Media, Culture and Society in Malaysia

This book presents a comprehensive, full-length analysis of the uses of media and communication technologies by different social actors in Malaysia. Unlike other studies of the media in Malaysia which concentrate on "political economy" or "freedom of the media" approaches, this book focuses on the ways in which different media forms have constituted cultural practices and power relations amongst particular audiences and publics. It also examines the ways in which technologies of varying scales and range have been appropriated for various subaltern purposes and counter-hegemonic agendas. Drawing upon recent case studies on the deployment of different media – including mainstream and independent films, television programming, black metal music, community rituals, political advertising, the internet, and artistic visual installations – it provides valuable insights into the complex, vibrant ways in which these different media forms have negotiated with the dominant cultural representations of Malaysian society. The book makes an important contribution to the emergent disciplines of media studies and cultural studies in Malaysia.

Yeoh Seng Guan is Senior Lecturer in the School of Arts and Social Sciences, Monash University, Sunway Campus, Malaysia. He has recently published book chapters in The Other Global City and Dissent and Cultural Resistance in Asia’s Cities (both published by Routledge). He is lead editor of Penang and its Region: The Story of an Asian Entrepot.