Rhizomatic behaviours in social media: V-logging and the independent film industry in Malaysia

Abstract

Amidst highly ambiguous policies governing the creative industry in Malaysia, discourses concerning censorship, funding and distribution continue to implicate popular content within the independent film industry. While independent filmmakers are increasingly looking to the possibilities of online distribution of their work, there is a new generation of filmmakers or v-loggers who are actively using social media to confront a range of national, social and cultural issues within their texts. By drawing upon examples of independent film productions and v-logs made popular through online portals ranging from YouTube to more activist-centred sites, this article considers the ways in which creative products that would have been banned or removed from local screens by the state have in fact garnered millions of online views, and are discussed, referenced and widely shared by the public via social networking platforms. Through the rhizomatic capacities of v-logging, I argue that the emergence of new cultural distribution strategies challenges us to rethink notions of social practice and action. In addition to understanding social media as an alternative platform for public discourse in Malaysia, there is a further need to engage with the idea of the ‘prosumer’, and to consider the changing dynamics of the independent film industry.