lakon: The plot of a wayang performance. Divided into 3 principal phases, each with many scenes. Often lasting 10 hours, wayang plays are more exciting and spectacular than tragic and funny. Everything is illusions, symbolism, dreams, fairytale or mysticism. Stories are a combination of old sacred myths, ancient Javanese poetry, and the newer Indian epic tales of gods and princesses, made almost unrecognizable after having been put into the Indonesian blender. Sometimes modern stories, the adventures of noblemen, historical plays and social problems are acted out. Illiterate peasants will guffaw all night long at two of the oldest poems in the world, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata epics. For many Indonesians these classic stories are the holy books, not the Koran. Themes are usually variations of the struggles between these gods and demons with men choosing sides (Barata-yuddhai. Man either shares the glory with the gods or is destroyed. Often the men help the gods to ward off demons' attacks (Arjuna Wiwaha). Some plots are drawn from the old Arab story, the Menak cycle, but have been completely Javanized and 'improved' upon; even old Javanese folk tales such as the Panji cycle have been worked over extensively. There are wayang plays about the shrewd, brave little mousedeer (Wayang Kancil) who outwits stronger animals of the jungle. Mystics use wayang to propagate their cult: wayang madya plays are based on the 19th Century epic poetry of Ranggawarsita who recorded the reign of an East Javanese prophet-king, Jayabaya (now confined to the Solo court and rarely performed), Wayang is also utilized by Christian missionaries to spread the word of God: Wayang Josuf is about Joseph and his brothers. Despite the differences, all themes emphasize absolute good against absolute evil. Plots became more politicized after World War II during the independence struggle when the need arose to politically indoctrinate the masses. Wayang was then used to applaud heroism in guerilla warfare. Wayang plays have since been utilized to explain the meaning of 5 year economic plans to the people. Communists had Arjuna use the hammer and sickle as a weapon. In Wayang Panca Si/a, the history of the republic is glorified: the 5 Pandava brothers from the Mahabharata symbolize the 5 Panca Sila Principles of the government. Although western and Chinese cinema have had a strong influence on all forms of wayang theatre (Kung Fu fighting in the battle scenes), its popularity remains strong.