The stories we are afraid to tell

JULY 5 — Sometimes I think Malaysia keeps learning the wrong lessons from the various wins our creatives bag overseas.

It goes beyond just “we have no opportunities here”.

There is a stagnation in our local entertainment scene; a deep rot that is blithely ignored by the people who can still cari makan (make a living).

I know a director who keeps churning out the same old romance soaps that are almost indistinguishable from each other, justifying it as this is what all local TV stations will buy.

Last week I felt wistful watching clips from old 80s Malaysian TV shows such as Jangan Ketawa, Pi Mai Pi Mai Tang Tu and 2+1.

Crossdressers. Gay men. Minority actors getting fairly prominent and non-token roles on TV. Why is what was possible in the 80s now unthinkable?

The writer says there is a stagnation in our local entertainment scene. — Unsplash pic

I remember the furore around the film Bukak Api that was meant to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS, but instead was condemned as immoral for daring to honestly portray the lives of sex workers in Chow Kit.

In South Korea, there are so many dramas that centre around corrupt officials that get their comeuppance.

It is perhaps an indicator of how corruption has long been a talking point and frustration in the country.

There is good news, however. In recent years things have improved to the point the nation for the first time was ranked 31st in Transparency International’s corruption index while Malaysia was at 61, managing only 47 out of 100 points.

Perhaps, I think, addressing the issue of corruption in not just the public sphere but the arts helped South Korea.

In Malaysia we keep pushing things under the carpet, in hopes that if we don’t look at the problem too closely we can pretend it does not exist.

I think we have a lot of talent in the arts and it is a great waste that they either leave us or are frittered away on disposable entertainment.

Perhaps it is time the government stops trying so hard to shield us from things we know are already out there.

If people don’t like a TV show, don’t watch it. If they don’t think a scene in a film is appropriate for children, don’t bring your kids along to the cinema or learn to use parental controls for Netflix.

The world is bigger, and our lives are richer than we realise and I think it’s time we stop shackling our storytellers.

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.