Negotiating class, ethnicity and modernity: the ‘Malaynisation’ of P. Ramlee and his films

Abstract

Early Malaysian national cinema disseminates a social reconstruction process aimed at reconstructing Malay supremacy at the centre of a specific geographical, political, economic and cultural space. Aptly termed as 'Malaynisation', this process occurred during the Golden Age of Malaysian cinema through the films of P. Ramlee. While existing as a capitalist film culture located within an ethnically diverse society, early Malaysian cinema through Ramlee have produced a significant number of monoethnic representations solely focused on the culture, language and lifestyles of the Malays. As such, the articulation of the politics of inclusion and exclusion in Ramlee's films articulates a right-wing nationalist sentiment that upholds the sovereignty of the dominant Malays while undermining other ethnic communities. The nature of these representations enunciates the context of an 'imagined community' which locates the formation of a particular type of nationalism within a social, political and cultural communicative space. This paper examines the construction of the 'modern Malay' identity in Ramlee's films and the nationalist discourse in Ramlee's films as an attempt at producing the idea of a nation as a continuous narrative of national progression by presenting the postcolonial Malays as a modern, successful and dominant force.

P. Ramlee’s Cinematographic Auteurship of Cultural Values Representation in Antara Dua Darjat and Ibu Mertua-Ku

“…Table 3 is the breakdown of Malay traditional cultural values. The cinema industry and its film texts are visual aids in the construction of culture and "Ramlee's films were used to convey the construction of a particular ideology" (Mahyuddin & Lee, 2015). Based on these cultural values, P. Ramlee's Antara Dua Darjat and Ibu Mertua-Ku were coded in order to explore the director's visual narrative style of cultural values representation.…”

Sinema Nasional Malaysia: Pasang Surut Budaya Dalam Tiga Era

“…Idea Sinema Nasional Malaysia menjadi penting apabila terma 'nasional' itu melibatkan isu berkenaan produksi, pengedaran dan penontonan serta ciri yang membentuk kolektiviti nasional (Mahyuddin & Lee, 2015). Di samping itu, idea Sinema Nasional juga memberi ruang untuk kita memahami bagaimana sesuatu bangsa memilih mewakili diri mereka dalam filem dan boleh menjadi instrumen untuk menginterogasi ideologi membina bangsa dalam filem (Higbee, 2007).…”