Gestalt analysis of wiraism in puteri gunung ledang

• Main Author: Muhammad Jailani Abu Talib
• Other Authors: Wong Chen-Hsi
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: DRNTU::Visual arts and music::Film
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/73185
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The politics of cultural and national identities have long been marked by the presence of heroes to stimulate a sense of pride and faith in a particular community. While governmental policies help negotiate the borders through which a community stands on, narratives and mythology often shape the psychology and ideology of a nation. For such a reason perhaps, the identification of Hang Tuah as a symbol of 'Malayness' has long been a subject of fantasy for various scholars in the field of Southeast Asian studies (Kassim, 1966; Khoo G. C., 2006; Maier, 2004; Shaharuddin, 2014; Siti, 1993). In spurring this discourse forward, this report would study wiraism within Puteri Gunung Ledang (2004) and observe how “a feudal hero such as Hang Tuah can figure as a national hero in postcolonial Malaysia” (Khoo, 2006: p. 18) through the effective use of both verbal and non-verbal cues. The study will use gestalt as a lens in approaching the film and examine the construction of wiraism through the use of dialogue(s), cultural form(s) and colour(s) and contrast, in examining how the film "shifts the understanding of Hang Tuah in the perception of the Malay audience" (Putten & Barnard, 2007, p. 247).