Drama Rantaian Asia: Wanita Melayu, Gelagat Menonton, dan Idea Kemodenan

Asian serial drama: Malay women, watching behaviour and modernity idea This qualitative study is concerned with the continuing popularity of Asian soap opera or soaps, among Malay women in Malaysia. This situation attracts various responses. The government criticises this television genre because it cultivates foreign modernity which has strong tendency toward consumer culture and urban lifestyle. Some also express anxiety that this genre might undermine the standards of Malay womanhood and compromise cultural task in the private space. We want to argue, however, that Malay women are very discerning viewer and they develop critical watching competencies to negotiate the meaning of modernity in Asian soaps without necessarily ignoring their cultural values. Malay women are not passive receivers and simply absorbed any cultural text on television but are instead, experts at negotiating of the seemingly conflicting values of modernity and tradition within their wider political, religious and cultural terrain