Post by uptowndragon on Jan 28, 2008 15:56:53 GMT 7
Do "wardrobe malfunctions" really lead to morality malfunctions?
Chip: I am on a 3 month moral fibre diet!!!
Image courtesy of Greg
Let's first and foremost get the facts absolutely right on what really transpired on that unfortunate night that led to the banning of Faizal Tahir from national TV for a period of 3 months.
Most mainstream newspapers & tabloids (or should I say all) led everyone to believe that Faizal Tahir did a striptease, and some even went on to say he was semi nude (separuh bogel) when he was performing at 8TV's 4th Rockin' Birthday Concert, which was aired live. I am not sure whether any of these mainstream journalists even know what constitutes a striptease act or have actually even seen one before to even so boldly declare that a MAN who takes off his shirt is actually performing an indecent act. Let's get real here, Faizal Tahir can hardly ever be likened to a Chippendale dancer and what he did on stage was certainly no striptease act, and I really doubt that it offended anyone except a select few (who were probably basing their judgments from hearsay). Even luminary OIAM judge Paul Moss remarked it was more "Chip & Dale" that anything else. Perhaps, these purveyors of morality should consider watching an episode of PCK to better understand the concept, where Phua Choo Kang & his brother Beng, actually do a striptease act (which included two fingered nipple stroking) right down to their boxers, in a night club, which surprising got past our censors and was aired on national TV. You can even find that episode in the stores on VCD with our National Film Board stickers attached. Amazing, isn't it?
Yes, Faizal did actually take off his licensed Superman tee (which he gifted to the audience), and, yes he did take off his undershirt (singlet) to reveal a poorly drawn Superman logo on his bare chest. It was certainly tongue & cheek and gimmicky, and brought out laughs, but cannot be remotely considered as crude, titillating, seductive or even offensive, to the general public (and especially more so to the urban viewers of 8TV). Yes, he did take off his expensive licensed Superman belt, which he once again, being brand ambassador to DC Comics merchandisers in Malaysia, gifted to the audience. Nobody, in his right mind would have even thought, that the wholesome Faizal Tahir, was about to yank his pants off on national TV. Come on, seriously, did these journos actually think that?
And do these well educated sensationalists, even know what semi nude means? A topless man as opposed to a topless woman is NOT in general inference considered semi nude (separuh bogel). They have to at the very least be down to their briefs to even be considered as such. Otherwise almost all Malaysian men have been semi nude in public at one time or another. Many even on national TV. Think about it, I am sure you have been too.
According to the MCMC guidelines (which I have not read or have privy too) based on what the newspapers have been saying, entertainers are not allowed to be too revealing when performing and free-to-air TV stations such as 8TV are not allowed to show any programs containing such content. So, I guess very soon we will be a seeing a ban on many cultural, traditional & sporting performances such as the "separuh bogel" male performers of the Indian Barata Natyam & Odisi (looks like Ramli Ibrahim & co will be out of a job), the "separuh bogel" traditional Iban dancers with their loin clothes, the "separuh bogel" cast of the musical Puteri Gunung Ledang, our national & league soccer players who are rather entertaining when they actually score and celebrate "separuh bogel", our "a little more separuh bogel" medal winning national male swimmers in their Speedos, and all our classic Malay bangsawan & bujang lapok movies, with many "separuh bogel" actors parading around.
Looks like our moral guardians have been slacking all these years, and letting many of these slip by, for so long, but we are certain they will buck up and do their work more diligently from now onwards.
And of course, let's not forget all those "separuh bogel" MTV & Channel V programs and concerts on Astro. Wait a minute, this "self censored" station will not be banned; apparently those rules don't apply to pay TV. Huh? It's because people are paying for the content, so they can choose what they want to subscribe to, and they don't have to subscribe to content that may be offensive. If that is the case, then why are international concerts in Malaysia that we have to pay for and we know exactly what to expect, are expected to tow the line in accordance to our MCMC guidelines, when these same concerts are made easily available on pay TV or on video without banishment. Don't we still choose the content we want to watch when we buy a concert ticket? Are they saying that these concerts that normally attract up to only 20,000 or so patrons are more negative than the ones that reach out to more than 2 million subscribers on pay TV? Go figure.
Many of you might say that it's okay for our traditional "separuh bogel" performances as they are part of culture and should be seen in a different light, as they do not decay our moral fabric. But then again, we can also argue that Faizal Tahir may have been conforming to a form of culture too; the rock & roll culture, where prancing around the stage without a shirt on is one of the elements of that culture. The Random House Unabridged Dictionary defines culture in many different ways; 1. a particular form or stage of civilization, 2. the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group, 3. the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another. Some of our moral guardians may argue that it's not part of our inherited culture and we should not mimic the west. Whether we like it or not, or whether it decays our moral values or not, each one of us does mimic the west to a certain extent. It is part of evolution, and I believe that most Malaysian's have the sense & maturity to figure it out in their best interest. And I doubt any moral policing will make a difference on those who cant, or wont want to.
