This dissertation examines the impact of modernity, in the form of modernization,
rapid industrialization and the introduction of Western ideas about nationalism and female
emancipation, on gender and gender relations in contemporary Malaysian film and
literature. Drawing upon theories ranging from Lacanian psychoanalysis, feminism,
postcolonialism, nationalism, existentialism to theories about fascism, I examine and
critique the representations of gender from the predominantly middle-class writers and the
works of the new wave Malay filmmakers. I make the case that these films and literary
works reflect the outcome of the National Economic Policy (1971-1990) and, in my
analyses, show that these modernizing imperatives, though received positively, are
sometimes greeted with a cautionary ambivalence, depending on one's class, gender,
ethnicity, and political and religious beliefs. Such ambivalence towards feminism, for
example, appears in K.S. Maniam's portrayal of independent female characters, whom I
call "fascist 'feminists'," or in the representations of hypermasculinity or male violence in
current Malay cinema.
Films and literature by some Malays reflect a desire to recover Malay custom, adat,
while forging a unique, modern, postcolonial identity that distinguishes itself from the
West, other former British colonies and other Muslim nations. However, this subversive
postcolonial move must be treated with caution to ensure that it does not replicate prevalent
negative stereotypes of women as sexualised beings. A key distinction in this dissertation is
that the representations of the modern Malay woman vary according to the gender of the
cultural producer: male writers and filmmakers portray the negative impact of modernity on
women, whereas their female counterparts portray women at ease with modernity.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/10823 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Khoo, Gaik Cheng |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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