Blog Task #2

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Malaysian Media Icon: Shila Amzah

Biography      
Shila Amzah (real name: Nurshahila Binti Amir Amzah) is a well-known singer in Asia. She was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on August 13, 1990. She is eldest of four siblings. Her father, Amir Amzah Salleh (ND Lala) was a famous local singer in the 80s while her mother, Fauziah Sarman, was an actress. At the age of ten, she crafted an album, Terima Kasih Guruku. Since then, she won several awards, including the ‘Most Popular Kids Artist’ at the Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian in 2000.


Shila Amzah - Interview with Astro AEC 1

Before achieving fame, Shila used to upload videos of her singing on YouTube. In 2007, Shila participated in a local singing competition, One in a Million and was placed second. Five years later, she managed to get her big break when she was invited to join the singing competition, Asian Wave, in China and was crowned champion. In 2014, Shila was also the winner of a similar contest, I Am A Singer. Her performance of Xiang Ni De Ye in the seventh round propelled her to bigger prominence in the country.
I Am A Singer - Shila Amzah《想你的夜》

What We Can Learn From The Icon
Despite the obvious language barrier (she has now learnt Mandarin), Shila was willing to venture to China to try her luck and adapt to a foreign environment, even knowing it would be tough. She had admirable perseverance to keep going until she achieved her dreams.

Furthermore, she is humble, unlike other singers. Never is she rude to her fans and is always respectable to others. Because of this, she has gained a large fan base from various countries such as: Malaysia, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, even bestowed the moniker Asia’s Sweetheart.
Conclusively, Shila Amzah is an admirable being, great personality and talent. We, as people, can learn a lot from people such as her, and instill the values she holds in our daily lives.


International Media Icon: Nick Vujicic

 Biography
Nicholas James Vujicic is a motivational speaker, who was born on the 4th of December, 1982 in Melbourne, Australia without four limbs. During his childhood, he struggled and suffered due to his disability, which also made him a vulnerable target to school bullies. He was depressed to the point that he thought of committing suicide when he was eight and even attempted to drown himself two years  later. Fortunately, reading about a man experiencing the same disability made him realize that his disability is not a curse but a gift. Since then, he tried to commit to activities such as swimming, skateboarding and football. He hosted his first motivational speech when he was seventeen, inspiring and moving many by his speech. In 2012, he married Kanae Miyahara, and was blessed with a son, with another currently on the way.


Now, he has wrote many books and hosted many motivational speeches, inspiring more people. His first book, Life Without Limbs was published in 2010. He later went on to write several others, Your Life Without Limit and Unstoppable: The Incredible Power of Faith in Action in 2012 and The Power of Unstoppable Faith: Your keys to a fulfilled Life and Stand Strong: You can overcome bullying (and other stuff that keeps you down) in 2014.

What We Can Learn From The Icon?       
Nick is undoubtedly, an admirable person. He managed to overcome his disability and the demons in his mind and is now helping others with his positive attitude and motivational speeches, even holding charities and disability campaigns. Sometimes, he would consult teenagers who have the same problems as him. He teaches people that anything is possible, no matter what. He also makes us appreciate what we have in life, as some suffer from worse predicaments than us.
How can the industry overcome these challenges? Suggest at least three recommendations that you would implement to help boost the local media industry.

In recent times, the masses (be it the native audience, the people of the creative sector or international journalists), can wholeheartedly reach a common ground – that the Malaysian media has taken a sharp turn for the worst. With the lack of talent and originality in the music, small screen and film industry, the hashing of recycled themes in films and the visible biasness of news platforms, things do not seem to be looking up for the country. It is no wonder that local stars such as Yuna, Shila Amzah and Michelle Yeoh has found success overseas and continue to do so, when there are so many restrictions in Malaysia. It is no wonder that locally-made pictures are underperforming at our residential box-office, when film companies keep churning out the typical cliché rom-coms, unfrightening horror movies and hilariously grungy gangster films that has been made so many times before. It is no wonder that the news are no longer trustworthy, when printed papers advocate for the government while online portals throw their support for the opposing side. Because of this, many Malaysians turn to their Western counterparts which are more superior in many aspects. It is a shame our media has been experiencing such a slump since its Renaissance era in the 70s.
                                  