I remember being told by a local TV producer about being interviewed by a local female reporter who accused him of producing a show that included elements that mimicked the west. The only thing he replied was "What color is your hair?", which immediately shut her up. She was blonde.
By the way, if Faizal's act was even remotely considered indecent, why didn't the experienced producers of the live show immediately cut to commercial, when the first signs of trouble were detected? Why continue showing the performance till its very end? And isn't there a 4 minute gap (to weed out such incidents) before the live show is actually seen on air? Or is it that it was much ado about nothing that they did not even consider it as detrimental in the first place to even bother censoring it? I guess different people have different viewpoints, especially the select few who want to safeguard our morality.
I know Faizal Tahir personally, and never once have I seen him intending to corrupt the values of some poor lost soul. He is a decent straight forward & down to earth chap who is passionate for his art, is a dedicated family man who loves his kids to bits and works tremendously hard to attain his dreams. Never once have I seen him even light up a ciggy, chug down any alcoholic beverages, or dabble in any sinful acts, which I am almost certain many others will attest too. In his eagerness to make his performance fun & unique, he may have neglected to conform strictly to the performing guidelines that may have been drawn up, but I am absolutely certain he was not out offend anyone, let alone jeopardize his career. In all honesty, I truly believe he did not think that his actions were so serious in nature as to be interpreted in such a negative manner. For a brief moment, this consummate perfectionist did not think his actions through, before going on stage, and incidentally invoked a nationwide furor sensationalized by a select few who were suffering from knee jerk reactions.
For that he has paid a price, a heavy one too, although some who may be out for his scalp may think it was insufficient.
This brings me back to my title; "Do "wardrobe malfunctions" really lead to morality malfunctions? Will our society be saved from moral decay, if we are constantly shielded from maturing and making up our own minds, in these day and age, where you can no longer filter everything around you, even if you wanted to?
As for me, I was not at all offended by Faizal's action and thought it was rather entertaining albeit being cheesily comical. But then again my moral fibres are not so easily corruptible by a man taking off his shirt. Are yours?
Chip: I am on a 3 month moral fibre diet!!!
Image courtesy of Greg
Let's first and foremost get the facts absolutely right on what really transpired on that unfortunate night that led to the banning of Faizal Tahir from national TV for a period of 3 months.
Most mainstream newspapers & tabloids (or should I say all) led everyone to believe that Faizal Tahir did a striptease, and some even went on to say he was semi nude (separuh bogel) when he was performing at 8TV's 4th Rockin' Birthday Concert, which was aired live. I am not sure whether any of these mainstream journalists even know what constitutes a striptease act or have actually even seen one before to even so boldly declare that a MAN who takes off his shirt is actually performing an indecent act. Let's get real here, Faizal Tahir can hardly ever be likened to a Chippendale dancer and what he did on stage was certainly no striptease act, and I really doubt that it offended anyone except a select few (who were probably basing their judgments from hearsay). Even luminary OIAM judge Paul Moss remarked it was more "Chip & Dale" that anything else. Perhaps, these purveyors of morality should consider watching an episode of PCK to better understand the concept, where Phua Choo Kang & his brother Beng, actually do a striptease act (which included two fingered nipple stroking) right down to their boxers, in a night club, which surprising got past our censors and was aired on national TV. You can even find that episode in the stores on VCD with our National Film Board stickers attached. Amazing, isn't it?
Yes, Faizal did actually take off his licensed Superman tee (which he gifted to the audience), and, yes he did take off his undershirt (singlet) to reveal a poorly drawn Superman logo on his bare chest. It was certainly tongue & cheek and gimmicky, and brought out laughs, but cannot be remotely considered as crude, titillating, seductive or even offensive, to the general public (and especially more so to the urban viewers of 8TV). Yes, he did take off his expensive licensed Superman belt, which he once again, being brand ambassador to DC Comics merchandisers in Malaysia, gifted to the audience. Nobody, in his right mind would have even thought, that the wholesome Faizal Tahir, was about to yank his pants off on national TV. Come on, seriously, did these journos actually think that?
And do these well educated sensationalists, even know what semi nude means? A topless man as opposed to a topless woman is NOT in general inference considered semi nude (separuh bogel). They have to at the very least be down to their briefs to even be considered as such. Otherwise almost all Malaysian men have been semi nude in public at one time or another. Many even on national TV. Think about it, I am sure you have been too.
