Our Burmese days...

Our Burmese Days is a movie that all youngsters should watch. It’s a documentary of Lindsay Merrison discovering her roots where her family came from. Her mother
Sally, ashamed of her heritage, cultivated a flawless English accent and always claimed to be born and raised in the solidly white-middle class Hemel Hempstead section of northwest London. For the past forty year, Sally did not go back to Burma and her father restricted them to converse in Burmese when they moved to England. In this documentary, Lindsay brings her mother, Sally and her uncle, Bill back to their homeland for the first time after forty year.

Just like many other Malaysians out there, who thinks that other country is always better than Malaysia. There’s a saying in Chinese “The moon in oversea always rounder.”
I believe that many youngsters do not love their country because they do not understand the background and the history of their origins. No doubt the education in Malaysia did teach Malaysian history when we were in school but they project it in such a way that didn’t interest most of the students.

Just like my cousin brother who lived in Hawaii, America for more than 20 years now, he only came back to his homeland because he had to renew his identity card and his passport. But in his case, he didn’t deny that he is from Malaysia but he just didn’t not mention if no one asked. I think many Malaysian that went abroad to study; they tend to compare Malaysia to other country. I believe that every country have its own advantages and disadvantages.

Somehow I don’t feel that I’m related to this movie myself but I don’t feel the urge to showing this movie to the school kids out there for them to know how important it is to know their roots and origins.

As a Malaysian, I’m very proud of my country of the multi culture that we have here and the many many fusion food that cannot be found else where. I know that at time we might blame the government for this doing the right thing and compliant about it…Come to think about it…we are frustrated over it because we have expectations. Without expectations, we will not grow to be a better country.

Persepolis

Persepolis is the autobiography of Marjane Satrapi who recounts her childhood growing up in Iran. The scene started as a flash back when Marjane was waiting at the airport. Then the story continues with the fall of the Shah during 1979. The film takes us through the war with Iraq, the fear of the secret police and the mixed attitudes of her family and friends as the world around them shifts so dramatically.

As I grow up in Malaysia, I was not exposed to Islam at its “Ugly side”. Islam to me is just my country’s religion and I know nothing in-depth about it. Most of my Malay friends are “modern Malay’s” where they only wear scarf during Hari Raya and no one can tell me why must they cover up and why are there so many rules but people just ignore those rules? The perception of Muslim is totally wrong now as modern, secular and Westernized Muslim is ‘caregorized’ as good Muslims. I don’t think that my friends are consider as ‘Good’ Muslims as they themselves do not understand their own religion’s history and protocol but yet they are just following blindly. In our country, many Muslim are born to be Muslim and they do not have the choice to choose their religion therefore, they just follow what their parents and Ustaz teach them.

“The self-appointed leaders of ‘the west’, George W.Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, have visibly stepped back from a Huntington-style embrace of a war between civilizations. After Bush’s early public flirtation with the idea of an anti-Muslim crusade, both he and Blair have taken warning audiences about the need to distinguish “Good” Muslim from “bad” Muslim.
-Mahmood Mamdani-

Marjane was a confused young girl, she thought that she was very religious and even thinks that she will be a prophet one day but all of it didn’t happen. She was also being educated since young about the evils of the regime and stages their own rebellion at home by drinking wine and supplying her with posters of Kim Wilde and Iron Maiden.

"I really didn't know what to think about the veil. Deep down I was very religious but as a family we were very modern and avant-garde. I was born with religion. At the age of six I was already sure I was the last prophet. This was few years before the revolution."
— Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis: The story of a childhood

Iran has a turbulent and scarred recent history and Persepolis helps us understand how power came to the Mullahs and just what that meant for the Iranians. But the film is also the story of a young woman growing up and looking for her identity in changing times. She gets permission to leave and study in Austria and once the local punks there hear she lived through a revolution and a war she acquires a ‘cool’ of her own.

Because of the stereotype from then western influence, Marjane did not admit that she came from Iran when she studied in Austria. She needed to be ‘cool’ when she was with her friends, she learns to smoke and do things that she is not suppose to do as a Muslim. She listens to punk, ABBA, and Iron Maiden. Also, women in the movie smoke cigarettes. Marjane was in a different culture when she was in Austria, when needed to be accepted by her friends. According to Edward Said, orientalism describes the negative portrayal of "eastern" culture through misguided, Eurocentric images.

When she came back from Austria, she was not use to hearing critics from others as she wears a Nike and listens to punk rock music. She also shares her sexual experience to her friend. Her friend was shocked when they know that she actually had sex with a few guys. Muslim women are not use to sharing their sexual experience to others as their more conservative and close minded.

Persepolis is an eye opener to me as I discover many other facts that I’ve never known. It makes me think about the influence from the West can be very scary at times. ‘The West’ might made their name known to the world but they are not everything and the best of all. Every culture and religion should be respected and not stepped down because of some political issues.