So, to overcome these challenges in the industry, the Malaysian media should be more daring and creative in making films and TV shows. Instead of sticking to the formulaic cycle of romantic comedies, horror and gangster-themed movies, scriptwriters and directors should branch out into more uncommon genres such as science-fiction, historical and fantasy. Creativity is an important aspect in the media industry and the local media is quite narrow-minded in that category. So, they need to broaden their horizons and take risks when writing and filming.

Furthermore, the media should not be too conservative in broadcasting and filming certain scenes and shows that feature themes such as the sexual, homosexual and Christianity. Movies such as Noah and Blue Is The Warmest Colour has been banned in Malaysian theaters while TV shows such as Glee and How To Get Away With Murder had some of their scenes chopped just because there are homosexual segments in them. Locally, movies such as Dalam Botol has also drawn flak for its portrayal of transsexuality and homosexuality. The media should not censor these segments as they portray real-life themes. In life, people do engage in sexual intercourse, love people of the same gender and believe in God and Jesus so there is no reason to censor such themes.

There are some aspects in today’s cinema and television shows that can be improved on. An example would be movie trailers. Movie trailers are important as they provide first impressions of the unreleased film to moviegoers. Because of this, they should not contain too many spoilers as it discourages the audience from attending them when they are finally on the big screen since the ending can be easily predicted. In addition to that, Malaysian films and television shows are also cut choppily, jumping too suddenly from scene to scene. This might confuse audiences and they would not understand the plot. In some cases, movies without messages tend to turn people away as they view the movie meaningless because there is nothing to be learnt from it. Also, there should be more variations in media, be it in casting, cinematography and screenplay. Despite the country comprising of many different races, directors tend to cast actors of similar ethnics, filling their movies with predominantly of identical actors racially (Malay actors in a Malay-directed movie, Chinese actors in a Chinese-directed movie, etcetera), providing an unrealistic portrayal of the Malaysian community. Furthermore, some dialogues are deemed unsuitable in certain scenes and are generic so more creativity should be inserted in this aspect. The local film and television industry should also include more meaningful and relatable scenes so the audience are able to form connections with them. Directors should also experiment with camera angles while screenwriters should provide more intriguing and original storylines and the sound effects can be also further improved.

Likewise, the local media industry should not be partial to certain subjects, especially of those concerning politics. No news outlet should be bias to a certain party as it defeats the purpose of being a journalist or newscaster – providing the truth. Instead, news portals should publish their findings fairly and accurately without twisting and over-exaggerating their stories.

In the music scene, there are many artists, while most are undoubtedly good-looking, fall short in the talent area. Music companies tend to choose marketable people, especially ones with better appearances than talent, as they feel that local audiences will find them appealing. Instead of focusing on looks, they should be sourcing for great singers, lyricists and musicians. International artists such as Ed Sheeran (to us as a group, not to offend the readers) may not have supermodel looks but excels at songwriting, good vocals and is now known around the world. Local music companies should take a leaf out of their international counterparts and not judge people based on appearances. They may deem a talented musician ‘average’ in terms of looks but some may deem them otherwise, as the saying goes ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’.

On top of that, the local media should be more supportive of locals who want to pursue their craft outside the country. If they do so, these locals are able to learn more from the international industry in better detail, view more perspectives, spread Malaysia’s name to other countries and even share the knowledge they have learned when they return. They should not be condemned for ‘abandoning their roots’ and ‘conforming to Westerners’ mindsets’. Just because one has found acceptance and happiness overseas, does not mean they have forgotten who they really are – proud citizens of Malaysia.
Writers: Jasmine, Daphne, Yin Wei, Jia Chie, Sara

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