English Column: You ban, I download
“After Banning, what’s next?”
Picture courtesy of GFI.com
Malaysia has a long history of banning external artworks like Irshad Manji’s meet-the-fans session at IIUM in 2012 and the recent ban on Noah movie starring Superman’s dad, Russell Crowe.
With all the censorship in Malaysia, as of Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2013 by Reporters Without Borders, Malaysia ranked 145 over 179 countries. That means, the degree of democracy and political freedom in Malaysia is “partly free” as it scored 4 points since 2009.
But the question remains, in the world of unlimited internet connectivity, netizens can always autonomously download what is banned, summed in the title of this article “You ban, I download.”
Are movies sources of knowledge?
Never have I taught in school (despite Malaysia ranking bottom third over 74 countries according to the Education Blueprint) to consider movies as a credible source of knowledge. Movies are just a form of entertainment for you to watch with your families and friends.
The purpose of movies are not to indoctrinate it’s viewer, but what is seen on screen must be cross-referenced with facts and figures not to be blindly accepted as a biblical and authoritative knowledge.
Who taught us that?
Since young, many boys and girls like me have watched DreamWork’s the Prince of Egypt (1998) and that was when I was 9 years old (standard 3).
Even at that time, I knew that, the depiction of Moses being the pharaoh, how his miracles were portrayed and etc in the animated movie is inconsistent with what Islam has told in the Stories of the Prophets in story books told by parents before tucking you in bed.
The movie series “Lie To Me” featuring Tim Roth famous for being ‘Abomination’ in The Incredible Hulk has said to contain 90% facts and 10% drama verified by American Psychologist, Dr. Paul Ekman.
Still 90% of facts is not 100% and cannot all be counted as credible source of knowledge.
That is why, we have Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters to validate the scientific illustration of rumors, myths, movie scenes an etc.
If the scientific representation of movies can’t be accepted, what about the theological aspects of it?
Who on earth will take movies as a source of knowledge?
Isn’t this a common sense?
After banning, what else?
I attended a forum “Arkitek Dakwah: Kreatif Ada Motif” (in Malay of course) last 22nd March organized by PTS Media Group. The featured speakers were Ustazah Fatimah Syarha, Hilal Asyraf and Aiman Azlan.
The idea presented by Ustazah Fatimah Syarha really stuck into my mind. She was invited to the forum not as the love-novelist as she was originally known for, but she came as a script writer of the currently airing movie series “Aku Ada Wali” on TV Hijrah.
Ustazah Fatimah was asked why she ventured into writing drama scripts by the moderator. Her answer was the catch and I quote (after translating to English from Malay).
“It’s no use for us to criticize something if we can’t provide an alternative. I want to contribute a solution, that’s why I started writing a script, to provide the society and alternative.”
I have to say that, I am not a fan of Malay movie series.
But her answer in the context of what she is doing is an honorable act. At times we criticize the “7 Petala Cinta” as not portraying Islamic love, she gave an alternative of what is Islamic.
In the context of Noah film, the banning was because it was “un-Islamic” said by the head of LPF reported by The Malaysia Today.
The banning is not the bigger issue here. You can ban anything you want. But what after that? What alternative do we have?
If we can’t provide a movie or at least an animated movie of the “Islamic” version, then the ban is just small talk.
We need more “Prophetic” animated versions like “Muhammad: The Last Prophet” produced by Badr International.
Well story books are still in need,
Noah movie banned, but sexy, violent and superstitious movies not
I choose to not favor Malaysian movies because the genres are expected to be comedy, comedy-horror, action (always gangster), horror and romance.
The titles of the movies are cheap like “Suamiku Ustaz”, “Hantu Gangster”, “KL Gangster” and other cheap titles.
When the cinemas are congested with people watching the “Captain America: The Winter Solidier”, the cinema airing “Zombi: Kilang Biskut” is vacant.
Horror movies are playing with the theological (aqidah) aspect in kids to fear ghost, to hope for believe in superstitions rather than to fear God and to hope for Him for help.
The genre of movie I hate most is horror as it makes us fear the unknown.
That comes to my argument, are those gangster-hantu-biskut movies Islamic? If Malaysia truly wants to be Islamic, featuring a woman actor not wearing a hijab is “un-Islamic.” But still the movies of such are available and not banned.
Abundance of horror movies are making young kids to growing up fearing something that they shouldn’t. At times when they should be busy figuring out who they want to be when they grow up, they are distracted by ghosts under their beds.
If not banned…
I refuse to believe that faith of Muslim Malaysians is so brittle that they can be shattered by a mere movie.
If the movie Noah is not banned, people can openly organize discourses without the fear being caught scooping what is “un-Islamic” in the movie.
Discourses like this can urge the young people to strengthen their faith while understanding what other people have to say in the same subject matter.
Young people will be aroused to write more commentaries of what they think of the movie.
Wake up
I am a Muslim Malaysian that is always depressed about my country’s quality in film production.
I have yet to see Malaysia producing a high quality Superhero action movie like the Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Trilogy.”
Like for Batman The Dark Knight Rises, it took them 7 months from May to November 2011 to complete their filming.
They filmed in 31 cross-country different locations. But Malaysia’s KL Gangster 2 was only completed in 3 months and shot only in Malaysia (Well it’s about the gangsterism in Malaysia, where else should they go?).
Maybe I’m expecting too much from Malaysia.
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