Filem dan wanita: perspektif pengarah tentang pemaparan Islam

The portrayal of women in films essentially derives its specific meaning on the basis of several aspects, mainly the role of the character, genre selection flow of direction and the needs of the market. This study focuses on the representation of Islam in the portrayal of women characters in film. In its approach to understanding the meaning of the representation of Islam through the portrayal of women characters, this study argues that there is a strong relation between the dominant government-controlled ideology in any film production activity and the portrayal of women in films. As Malaysia is a country that, in part, incorporates the Islamic system into its system of governance, it can be assumed that every film production activity it undertakes would be influenced by the same ideology, especially in the portrayal of women characters. Thus, this research aims to investigate the understanding and philosophical thinking among film directors with regard to the Islamization process, and their link to the films that have been successfully produced. This research utilized two methods, namely, textual analysis and the in-depth interview. Textual analysis was carried out on five selected films directed by the informants with a focus on the representation of women in them. Meanwhile, interviews were conducted with the directors of the films. The findings of these research as follows: the representation of women in film characterization can only be portrayed under the representation of the ideology of moderate Islam. Secondly, the representation of women is influenced by economic determination. This study contributes in terms of exploring ideas that are depicted in film with regard to the representation of Islam based on the characterization of women. In addition, it also provides a good understanding of the philosophy that underlies the representation of Islam pertaining to the characterization of women in relation to the process of Islamization in Malaysia. This study extends the circuit of culture and Doxa theories in film research. Thus, future research on women and films in Malaysia needs to consider the influence of culture on the dominant ideology of the directors.