Abang (1981)

Synopsis
Abang (1981), by Rahim Razali is a film regarding the homecoming of Faud Din, who the eldest son in the family. Faud had been missing for 10 years without informing his beloved family members regarding the reason. One day, Datuk Din, father of Faud received a telegraph regarding the sudden return of Faud. There are a lot of emotions and feelings on his family members regarding the homecoming of Faud. Some get excited, while some are worried and afraid. When Faud returned, he had told and educated a lot of things to his younger brothers and sister. He taught Faizal, his younger brother on the tactic in doing business. Other than that, he had also taught his youngest brother, Farid the way to behave himself well and to possess a good attitude. Moreover, he had also told his younger sister to think wisely about her future plan. No one in the family knows about Faud was actually undergo the Leukaemia treatment in London for the past 10 years, until Doctor Raslan, who is Faud’s personal doctor told them regarding the news. When Faud’s family members about to seek for the forgiveness from Faud, however it was too late because Faud had already passed away in the village.

We can clearly see various types of hybridity in this film. The hybridity that we can observe are including racial and ethnic hybrids, language hybrids, cultural hybrids and gender hybrids.

Racial & Ethnic Hybrids
We can clearly notice the racial hybrid in Din Enterprise Sdn. Bhd., which is the family business of Fuad in the beginning of the film. There are workers with different races work in the company. Other than that, we can also see people from different races were invited to attend the homecoming party for Fuad. Furthermore, audiences from different races and ethnicity are supporting Dila when she is performing and singing on stage. Although Abang is a Malay film, however the director, Rahim Razali uses multiracial casts in some parts of his film to show the multiracial country of Malaysia. By doing so, Rahim Razali was trying to reform the perception of the audiences that Malay Cinema is no longer the Cinema of Denial. Cinema of Denial is where the Malays are denying about the existence of other races in the society, such as Chinese and Indian in their films. That has led to a stage where they are refused to include actors from other races into their films. However, Rahim Razali had included actors from other races in the film to create some kind of harmony and peaceful society.

Language Hybrids
There is a hybridity in term of the language used in the film. Characters in the film often blend the Malay language with English language. For example, when Fuad and Faizal are quarrelling with each other in Penang when Faizal asked Fuad regarding the reason why he left home ten years ago. This implies that the society at that time is modern in terms of their thinking and doing because most of the citizens in the city, such as Kuala Lumpur are highly educated and can speak English fluently.

Cultural Hybrids
We can clearly notice the cultural hybridity in this film in terms of the characters’ thinking and behaviours. This is because of the cultural imperialism by the western countries. In the beginning of the film, when Dila is driving the car at the racing track, there are billboards showing the advertisements of Coca-cola, F&N Sarsi and Anchor beer. This implies that Malaysian are already been influenced by the western cultures. Besides, this also shows that they are getting modern in terms of their thinking and behaviour because of the hybridity of their local cultures and the western cultures. For example, Diaman is barbequing the crabs instead of using the Malay traditional way to “panggang” it when Fuad is talking with Faizal in Penang. Other than that, Farid, the youngest brother of Fuad is consuming alcoholic drinks during Fuad homecoming party. As we know, alcoholic drinks are originated from the western countries. Thus, we can say that they are being influenced by the western culture. Besides, muslims are not suppose to consume alcoholic drinks because it is against the Islamic context. When a person undergoes the hybridity of different cultures, they do not really care about who and what they are. They are just comfortable with the things that they are doing and they do not even get confuse with themselves and their identity.

Gender Hybrids
We can clearly see the gender hybrids on the character of Dila. In the society at the time, females are supposingly to stay at home and taking care of their family members. However, Dila is a singer, where she has her own career. Besides, she is also a car racing driver. Moreover, she is a modern yet traditional female where she is modern in terms of her outlook and her doing (car racing driver), but traditional in terms of her thinking. The reason why she is traditional in terms of her thinking is because she likes local arts and cultures. Her ambition is to build a long house and invites all the local artists and musicians to stay at there to produce their products, such as art paintings and music.

REFERENCE
Utusan online. (2008). Menoleh filem dekad 80-an. Retrieved November 29, 2011, from http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2008&dt=1012&pub=UtusanMalaysia&sec=Hiburan&pg=hi_34.htm

SinemaMalaysia. (n.d.). Abang. Retrieved November 29, 2011, from http://www.sinemamalaysia.com.my/film/info/?id=Abang_235