Abstract
This article examines how Islam is being represented in Malaysian comedy films: Syurga Cinta/Paradise of Love (Ahmad Idham, 2009) and Ustaz, Mu Tunggu Aku Datang!/Ustaz, I’m Coming! (Pierre Andre, 2013). As one of a popular genre in film, comedy and its comical narratives has the ability to critique social, cultural and political conditions within the specific context of Malaysia. Using film narrative analysis, this study identifies that both films revolve around a similar plot of a male quest for haram (forbidden) obsessions, such as fortune or women, and a return to morality (i.e. humility and true love). As these comedies attempt to illuminate the intersection between religion and comical narrative, the way they feature the main characters are not simply as sinful or immoral. Rather, they are portrayed as misguided, but equally amusing in dealing with misfortune and wrongfulness. This article found that the central element of both films lies in its incongruity between the traditional Islamic principle and trajectories which against morality. Besides the call for morality, this article also argues that Malaysian comedy is also shaped in response to the Islamisation of the public sphere, thus, underlines the ‘re-imagine social life’ within the Malay (sian)-Muslim context.
Highlights
The cinema, or film, which is understood as being part of the commodities of ‘popular culture’, provides a platform for exploring the multiplicity of genre, as it appears in mass-produced generic fiction and art in general (Neale, 1990, p. 194)
This paper examines the relationship between film genres, in particular comedy, and its Journal al-‘Abqari
The point is that there are various ways that people can learn about their socio-cultural condition and crises, including through the lens of local comedies as they help in revealing and commenting on the prejudices, preoccupations and dreams of the societies that produce them. As for both films that correspond to the intersection between religion and comedy, the use of the comic frame allows us to acknowledge its simplicity in delivering the didactic message
Summary
The cinema, or film, which is understood as being part of the commodities of ‘popular culture’, provides a platform for exploring the multiplicity of genre, as it appears in mass-produced generic fiction and art in general (Neale, 1990, p. 194). The term ‘Islamic comedy’ may suggest a contrasting vision between religion and humour, this variety seems to have its own way of representing its cultural/religious understanding in a particular context Such an understanding fits with Morreall’s (1999, p.23) observation that comedy encourages “reframing”, entailing looking at situations from new and unusual perspectives, via the portrayal of diverse narratives and characters. The film critiques the practice of polygamy by middle-class Malay-Muslim men, a theme that remains popular today on the big screen (Norman, 2013; Hassan, 2013, p.57-58). These classical comedies illustrate some contextual interpretations of humour and laughter. A causal event by an agent of change, creates a deequilibrium, creating a problem or a quest A series of obstacles occur
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