School of Communication

In Malaysian cinema, the subject matter of racism has been made popular through Spinning Gasing (Teck Tan, 2000) and Sepet (Yasmin Ahmad, 2004). Nevertheless, the discourses of racism in these films have been overtly-romanticised. Gadoh (Danker & Namron, 2009), however, approaches this subject matter using a “no holds barred” approach to remind us that racism in schools is often acknowledged as existing, yet continues to remain unresolved. One of the most innovative films produced by the new Malaysian digital independent cinema, Gadoh examines the elements of race and ethnicity in the Malaysian education system. The aim of this paper is to firstly explain how Gadoh fits within the context of this independent cinema by outlining its production, exhibition, and distribution methods. Secondly, this paper shows how Gadoh openly contests the issue of ethnicity, often deemed too sensitive for opened discussion. Aided by globalization, digital video (DV) technology, suppressive local cinematic regulations, the advent of multimedia and the internet, Gadoh has served as a platform or “Third Space”, as the “in-between” space that created a site for contesting, renegotiating and redefining the Malaysian ethnic and national identity (Bhabha, 2004).

"Even though Malaysia is a sovereign nation after gaining its independence from the British in 1957, there are signs that a more subliminal form of dominance or control is occurring through the culture industries, in particular television. Of late, many different types of reality television programmes that have their origins from developed countries have been adapted and produced locally to appeal to local audiences. Although these copycat television programmes have received resounding response from Malaysian audiences, this is a worrying development as it also indicates that cultural and media imperialism is being experienced by Malaysians. It is indeed our responsibility to be aware of this threat and equip ourselves with enough knowledge on how to deal with this new form of imperialism. We should not let our country fall under the control of another country again, be it in the form of economic or cultural domination. We can open up to new cultures and opportunities, but we should also hold on tight to our Asian roots.

Keywords: copycat television, media imperialism"

Since P. Ramlee, no other filmmaker but Yasmin Ahmad has been capable of creating a significant impact in Malaysian cinema. She achieved this through her films that have persistently challenged not only the conventions of Malaysian cinema, but also daringly exposed societal taboos and its hypocrisies on the cinematic screen. All her six films differ from the conservative, unadventurous and conventional Malaysian films that revolve around the tiresome, "tried and tested", monotonous entertainment containing elements of love (suka), sadness (duka) and humour (jenaka). Her films, which are criticisms about the failings of the Malaysian society and in particular the Malays, employ cosmopolitan themes of humour, love and humanism to move beyond merely focusing on race and ethnicity. In doing so, her films paradoxically employ the "sensitive" issue of interethnic relations to highlight the struggles faced by common Malaysians within and between cultures and religions. By highlighting the everyday problems faced by everyday people, Yasmin Ahmad has extensively altered the Malaysian cinematic landscape by removing demarcations along racial, ethnic, religion, cultural, age and gender lines. This allows her films to move beyond being focused on multiculturalism and to contest more socially, culturally and politically issues closely related to Malaysians. This consistent demonstration of cinematic aptitude and ideological contestations are befitting of the qualities and characteristics of an auteur. This paper examines how Yasmin Ahmad's stylistic signature of blurring the boundaries of ethno-racial communities to move beyond multiculturalism, coupled with her cinematic capabilities and artistic styles of employing an experimental mix of stylistic elements from independent cinema, commercial cinema and television aesthetics in all her films would position her as an auteur.

Keywords: Malaysian cinema, auteur, cosmopolitan, postethnicity

Increased globalization, transnationalism and influences of the new media have presented our youths with both challenges and opportunities. It is thus essential for youths to develop a sense of media awareness and activism to facilitate social learning. Youths must be capable of spotting a stereotype, distinguish facts from fiction, and news from propaganda. In building a productive learning culture to protect youths from the negative impacts of the media, media literacy is a necessary intervention in developing critical understandings, creative abilities, and active participations. This paper examines the changing media environment and how this state of affairs presents both opportunities and challenges for today's youth. In examining the role video production plays in creating media literacy, this paper demonstrates how video production develops media literacy and knowledge that is a required and essential skill in creating youths capable of thinking, analyzing and comprehending critically.

In the year 2000, Teck Tan’s Spinning Gasing became the first Malaysian film in almost fifty years to explore the subject matter of Sino-Malay romance. As the first locally made English feature film, Spinning Gasing narrates how characters caught in between the demands of culture, religion, tradition and modernisation explore issues conveniently ignored by its mainstream counterparts. This allows Spinning Gasing to contest competing notions of “Malaysian-ness” by presenting a dichotomy of a “new” multi-ethnic cinema versus the “old” ethno-centric cinema. The film uses transnational methods to highlight issues that are heavily national in nature, documents the changes in Malaysia today and challenges the representation of Malaysians on screen and achieves this by reintroducing non-Malay casts, storylines, and plots that explore the rising ethnic and cultural divides. Based on this development, the employment of multi-ethnic and multi-cultural elements locate Spinning Gasing as an attempt to portray a more accurate and balanced visibility of other ethnic groups in place of an essentially homogenous projection. This paper examines how Spinning Gasing contests and re-negotiates issues of diversity, tolerance, integration, and acceptance in Malaysia today by examining the state of Sino-Malay relations.

Keywords: Sino-Malay, race and ethnicity, Malaysian cinema, inter-ethnic relationships