Moving Images and Changing Times

Aliran feels that the Penang Island Municipal Council’s plan to revive open-air movie-screenings  - as was done in the 1950s and 1960s -  is another case of  thoughtlessly wasting taxpayers’ money.

The money to be spent on this project could be better used. For example, it could be used to provide financial assistance to meet the educational needs of poor children. It could also be used to improve public facilities such as libraries. Some of this money could also be used to clean up our filthy public toilets.

The open-air screening plan would be a terrible waste of public funds especially if it fails to draw the expected crowds in an age where television, videos, multimedia, the Internet, and even cineplexes have increasingly become popular media for entertainment and information.

The so-called successes of the 1950s and 1960s, when the government screened open-air free movies laced with propaganda clips may not be replicated satisfactorily. There was hardly any alternative form of entertainment or distraction then - which explains the attraction and success of these screenings in the 1950s and 1960s.

Today, government messages such as “stop open-burning” and “save water” are already well disseminated through the mainstream media.

Finally, attempting to entertain the public through these movies during the current economic slowdown could be construed as the Council trying to promote - rather crassly - a form of escapism, a denial of the present harsh realities.

Dr Mustafa K Anuar
Asst Secretary
28 April 1998