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1981
Volume 8, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 2051-7084
  • E-ISSN: 2051-7092

Abstract

Adopting the theoretical framework employed in Sinophone studies, this article focuses on Sinophone Malaysian filmmaker Chiu Keng Guan, whose films mark the revival of commercial Sinitic language filmmaking in Malaysia. Through textual analysis of Chiu’s two films (2014) and (2016), this article examines how the narratives and languages used in these Sinophone Malaysian films portray the place-based culture and experience of the Sinophone communities and other ethnic groups in Malaysia. It also looks at how ‘Chineseness’ is employed by Chiu as a strategy to construct a collective identity and memory for Sinophone community members in order to connect them with their cultural roots as well as generate interest in the film, as demonstrated in the film . The example of the movie is used to assess how the filmmaker Chiu, who is Malaysian Chinese, questions the idea of ‘national identity’ by twisting the film plot, which was itself inspired by a real event.

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2022-04-01
2026-04-15

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/content/journals/10.1386/eapc_00062_1
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  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): Chineseness; Chiu Keng Guan; Malaysian Chinese filmmaker; national identity; Sinophone Malaysian films; Sinophone studies

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