

This article is not intended to debate whether the selection of Rafi Sudirman was correct or not. I also do not intend to judge his acting quality without sufficient observation. What is interesting to discuss is how a creative decision can be read through the perspective of communication studies.

One Decision, Five Questions

In 1948, American communication scientist Harold Lasswell introduced a communication model known through five questions: who says what, in which channel, to whom, and with what effect.

This model can be used to read the casting decision in the film Djamin Setia Selamanya.

Who is speaking?

Behind this film are Erjege Pictures and director Rako Prijanto. Rako has a connection to the Djamin Ginting family story because he previously directed the film 3 Nafas Likas in 2014, which highlighted the life journey of Likas Tarigan, Djamin's wife.

Djamin Ginting's daughter, Riahna Jamin Gintings, was also involved in the production of this film. The family's involvement shows an effort to bring back the hero's journey through a medium closer to today's society.

What is being said?

The film covers Djamin's journey from his education at the Handelsschool during the Dutch colonial era, joining the Gyugun during the Japanese occupation, to his involvement in the struggle to defend Indonesia's independence.

By choosing a young actor, the film offers a picture of Djamin as a figure who once lived through his youth, made decisions, faced uncertainty, and fought for his beliefs.

He is no longer present merely as a street name or a historical monument, but as a human being with life experiences.

In which channel?

The historical message is conveyed through cinema, news reports, promotional materials, and music.

Rafi Sudirman even created a song titled Selamanya Ku Janji as one of the film's soundtracks. The song depicts the emotional bond between Djamin Ginting and Likas Tarigan.

Interestingly, Rafi's debut album released on September 26, 2025, also uses the title Hari Ini, Esok & Selamanya. The word "forever" (selamanya) seems to be a common thread between Rafi's musical journey and the historical film he stars in, although this similarity does not necessarily mean it was designed as a communication strategy.

To whom?

The film targets the general public, including the Karo community, who have a historical and cultural closeness to Djamin Ginting.

In addition, the film has the potential to reach the younger generation who previously knew Rafi Sudirman more through music and the entertainment world than through the history of the independence struggle.

With what effect?

The expected effect is certainly not just an increase in the number of viewers, but the growth of public interest in getting to know Djamin Ginting more deeply.

However, does the film really succeed in increasing the audience's historical knowledge? That question requires audience research, not just ticket sales figures or responses on social media.

Who is the Gatekeeper of the Hero's Face?

The Lasswell model helps explain the message delivery process, but it does not fully explain how a message is selected and shaped before being received by the public.

This is where the theory of gatekeeping becomes relevant.

Kurt Lewin developed the idea of the filtering process in information flow and decision-making. The concept was then applied by David Manning White in 1950 through research on a newspaper editor referred to as "Mr. Gates."

White's research showed that the information reaching the public has gone through a selection process.

In the production of biographical films or biopics,

a similar mechanism can be found. Before the audience sees the figure of Djamin Ginting on screen, his life story has gone through various creative decisions. Which historical events are chosen? Which parts of his life are highlighted? What conflicts are considered important? And who is trusted to be the face of the hero?

All these decisions shape the historical image that is ultimately accepted by the audience.

The involvement of Djamin Ginting's family in the film's production is also interesting to observe. The family's emotional closeness and knowledge can help maintain the authenticity of the story and provide context not always found in historical documents.

However, this closeness also presents a critical question: how does the film maintain a balance between honoring the figure and the courage to depict the complexity of his life journey?

I am not concluding that this film ignores historical complexity. Rather, this question is important to ask so that biographical films are not only understood as a form of tribute, but also as works that open up space for critical reading.

The gatekeeping process is also visible in the selection of supporting actors.

Claresta Taufan was trusted to play Likas Tarigan. Before being involved in this film, Claresta was known for the film Pangku and received the Rising Star award at the Marie Claire Asia Star Awards 2025, which took place during the Busan International Film Festival.

Such casting choices carry representational consequences. Every actor comes with experience, public image, and characteristics already known to the audience.

Thus, casting is not a completely neutral decision in the process of meaning-making.

From Names on Street Signs to Faces on Screens

George Gerbner and Larry Gross, through their research Living with Television: The Violence Profile in 1976, explained how media exposure, especially television in the long term, can relate to the formation of public perception of reality.

This approach is known in communication studies as cultivation theory.

Although initially developed to understand the influence of repeated television exposure, this theory provides an interesting perspective to question how the representation of historical figures in audiovisual media can influence public memory.

The name Jamin Ginting may already be familiar to people who pass by the road every day. However, familiarity with a name does not automatically result in an understanding of his life journey.

Film offers a different experience.

Through moving images, dialogue, expressions, and a series of events, the audience is invited to imagine the figure of Djamin Ginting as a human living in a time full of turmoil.

After watching, some people might associate the name Djamin Ginting with the face, voice, and gestures of Rafi Sudirman.

At this point, I see the great responsibility of historical films.

Film can be a gateway to broader knowledge. Curious viewers might be encouraged to read history books, browse archives, or listen to stories from the Karo community about Djamin Ginting's struggle.

However, there is another possibility worth considering. For some viewers, the representation in the film might become the only image of the figure.

Of course, cultivation theory cannot be used to ensure that watching a film once will immediately change someone's perception. Such influence needs to be proven through research that considers experience, prior knowledge, and the intensity of media exposure.

Therefore, it is important to distinguish between the potential influence of a film and the impact that has actually been proven.

Three Things We Deserve to Ask

In my opinion, there are three things that deserve attention when a historical film brings a national hero back to a new generation.

First, openness from the production side.

Producers and the creative team need to provide explanations regarding the historical research process, the involvement of the Karo community, and the considerations in choosing the lead actor.

Such openness can help the public understand the boundary between historical facts and artistic interpretation.

Second, media responsibility.

The media needs to distinguish between production information, promotional materials, and critical assessments of the film.

News reports about actor selection should not immediately turn into judgments on acting quality without a basis of sufficient observation.

Likewise, film reviews need to be built through a holistic reading of the work, not solely based on the popularity of its cast.

Third, the critical attitude of the audience.

Historical films should be treated as a gateway to knowing the past, not as the only source of knowledge.

After watching Djamin Setia Selamanya, viewers can seek information from books, historical archives, academic research, and stories from the Karo community who inherited the memory of Djamin Ginting's struggle.

This attitude is important so that the viewing experience does not stop as entertainment, but develops into a process of understanding history.

In the end, the Jamin Ginting Road does indeed stretch for 71.3 kilometers. However, the length of a road does not determine how deeply the public knows the figure whose name is immortalized.

Casting decisions, the responsibility of information gatekeepers, and the curiosity of the audience all play a role in maintaining historical memory.

A name on a street sign makes us pass by. A face on a screen makes us stop.

And the questions we take home after the film ends might just be the beginning of truly getting to know the figure of Djamin Ginting.

Author Profile

Abdul Rachman Hidayat is a student in the Master's Program (S2) of Communication Studies, STIKOM InterStudi, class of 2026.