According to the MCMC guidelines (which I have not read or have privy too) based on what the newspapers have been saying, entertainers are not allowed to be too revealing when performing and free-to-air TV stations such as 8TV are not allowed to show any programs containing such content. So, I guess very soon we will be a seeing a ban on many cultural, traditional & sporting performances such as the "separuh bogel" male performers of the Indian Barata Natyam & Odisi (looks like Ramli Ibrahim & co will be out of a job), the "separuh bogel" traditional Iban dancers with their loin clothes, the "separuh bogel" cast of the musical Puteri Gunung Ledang, our national & league soccer players who are rather entertaining when they actually score and celebrate "separuh bogel", our "a little more separuh bogel" medal winning national male swimmers in their Speedos, and all our classic Malay bangsawan & bujang lapok movies, with many "separuh bogel" actors parading around.
Looks like our moral guardians have been slacking all these years, and letting many of these slip by, for so long, but we are certain they will buck up and do their work more diligently from now onwards.
And of course, let's not forget all those "separuh bogel" MTV & Channel V programs and concerts on Astro. Wait a minute, this "self censored" station will not be banned; apparently those rules don't apply to pay TV. Huh? It's because people are paying for the content, so they can choose what they want to subscribe to, and they don't have to subscribe to content that may be offensive. If that is the case, then why are international concerts in Malaysia that we have to pay for and we know exactly what to expect, are expected to tow the line in accordance to our MCMC guidelines, when these same concerts are made easily available on pay TV or on video without banishment. Don't we still choose the content we want to watch when we buy a concert ticket? Are they saying that these concerts that normally attract up to only 20,000 or so patrons are more negative than the ones that reach out to more than 2 million subscribers on pay TV? Go figure.
Many of you might say that it's okay for our traditional "separuh bogel" performances as they are part of culture and should be seen in a different light, as they do not decay our moral fabric. But then again, we can also argue that Faizal Tahir may have been conforming to a form of culture too; the rock & roll culture, where prancing around the stage without a shirt on is one of the elements of that culture. The Random House Unabridged Dictionary defines culture in many different ways; 1. a particular form or stage of civilization, 2. the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group, 3. the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another. Some of our moral guardians may argue that it's not part of our inherited culture and we should not mimic the west. Whether we like it or not, or whether it decays our moral values or not, each one of us does mimic the west to a certain extent. It is part of evolution, and I believe that most Malaysian's have the sense & maturity to figure it out in their best interest. And I doubt any moral policing will make a difference on those who cant, or wont want to.
I remember being told by a local TV producer about being interviewed by a local female reporter who accused him of producing a show that included elements that mimicked the west. The only thing he replied was "What color is your hair?", which immediately shut her up. She was blonde.
By the way, if Faizal's act was even remotely considered indecent, why didn't the experienced producers of the live show immediately cut to commercial, when the first signs of trouble were detected? Why continue showing the performance till its very end? And isn't there a 4 minute gap (to weed out such incidents) before the live show is actually seen on air? Or is it that it was much ado about nothing that they did not even consider it as detrimental in the first place to even bother censoring it? I guess different people have different viewpoints, especially the select few who want to safeguard our morality.
I know Faizal Tahir personally, and never once have I seen him intending to corrupt the values of some poor lost soul. He is a decent straight forward & down to earth chap who is passionate for his art, is a dedicated family man who loves his kids to bits and works tremendously hard to attain his dreams. Never once have I seen him even light up a ciggy, chug down any alcoholic beverages, or dabble in any sinful acts, which I am almost certain many others will attest too. In his eagerness to make his performance fun & unique, he may have neglected to conform strictly to the performing guidelines that may have been drawn up, but I am absolutely certain he was not out offend anyone, let alone jeopardize his career. In all honesty, I truly believe he did not think that his actions were so serious in nature as to be interpreted in such a negative manner. For a brief moment, this consummate perfectionist did not think his actions through, before going on stage, and incidentally invoked a nationwide furor sensationalized by a select few who were suffering from knee jerk reactions.
For that he has paid a price, a heavy one too, although some who may be out for his scalp may think it was insufficient.
This brings me back to my title; "Do "wardrobe malfunctions" really lead to morality malfunctions? Will our society be saved from moral decay, if we are constantly shielded from maturing and making up our own minds, in these day and age, where you can no longer filter everything around you, even if you wanted to?
As for me, I was not at all offended by Faizal's action and thought it was rather entertaining albeit being cheesily comical. But then again my moral fibres are not so easily corruptible by a man taking off his shirt. Are yours?
