This document is downloaded from DR‑NTU (https://dr.ntu.edu.sg) Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Inter‑ethnic relations in Malaysia : an intersectional analysis of youth's engagement with ethnicised themes in local films Humairah Zainal 2018 Humairah Zainal. (2018). Inter‑ethnic relations in Malaysia : an intersectional analysis of youth's engagement with ethnicised themes in local films. Doctoral thesis, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. http://hdl.handle.net/10356/75947 https://doi.org/10.32657/10356/75947 Downloaded on 10 Oct 2021 03:22:33 SGT INTER-ETHNIC RELATIONS IN MALAYSIA: AN INTERSECTIONAL ANALYSIS OF YOUTH’S ENGAGEMENT WITH ETHNICISED THEMES IN LOCAL FILMS HUMAIRAH BINTE ZAINAL SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES 2018 INTER-ETHNIC RELATIONS IN MALAYSIA: AN INTERSECTIONAL ANALYSIS OF YOUTH’S ENGAGEMENT WITH ETHNICISED THEMES IN LOCAL FILMS HUMAIRAH BINTE ZAINAL Division of Sociology School of Social Sciences A thesis submitted to Nanyang Technological University in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2018 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of this dissertation would not have been possible without the guidance and support of many important figures in my postgraduate life. I borrow this space to express my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to them. First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Assoc. Prof. Kamaludeen Mohamed Nasir for being a huge inspiration and role model in my academic journey since the start of my doctoral programme. His scholarly competence, amazing dedication and constant encouragement have inspired me to complete my dissertation in a timely manner and to continually strive for excellence in my scholarly pursuits. Beyond his formal role as my advisor, he has taught me a great deal about how to go about conducting excellent research. I would not have gone this far without his professional guidance and generous advice on my works and on academia in general. I am also grateful to those whom I have had the pleasure to work with for this research and other related projects. I am especially indebted to my dissertation committee members, Assoc. Prof. Sam Han and Assoc. Prof. Hadijah Rahmat for their insightful comments and intellectual engagement throughout this project. Advisory meetings with them have always been so enlightening. I cannot thank them enough for instilling in me the confidence to pursue my academic endeavours and for grooming me into an aspiring scholar. Assoc. Prof. Patrick Williams has also been instrumental in challenging me to think more critically about research methodology through his graduate seminar, which has proven useful for my dissertation. The strong support that I received from the faculty at the Division of Sociology in NTU, especially Prof. Zhou Min, Assoc. Prof. Kwok Kian Woon and Asst. Prof. Genaro Castro has made my academic journey an enjoyable and intellectually stimulating one. I also wish to extend my deepest appreciation to several colleagues who have played a tremendous role in my professional development as a scholar. A special note goes to Dr. Faizah Zakaria, Asst. Prof. Oona Paredes and all other colleagues from National University of Singapore who have been i supportive of my career goals and who have worked actively to offer me the assistance I need to pursue these goals despite their hectic schedules. Their friendship is what I cherish the most. I would also like to foreground an important group of individuals who have lent me their support in the course of doing my fieldwork in Malaysia. A special thanks to Assoc. Prof. Norsidah Ujang and her students from the Department of Landscape Architecture at Universiti Putra Malaysia for allowing me to conduct preliminary research for my project. My sincere appreciation also goes out to Ms Salbiah Rahman from Unitar International University where my main fieldwork was conducted. Her warm hospitality and steadfastness in assisting me with campus facilities and participant recruitment enabled me to achieve my fieldwork goals. This list will not end without mentioning the names of the faculty from University of Malaya who have been of great assistance to me during my visits to their institution. Of special mention are Dr. Md Azalanshah Md Syed, who has offered me critical insights for my works, and Dr. Amira Sariyati Firdaus, who has given me the opportunity to deliver a guest lecture on my research to her students during the course of my fieldwork. I am also indebted to the faculty from the Gender Studies Programme for their feedback on this project during my presentation at their Gender Studies Seminar Series. My heartfelt gratitude also goes out to all my informants for their time and willingness to share their thoughts with me. Their enthusiasm in taking part in my research has spurred me on to work even harder for this dissertation. The friendship forged with them over the course of my fieldwork is something that I will treasure greatly. My intellectual endeavour has been less lonely because of them. In addition to friends in Malaysia, I would like to thank all other individuals who have enriched my research in various ways, and for being part of this journey. Last but not least, nobody has been more important to me in the pursuit of this journey than my parents, Zainal Siraj and Norani Abdullah. I extend my ii loving thanks to them for their prayers, company and support. I hope I have made them proud through this endeavour and will continue to make them proud, as I did not come this far to only come this far. In loving memory of my beloved grandmother, Ranian Abdul Ghani, who passed away the day before my oral defence, I dedicate this research to her. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i TABLE OF CONTENTS iv SUMMARY vi LIST OF TABLES ix LIST OF FIGURES x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Cinematic Ethnic Order in Malaysia .......................................................... 1 1.2 Films as an Analytical Tool to Study Inter-Ethnic Relations in Malaysia ....... 6 1.3 Malaysia as a Geographical Focus: A Timely Case Study on Malaysian Undergraduates’ Engagement with Inter-Ethnic Relations in Local Films ........... 7 1.3.1 Malaysian Films as a Unit of Analysis ............................................................. 7 1.3.2 Malaysian Youth Engagement with Films ........................................................ 9 1.3.3 Audience Reception in an Era of Heightened Islamisation ............................ 14 1.4 Research Questions and Hypotheses .................................................................. 18 1.5 Thesis Contributions ............................................................................................ 19 1.6 Thesis Overview ................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 26 2.2 Literature Review of Sociological Approaches to Studying Films .................. 26 2.2.1 Overview of Works on Sociology of Films .................................................... 26 2.2.2 Malaysian Films: Theoretical Debates and Textual Studies ........................... 32 2.3 Literature Review of Audience Reception of Cinematic Ethnic Relations ...................................................................................................................... 38 2.4 Literature Review of Intersectionality and Audience Reception .................... 40 2.5 An Intersectional Framework for Exploring Audience Engagement with Inter-Ethnic Films ............................................................................................. 44 2.5.1 Justifications for Intersectionality ................................................................... 45 2.6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 48 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 49 iv 3.2 Research Methods ................................................................................................ 49 3.2.1 Triangulation Strategy .................................................................................... 49 3.2.2 Population and Sampling ................................................................................ 53 3.3 Data Collection ..................................................................................................... 58 3.3.1 Content Analysis of Films .............................................................................. 58 3.3.1.1 Film Selection and Coding Procedures ....................................................... 58 3.3.2 Focus Group Interviews .................................................................................. 60 3.3.2.1 Participant Recruitment ............................................................................... 60 3.3.2.2 Challenges in Recruitment ........................................................................... 64 3.3.3 On-Site Observations ...................................................................................... 66 3.3.4 Film Screening ................................................................................................ 67 3.3.4.1 Challenges in Film Screening ...................................................................... 70 3.3.5 Focus