Transnationalising Malay cinema: P. Ramlee in Hong Kong
This article investigates P. Ramlee's little-known attempt at transnationalising Malay cinema in the early 1960s. Using biographical records, newspaper reports and film magazines, I trace the star's earliest direct contact with Hong Kong cinema, his plans to make Malay films in Hong Kong,...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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2025
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/182291 |
| _version_ | 1826129755776221184 |
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| author | Yeo, Min Hui |
| author2 | School of Humanities |
| author_facet | School of Humanities Yeo, Min Hui |
| author_sort | Yeo, Min Hui |
| collection | NTU |
| description | This article investigates P. Ramlee's little-known attempt at transnationalising Malay cinema in the early 1960s. Using biographical records, newspaper reports and film magazines, I trace the star's earliest direct contact with Hong Kong cinema, his plans to make Malay films in Hong Kong, the controversy that ensued, and the outcomes of these grand plans. Situating this episode in its historical context, this article unsettles standard narratives of P. Ramlee, and Malay and Malaysian film histories. It demonstrates that, as opposed to the seemingly inevitable ethnonational route, and in contrast to the hypernationalist characterisation of P. Ramlee today, a transnational model was once envisioned through P. Ramlee as a potential future for Malay cinema in the face of tumultuous geopolitical changes. It also brings to light the complex role that labour activism played in shaping post-studio era development of Malay cinema, and the roots of Malaysian national cinema. |
| first_indexed | 2025-03-09T15:10:46Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/182291 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-03-09T15:10:46Z |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1822912025-01-21T00:26:09Z Transnationalising Malay cinema: P. Ramlee in Hong Kong Yeo, Min Hui School of Humanities Arts and Humanities P. Ramlee Malay films This article investigates P. Ramlee's little-known attempt at transnationalising Malay cinema in the early 1960s. Using biographical records, newspaper reports and film magazines, I trace the star's earliest direct contact with Hong Kong cinema, his plans to make Malay films in Hong Kong, the controversy that ensued, and the outcomes of these grand plans. Situating this episode in its historical context, this article unsettles standard narratives of P. Ramlee, and Malay and Malaysian film histories. It demonstrates that, as opposed to the seemingly inevitable ethnonational route, and in contrast to the hypernationalist characterisation of P. Ramlee today, a transnational model was once envisioned through P. Ramlee as a potential future for Malay cinema in the face of tumultuous geopolitical changes. It also brings to light the complex role that labour activism played in shaping post-studio era development of Malay cinema, and the roots of Malaysian national cinema. Nanyang Technological University This article was completed with funding from NTU Start-Up Grant (Award no.: SUG2021/Call2). 2025-01-21T00:26:08Z 2025-01-21T00:26:08Z 2024 Journal Article Yeo, M. H. (2024). Transnationalising Malay cinema: P. Ramlee in Hong Kong. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 55(1), 145-169. https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0022463424000201 0022-4634 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/182291 10.1017/S0022463424000201 2-s2.0-85206880460 1 55 145 169 en SUG2021/Call2 Journal of Southeast Asian Studies © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The National University of Singapore. All rights reserved. |
| spellingShingle | Arts and Humanities P. Ramlee Malay films Yeo, Min Hui Transnationalising Malay cinema: P. Ramlee in Hong Kong |
| title | Transnationalising Malay cinema: P. Ramlee in Hong Kong |
| title_full | Transnationalising Malay cinema: P. Ramlee in Hong Kong |
| title_fullStr | Transnationalising Malay cinema: P. Ramlee in Hong Kong |
| title_full_unstemmed | Transnationalising Malay cinema: P. Ramlee in Hong Kong |
| title_short | Transnationalising Malay cinema: P. Ramlee in Hong Kong |
| title_sort | transnationalising malay cinema p ramlee in hong kong |
| topic | Arts and Humanities P. Ramlee Malay films |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/182291 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yeominhui transnationalisingmalaycinemapramleeinhongkong |