ANALYSING MALAY(SIAN) ROMANCE DRAMAS AS MEDIUMS FOR PORTRAYALS OF WOMEN THROUGH THE LENSES OF GENDER, RELIGION AND ROMANCE

Abstract

This paper posits that Malaysian romance dramas have become sites for the proliferation of female subjugation and androcentric religious interpretations. Ultimately, these onscreen representations establish the gender relations between the male-female relationships, in which the female protagonist is presented as inferior to her male counterpart. Using the dramas and novels for Love You Mr Arrogant and Ariana Rose as case studies for this paper, this paper seeks to find out what are the reinforcing factors that support the creation of portraying women in specific notions through an analysis on the nature of Malaysia’s media industry and the country’s political-economic environment. This paper will also examine the position of producers/directors of Malay romance dramas to determine if they have agency over the representations that they portray. With the ‘cultivating’ force of the media, this study aims to conduct in-depth interviews with 8 Malay-Muslim Singaporeans between the ages 21-35, to understand how these dramas shape their beliefs and their receptiveness towards the representations present in the show.