The local jokes, the global comedy; la!

     It’s hard to understand sometimes those jokes from other country TV series such as Kath & Kim, the Australian hit TV comedy series. Comedy series are always brings in a lot of local issue so that people can laugh about it and get attach to the series due to they can not only understand, they can feel the jokes that happen all around and it is on TV.

     Comparing the western comedy TV series with ours, we are totally a different region and language to understand what these comedy TV series tell us. We staying in a multi-region country, we had different language, different dialect and when all these combine together; we had our own Malaysia local comedy.

     Bringing in a local example, “Scenario” the TV series that carries almost a decade with the movie as well; it brings in a lot of local issue, culture and jokes as well. As well as the most important at the 90’s, “Baba & Nyonya”, the Malay and Chinese culture mixture TV series had brings in a lot of laughter with the historical background of Melaka.

     With all the respect, we Malaysia can’t bring all the political jokes like United State “South park” series does. But our neighbor country had a best comedy of all times that link both Malaysia and Singapore together, “Pua Chu Kang” tv comedy series use the broken English to sarcastically present that Singapore still had a long way to become a best country like those western country. And why does it link with Malaysia? The slogan that Mr.Pua Chu Kang always said:

“PCK Private Ltd! Best in Singapore and JB, and some say Batam!” – “Pua Chu Kang”

Local jokes can simply just a word, just some incident happen in the country or some news daily, such as price rises in the country. The most important things that TV series brings the resonance with the locals are because all the comedy series actually speak out for the public, to the world.

Itu simple la!

The Transnational of Hybridity Movie Industry

To fulfill the audience appetite, Hollywood movie is not longer the only attraction nowadays. As the previous blog, the rises of “Hongllywood” we can understand that the influence of Chinese movie had successfully blend in to Western movie. As result, it had completely attracted both Chinese and Western audience to watch and to feel the culture impact in those movie.

But with the recent hit of “Avatar” and “Slumdog Millionaire”,Bollywood claim all the spotlights and attention after all these years of hard work. According to BBC News, India is the world largest movie producer of films, In 2009, it produced a total of 1,288 feature films. By contrast Hollywood produces an average of 500 per year.

Now we sees that the audience had a new genre of movie in their choice. It’s like a new item on the menu, the “3 idiots” had then strike in and let the public knows that no matter big or small production, the quality of the movie and the message of the movie is the main thing we should watch and understand but not about the language, the famous actors and so on.

With the culture impact in all this movie, all the production had turn stereotype, racism away and bringing in transnational method into all these movie production can enlarge the creative and the movie reached to the audience. “World War Z” is one of the latest example, the movie covers a part of the middle east story line and actors.

It was a international cooperation that brings the transnational method into movie industry. The media capital was no longer Hollywood or Chinese culture, it is now the era of Hybridity Movie rising!

 

Source:

Shabnam Mahmood and Manjushri Mitra, 24 June 2011, Bollywood sets sights on wider market, 19th September 2013, <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13894702>

The “HONGLLYWOOD” Raises.

When you ask western about “what you can think off when you hear the word – CHINESE?” Normally it was KUNGFU and DRAGON.

If you check the Oxford dictionary (Oxford Dictionary 2013), you can found “Kung fu” is now an officially English word. Yes, Hong Kong started with the click of Kung Fu to Hollywood and the guy that make it happen is – Bruce Lee.

Bruce was a trouble maker when he was young due to he had learned “Weng chun” from IP MAN, and he cause a problem with his fury fists towards the Hong Kong police, he was then suggested back to where he born, United State to study aboard and stay out of trouble,

Here started the influence, Bruce started his Kung Fu school and had some student which then become a superstar at Hollywood, Steve McQueen and James Coburn when he open the third school in Los Angeles.

With his connection then he had a chance to stand a role in . And after more and more spotlight he gain in United State, he get back to Hong Kong and he had broken all the filming records.

The sudden death of Bruce Lee had shock the world. Everyone thought there is a big lost for Hong Kong, but now he had attract the whole world to understand more on the Chinese. Bruce Lee Chinese name with a word of “dragon”, well then Jackie Chan had change his name with a word of dragon as well. He hope to continue the dragon spirit from Bruce Lee.

The martial arts movie had then become a main stream in the industry. Then it changes to comedy, with the time being Chow Yun Fat started to have his gangster movie going on as well.

With all the successful base that Bruce Lee build on, all the new comers hadfollow his step and became the world well-known superstar. Such as Stephen Chow, Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat, Jet Lee and a lot more. The one thing they had in common, it’s Kung Fu movies actor.

It was taken a long time until “Crouching Tigers Hidden Dragons” to own all the certain from Hollywood. Well then it was the cross culture that Bruce Lee brings it over to the world. To make Kung Fu not only a sports, it was then recognized as the important element that represents Chinese culture.

Hollywood might be the main and biggest movie industry in the world, but the rises of the dragons will never fallen, like the sun rises from the east.

IMDb (2013), Biography for Bruce Lee, accessed in 4th September 2013, <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000045/bio>

Rob Daniel (21th July 2013), Enter the dragon hits 40…Hard!, accessed online on 4th September 2013, <http://www.electric-shadows.com/enter-the-dragon-hits-40-hard/>