Why Malaysians need a lesson in media literacy

WE are a nation of deep passions. When we see the Jalur Gemilang on a cinema screen, we feel a surge of pride. We love seeing our country represented on the world’s stage.

Lately, however, this pride seems to have turned into a kind of defensiveness that might actually be hurting the local creative industry.

The Singaporean TV series Highway To Somewhere, which shows a darker – but still fictional – side of scams in Malaysia, was criticised for “damaging Malaysia’s national image”, and local film Ola Bola 2, which features the national football team in the past, was criticised for fictionalising history.

Do you see the pattern? We seem to treat every movie or TV show with local content like a serious documentary instead of a creative work of fiction.

We must remember the “unspoken contract” of cinema: Fiction is a world of imagination.

When we look at the product of global TV and movie powerhouses like Hong Kong or South Korea, we seem to put on a different lens. For years, Hong Kong was portrayed – and continues to be shown – in movies as a hub for triads and drug deals. Does that make us think the territory is actually like that? No. It makes us think its creative industry is full of masters of action and storytelling.

South Korean dramas often feature extreme government corruption or scary acts of terrorism, yet they don’t affect enthusiastic tourism and certainly do little to stop the global appetite for K-dramas because fans understand they are fake scenes designed for drama.

Every country has its own unique culture, deeply held values and religious beliefs. These are the foundations of who we are, and they should always be respected.

However, respecting our values doesn’t mean we should ban anything that isn’t “perfect”. True respect for a culture includes allowing artists the freedom to explore different perspectives, even the uncomfortable ones.

If we set too many restrictions or view every “bad” character as an insult to the nation, we spoil the very creativity and innovation that could make Malaysian films famous worldwide.

When we demand that every film or TV show function like a tourism brochure, we put our writers and directors in a cage.

Creativity dies when artists are too afraid to take risks. We will never produce a world-class masterpiece if our creators are constantly looking over their shoulders, worried about being misunderstood.

Let’s trust our own strength as a nation. Malaysia is strong enough to handle a fictional story without it changing who we are. Let’s give our filmmakers the space to be innovative and bold. By letting our stories breathe, we aren’t just ­protecting our culture, we are allowing it to grow and be shared with the world in exciting new ways.

DR LEONARD CHOW

Kampar, Perak