‘World Cinema’. I used to think that the term ‘World Cinema’ is a little misleading, because when I heard of it for the first time, I translated directly from the two words and thought that it includes all the films in this world no matter which country nor language. Yet, it is definitely not the case as I did not do any research about it before. World Cinema is to refer to non-Hollywood films from different countries and languages around the world. From the Western viewpoint, it is also called as foreign film. Through different styles, ideas and stories, it reveals the community, cultures, and languages of different countries on their own, World Cinema films break free and stand out as a refreshing alternative other than Hollywood films. Admit it or not, no other countries could compete with Hollywood in the movies that they produce. Being the center of world movie, Hollywood has great influence on the industry and it remains as the capital in the market world of cinema. World cinema has been constantly changing since it started. They developed in different ways for each county, yet one thing is in common – They are greatly impacted by Hollywood cinema throughout the years. There are obvious differences in between World Cinema films and Hollywood films that makes them unique in their own ways. Firstly, due to the powerful economy of United States, Hollywood industry are capable to invite famous directors and actors to make blockbusters, while using advanced technology for filming. It also serves as a strategy to attract more people to watch the film consisting of their favorite actor among the casts. Whereas for World Cinema films, they cast anyone that is capable and suitable in doing the role, instead of inviting famous actors to act in it, partly due to the limited budget. Hollywood films also are leaning towards an unrealistic storyline where a lot of them are fantasies, and on the other side world cinema films tend to follow a narrative style and produces a realistic storyline. Other than that, Hollywood films are much more popular than world cinema films, as its market is much bigger and reaches out to a wider range of audience.
Malaysia is popular as a multiracial country, consisting of different races and ethnics. Yet, race relations in this country has been said to be delicate. This can be proven way back in time, when the 13 May 1969 incident strikes and leaves its marks under the history of Malaysia. Until now, race issues are still considered as very sensitive, as there are still debates going on among races, or more specifically the ethnic relations between the Malay majority and the Chinese minority in Malaysia. Malaysian Chinese form a large minority, at 37% of the population. They are dominant in many industries: commerce, manufacturing, construction and finance services (Ahmad 1999). The rules and policies in Malaysia often favor the Malays. The Malaysian government also lacks Chinese influences, where most of them are still Malays. The government tried to maintain the majority position of Malaysia by using the concept of Malay race being the ‘Bumiputera’, Clearly, Malays would have gotten more privileges compared to Chinese, and that is why there is always a border between races. Yet, Yasmin Ahmad crossed that border with her films.
Yasmin Ahmad is one of the filmmakers who started the Malaysian New Wave back in 2005. She has a major role in the film industry, affecting the history of world cinema. Social issues are always present in Yasmin Ahmad’s films, and it’s no different with Sepet which is released in 2004. Sepet is a world cinema film which narrates the love story between a Malay girl Orked and a Chinese boy Ah Loong (Jason). Yasmin Ahmad mentioned that she had deliberately “made Sepet to be accessible and unashamedly sentimental” (Hafizi, 2004), she has indeed mastered it through a romance that everyone can relate to. In the first scene itself, we have already been introduced to a multiracial theme, where Jason is sitting with his mum and reading out a poem by poet Rabindranath. His mother speaks Malay to communicate with Jason, yet he replies her in Cantonese. To add on more, the poem is translated from an indian poet. On this, Jason’s mother commented about how odd is it that one can find empathy with someone of a completely different race (FilmAsia, 2005). Throughout this whole film, a variety of languages are used and intertwined in the story, showing diversity in race which is a common phenomenon occurring in Malaysia between the multiracial society.
I think that Yasmin Ahmad has crossed the race border with her film, because in Sepet, both Orked and Jason crossed the border of them being Malay and Chinese and through their romantic relationship, despite having born with different race and ethnicity. It is not a matter for them at all; love is all that matters. In the film, Jason’s friends did tell Jason that if they were to get married, Jason can no longer consume pork and he needs to change his religion to Islam and go under circumcision which is unacceptable by most Chinese, yet Jason doesn’t mind and continued his relationship with Orked.
Other examples involving multiracial issue is the unequal access to results, comparing between a Malay and a Chinese. Yam mentions to Orked’s mother that Jason scored 7As and Orked scored 5As in an exam, yet Orked managed to receive a scholarship for her to study in England, but not Jason. This shows the difference in privileges that Malaysian government give between the Malay and the Chinese, mostly because the Malaysian government is composed of mostly Malays, and so they have more power to decide how to distribute resources. But also through this film, it actually shows how cultures intertwine among each other and mesh together in society. There are connections between one another – Orked has a Chinese boyfriend, Orked has a mother who always watches Chinese drama, Orked has a maid who listens to Siamese music. These factors represent Malaysia’s society and how it all mesh together culturally and ethnically. Malaysians live together and this allows people of different races to diffuse and create a shared culture, as portrayed by the colourful characters in this film.
Also, I think that Orked’s baju kurung has an important role in the film. It shows that she is proud of her heritage and her race by wearing baju kurung in a period of time where other girls starts to follow Western-influenced fashion. The baju kurung distinguishes Orked from her surroundings and represents her independence. Also, the baju kurung plays an important part in the mise-en-scene as it represents her unspoken confidence of her being a Malay. It is a signifier for her social and culture identity. The only moment where Orked is not wearing baju kurung is when her relationship with Jason is in turmoil. This makes her lose confidence, being vulnerable in who she is and thus she follows her peers in dressing western-influenced fashion, losing her identity as a Malay. Therefore through this, Yasmin Ahmad had drawn a coherent line along the baju kurung, western influence and Malay independence.
Interracial romance or marriage has been more and more common in Malaysia, yet it is still unacceptable by some people. When it comes to Family Law, there are two primary statutes: Law Reform (marriage and divorce) Act 1976 (Civil Marriage) and Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) Act 1984 (Muslim Marriage). The Civil Marriage Act of 1976 specifically states, “This Act shall not apply to a muslim.” Therefore, there is no way for a Muslim to marry a Non-Muslim in Malaysia, under the Civil Law. Therefore, if Jason were to marry Orked, he needs to convert into Islamic religion in order to marry her. In United States, interracial marriage used to be illegal, but now, 1 out of 6 marriages in United States are between people of different races or ethnicities. But sometimes, there’s no law, just custom. In China in 1978, there was not one interracial marriage registered in the country that had citizens of more than 950 million, yet it was not because of any law that was forbidding it. These days, multiracial marriage in countries are increasing constantly, and so here goes Yasmin Ahmad’s film Sepet about multiracial romance – a perfect film for people to relate to.
This film is definitely a success to Yasmin Ahmad. According to report, an average of 15,000 people watched this film in one day (The Star, 2005). This shows the ability of Yasmin Ahmad creating a film that is important and relevant to not only the people, but also the country itself. It is not merely about her own story; it is about the country’s story, story that happens within Malaysian itself. For me, Yasmin Ahmad is a role model for every filmmakers. She portrayed social issues in a mature yet relatable way, with a mindset to only bring awareness to citizens about the specific issue. Although some of her films highlighted some sensitive issues in Malaysia that might be unacceptable to some people, yet she means no provoke. She remains professional in making films and being a filmmaker – and that is why everyone respects and look up to her.