Kam Raslan’s Talking Edge

(Reprinted from The Edge – Options pullout, 13 February 2017 issue)

Dear Kam,
Do you have a comments section for Talking Edge?
Curiouser and curiouser

IMDb (not 1MDB) has just switched off its comments section (I am sure 1MDB switched off its comments section a long, long time ago). As I am sure you know, IMDb is the internet’s best website for information about movies. How did I exist before IMDb came along? How many times have I asked myself, “Who co-starred with Barbara Stanwyck in 1954’s Cattle Queen of Montana and who directed the movie?” It is very difficult to remember the time before the internet, and for young people it must be utterly terrifying to imagine that there ever was such a time. But, kids, in the early 1990s we used to live in trees, make fire by rubbing two sticks together and if we ever wanted to meet somebody, we had to make an “appointment” by using a thing called a “telephone” (you may have seen granddad talk to one of those about his medical conditions).

In those olden times, I would have been forced to live in a state of anxious uncertainty because unless The Star happened to write a story about a Malaysian who was once a Hollywood stunt man and he had an amusing anecdote about Stanwyck when filming the Cattle Queen of Montana, I would never have been able to find out anything. Now we have the internet and I can quickly search IMDb to discover that the movie’s co-star was Ronald Reagan and the director was Allan Dwan. Now I am filled with the accumulated knowledge and wisdom of the ages and my life is complete.

But IMDb has just switched off its comments section because it is no longer deemed to be “useful”. In other words, the comments section had become the usual dumping ground for crude language and arguments about Donald Trump when the commentators should be talking about the subtextual image system and leitmotifs that Dwan employed in order to probe society’s perceptions of a woman’s changing role in post-war America. Instead, if anybody commented on an old 1954 movie at all, then it would have been to hail Trump IN ALL CAPS and to say how hot Scarlett Johansson looked in some Avengers movie. Why cannot we be trusted with nice things?

I rarely look at the comments section of any site because it will always be depressingly crude and very quickly off-point. I might be enjoying a lovely video of a cat punching a dog in the face while it is trying to sleep (I just love it when cats do that), but then I stupidly look at the comments. These are some actual comments on YouTube for a cute pets video: “IDontThinkSo A strange was filming it, you dumb f**k!”, “a dog”, “bing bong bing” and a very long and angry critique on the choice of music, “for instance at 0:33 they forgot to eliminate former audio and happily played two songs one above the other for 40 seconds”. Did the commentator imagine that the video was being nominated for an Oscar? There were also some genuinely loving and amusing comments, but these were quickly tainted by the anger and hatred for a video of kittens playing with balloons. I shudder to think what the comments would be for a video of genuine importance like, say, a dog sitting on a cat (I just love it when dogs do that).

But I do read the comments on the sites for politics I do not agree with, both from Malaysia and overseas. I want to understand what people are thinking, but I do not enjoy it. Conservative politics around the world is just so angry and the anger is mostly aimed at outsiders who are perceived to be a threat. Progressives can be equally angry but, at the moment, the conservatives are winning around the world and instead of becoming relaxed and triumphant, they have become even more angry and hungry for absolute and crushing power. I would suggest they just lighten up a bit and watch some cat videos, but they will probably just ruin it for everybody by leaving a comment IN ALL CAPS.

I think I have noticed a particularly Malaysian style of comment where people cannot bring themselves to commit to a position. It is by no means true for everyone, but often I read a comment by a Malaysian and I am left wondering, “Does that mean you are for it or against it?” It is not because of a problem with a particular language (I can read through that), but many times I read Malaysians on Facebook or Twitter and I just do not know where the person truly stands. It has led me to realise that I am guilty of the same lack of commitment, so I am going to say very clearly that I believe we should be governed by a cat. When the cat does take power, it is not going to tolerate any criticism and I will serve it faithfully. Anybody who has ever had a cat will know what I mean.

Kam,
Did somebody say that Penang should become a Federal Territory? My question is, what?!
Cannot tahan

I am in Penang at the moment. I really love George Town. It is the most beautiful city and I think Malaysians are lucky to have it. For me, it is a living reminder of the 19th century, from which most of us come, and walking the streets during the preparations for Thaipusam fills me with a thrill for our exceptional and historically happy diversity. George Town is changing fast and although the balance between the new hipster cafes and the old sundry shops is still workable, I am not sure how much longer it can last.

But there has been talk recently about making Penang a Federal Territory. I have seen this idea being bandied around for a while, but now people are really beginning to pass motion over it. Is it an idle threat or the first step in a lunge for absolute control? It would be the death of the idea of a federation and therefore a final break with our history. Let’s just leave things alone.

Reprinted with the kind permission of