The True Fighter of Tropical Melancholy: Poetic Reflections beneath the Paradise Brochure

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25120/etropic.25.1.2026.4249

Keywords:

tropical melancholy, tropical tourism, poetic ethnography, tourism inequalities, rural workers, tropical paradise brochure

Abstract

This poem is a lyrical reflection on the melancholia and paradoxes of tropical tourism: beneath the glossy imagery of paradise lies the silent endurance of those who sustain its beauty with their bodies and breath. The True Fighter of Tropical Melancholy: Poetic Reflections beneath the Paradise Brochure gives voice to rural and informal workers who remain unseen in brochures but are the living core of the tropics. Rather than beneficiaries of tourism, they are its invisible custodians, displaced, overworked, and overlooked. Through a poetic and ethnographic lens, this piece explores the emotional and structural dimensions of tropical melancholy, revealing the inequities, symbolic erasures, and loss of livelihood beneath the promise of paradise.

Author Biography

Eka Yusup, Universitas Singaperbangsa Karawang, West Java, Indonesia

Eka Yusup was born in Karawang, West Java, Indonesia. Since 2009, he has served as a lecturer and researcher in the Department of Communication Science at Universitas Singaperbangsa Karawang. He earned his Bachelor’s in Journalism (2007), Master’s in Communication Science (2013), and Doctorate in Communication Science (2019) from Universitas Padjadjaran. Previously, he worked as a journalist for Pikiran Rakyat and a reporter for Trans TV. His research interests include cultural communication, auto/ethnography, media, and performativity in local performance arts. Beyond academia, he writes poetry, prose, and reflective essays. His creative and academic works have appeared in Asian Anthropology, Journal of Progressive Human Services, Capitalism Nature Socialism (Taylor & Francis), Anthropology and Humanism, Museum Anthropology (Wiley), Asiatic (IIUM Press, Malaysia), and Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies (SAGE Publications). From 2023 to 2024, he served as a Policy Expert for the Karawang Regional House of Representatives (DPRD). Correspondence: eka.yusup@fisip.unsika.ac.id

References

Hitchcock, M., King, V. T., & Parnwell, M. (2009). Tourism in Southeast Asia: Challenges and New Directions. Copenhagen: NIAS Press.

Lévi-Strauss, C. (1955). Tristes Tropiques. Paris: Plon.

West, P., & Carrier, J. G. (2004). Ecotourism and Authenticity: Getting Away from it All? Current Anthropology, 45(4), 483–498. https://doi.org/10.1086/422082 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/422082

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Published

2026-03-04

How to Cite

Yusup, E. (2026). The True Fighter of Tropical Melancholy: Poetic Reflections beneath the Paradise Brochure. ETropic: Electronic Journal of Studies in the Tropics, 25(1), 28–32. https://doi.org/10.25120/etropic.25.1.2026.4249

Issue

Vol. 25 No. 1 (2026): Tourisms’ Tristes Tropiques: Literary Travels

Section

Poetry

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Copyright (c) 2026 CC-BY

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