Namewee’s maiden venture into the laid-back Malaysian movie scene is a successful one, making him an instant millionaire. I admit, I’m no avid watcher of his crass Youtube videos but I know he’s constantly been attacked by UMNO hate squad. And that’s reason enough to support him.
His videos may have gained infamy for impolitely deriding various key national figures and institutions, but after watching Nasi Lemak 2.0, I now realise how truly patriotic he is. I figure that if he returned to Muar, Malaysia after studying in Taiwan, it says a lot compared to thousands of Malaysian emigrating abroad because ‘there’s no future for them in Malaysia’.
It came to my surprise that Nasi Lemak 2.0 was not vulgar or unpolished, but passable attempt at a Malaysian flavoured, censor approved funny. While Mandarin is its primary language, it features a lot of Chinese dialects, Malay, Tamil and least of all Manglish. The movie was produced with the Malaysian social scene in mind but is this it for all Malaysians?
Although there are enough translated jokes to tickle the average Malaysian funny bone, my Chinese schooled friend divulged that most of Namawee’s jokes were Chinese school insider jokes. Those were ones that got him rotfl and if you hadn’t gone to Chinese school you’d be wondering ‘why’s that so funny?’ But I don’t think any Malaysian can comprehend every single language portrayed here, so fret not if you are not the target audience.
Other played up themes are recurring black outs and political satires. For instance, there was a scene with Patrick Teoh as the chief judge in a cooking contest. On his left and right, sat two other judges who are basically yes-men. If you knew Chinese, the judges’ names are slightly modified from the Chinese names given to the 3 ruling political parties. That would suggest that Patrick Teoh is UMNO, and the two expendable judges are MCA and MIC.
How does Namewee’s patriotism show? It’s his underlying message to the Chinese educated. Yes, the government is corrupt; yes electricity blackouts when you need it the most, and yes the various races don’t always see eye to eye. But consider the things that bind us all together like nasi lemak, Malaysia’s de facto national dish. And if my deductive skills are up to par, he’s indirectly saying to the Chinese: you’re Malaysian first.
By that same token, I appreciate his approach towards his ‘1Malaysia’ message. It differs from the government’s method where everything’s wonderful and hunky dory in this happy Disneyland of sorts. Namewee calls a spade a spade, and laughs at it. Now that’s a 1Malaysia propaganda I can stomach. If you do watch this movie, look out for, catchy and humorous songs. 7/10.
His videos may have gained infamy for impolitely deriding various key national figures and institutions, but after watching Nasi Lemak 2.0, I now realise how truly patriotic he is. I figure that if he returned to Muar, Malaysia after studying in Taiwan, it says a lot compared to thousands of Malaysian emigrating abroad because ‘there’s no future for them in Malaysia’.
It came to my surprise that Nasi Lemak 2.0 was not vulgar or unpolished, but passable attempt at a Malaysian flavoured, censor approved funny. While Mandarin is its primary language, it features a lot of Chinese dialects, Malay, Tamil and least of all Manglish. The movie was produced with the Malaysian social scene in mind but is this it for all Malaysians?
Although there are enough translated jokes to tickle the average Malaysian funny bone, my Chinese schooled friend divulged that most of Namawee’s jokes were Chinese school insider jokes. Those were ones that got him rotfl and if you hadn’t gone to Chinese school you’d be wondering ‘why’s that so funny?’ But I don’t think any Malaysian can comprehend every single language portrayed here, so fret not if you are not the target audience.
Other played up themes are recurring black outs and political satires. For instance, there was a scene with Patrick Teoh as the chief judge in a cooking contest. On his left and right, sat two other judges who are basically yes-men. If you knew Chinese, the judges’ names are slightly modified from the Chinese names given to the 3 ruling political parties. That would suggest that Patrick Teoh is UMNO, and the two expendable judges are MCA and MIC.
How does Namewee’s patriotism show? It’s his underlying message to the Chinese educated. Yes, the government is corrupt; yes electricity blackouts when you need it the most, and yes the various races don’t always see eye to eye. But consider the things that bind us all together like nasi lemak, Malaysia’s de facto national dish. And if my deductive skills are up to par, he’s indirectly saying to the Chinese: you’re Malaysian first.
By that same token, I appreciate his approach towards his ‘1Malaysia’ message. It differs from the government’s method where everything’s wonderful and hunky dory in this happy Disneyland of sorts. Namewee calls a spade a spade, and laughs at it. Now that’s a 1Malaysia propaganda I can stomach. If you do watch this movie, look out for, catchy and humorous songs. 7/10.
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