I'm almost ashamed. While my peers are earnestly debating the censorship of the excellent (or so i've been told, coz i haven't had the chance to see it), 2nd First Annual Bolehwood Awards, i was glued to my TV, transfixed on the competition that is Akademi Fantasia (AF).
UPDATE: Sultan Muzaffar features a daily review of AF on his blog!
I've been watching it for a couple of weeks now, not religiously, but enough to understand what's going on, and to be pretty absorbed by it when things get interesting. While entertaining, its a show that raises a question that i don't quite have a suitable answer for: why are the participants so bloody nice to one another?
This ain't Survivor folks, its not even Fear Factor, or anywhere nearly as grueling as the Amazing Race - in these series, and other reality shows on the airwaves where competition is a key ingredient (i.e. one contestant has to outperform all the others in order to win) and cut-throat, back-stabbing action is almost assured. But not so in Akademi Fantasia. Some may argue it isn't really a reality series, more like a glorified talent search - you don't have to be nasty to win. In fact, since votes are cast by the viewing public, it pays to be nice so to win the "Mr/Ms Nice Guy" votes; if you're an angel, cry when tears are deemed necessary, weep when a fellow AF-ian is voted off each week, people will like you, hence vote for you more.
This in itself is indicative of the Malaysian persona: why vote for the nice guy or girl? Why not vote for the BEST? Every week, Vince is, by far, the best performer of the lot, thus garnering the lion's share of votes. But last week, Rueben was voted off - his performance has been consistent over the competition and based on that, he shouldn't have walked. There were at least 2 others (who happen to be very pretty ladies) who should have been shown the door based on their woeful singing skills.
Has the Malaysian persona been conditioned to reward appearances, to place that above merit and ability? Is that the state of our society? Or should i say, is this the state of the Malay society - it can be argued that the demographic target of the show is decidedly Malay i.e. Malay language program, all Malay cast, predominantly Malay (only 2 non-Malays as far as i can tell) Akademi "students".
This same issue is addressed in the Bolehwood production by the Instant Cafe Theatre - the phychological and mental lot of the Malays. Its critic and analysis is one of the themes of the production - and while the production meant it as satire, the high-handed imposition by the authorities to censor such themes from the production in fact acts to validate the truth of the assertion.
UPDATE: A review (with pics) of Bolehwood by Nizam Zakaria.
A letter to Utusan written as a complaint of the themes of the show is further proof positive of how weak the Malay mind is when faced with criticism, albeit one that uses potentially "impolite" language (this is subjective, relative to the tolerant levels of individuals for such language).
bq. Yang saya tidak faham, kenapa dan bagaimana mereka ini boleh cemburu dan mengkritik secara berlebihan tentang kemajuan yang dicapai oleh Malaysia sedangkan mereka sendiri adalah rakyat Malaysia? Atau adakah mereka ini sering berulang-alik daripada Malaysia-London. Dengan kata lain, menjadikan Malaysia seperti tempat persinggahan sahaja? Ataupun mereka tidak menetap di Malaysia sama sekali dan hanya mempunyai visa pelancong?
bq. Jika benar tanggapan saya, maka saya tidak hairan golongan ini boleh mempermain-mainkan atau memperlekehkan beberapa negarawan/tokoh politik negara dengan selamba. Mereka perlu faham atau setidak-tidaknya tahu dengan jelas dan sahih tentang kronologi/keadaan sosio-politik negara, sebelum mereka lahir sehinggalah merdeka dan seterusnya pada masa kini. Barulah boleh untuk mengkritik, itupun biarlah secara sihat berlandaskan kata-kata yang berlapik.
A truly strong mind, one built on the foundations of a flourishing civilization would welcome criticisms, even stinging ones that may not seem justified, in stride and see it as a challenge for self-improvement, rather than hide behind the rock that is "we-can't-criticize-because-we-shouldn't" arguments.
But perhaps, that's something we, the Malays, have generally yet to develop: our inability to respond positively to the challenges of criticisms. We may like to think ourselves as civilized, but its quite possible we've forgotten being civilized does not necessarily indicate a vibrant civilization.
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