Of Rajuk and demasculinization. Examining class inequality and gender representations in Hussain Haniff’s Hang Jebat (1961)
During the Golden Age of Malay cinema, Hussain Haniff was a prolific filmmaker who made 12 films within a period of five years. Started as an extra, escalated to editor, Hussain Haniff’s films mostly questioned the powers advocating the subject of rebellion and class injustice. Known as a rebe...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2020
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17019/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17019/1/44755-144046-1-SM.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848814205589782528 |
|---|---|
| author | Muhamad Farid Abdul Rahman, Mahyuddin Ahmad, Lee, Adrian Yuen Beng |
| author_facet | Muhamad Farid Abdul Rahman, Mahyuddin Ahmad, Lee, Adrian Yuen Beng |
| author_sort | Muhamad Farid Abdul Rahman, |
| building | UKM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | During the Golden Age of Malay cinema, Hussain Haniff was a prolific filmmaker who made
12 films within a period of five years. Started as an extra, escalated to editor, Hussain Haniff’s
films mostly questioned the powers advocating the subject of rebellion and class injustice.
Known as a rebel with modernist approaches, Hussain Haniff made films with rebellion being
the theme within its narratives. This can be seen in his first directorial debut Hang Jebat (1961)
that tells the story of how the warrior Hang Jebat stood up for his comrade Hang Tuah who was
unjustly sent to the gallows. Hang Jebat in defying the orders of the Sultan and thinking that
Hang Tuah had been executed, went into a fit of rage and as an act of rebellion ran amok while
killing several villagers. In the Malay culture and Malay purbawara films, this treasonous act
of rebellion known as “durhaka” is caused by an expression of “rajuk” – the sulk, or “merajuk”
– the act of sulking, and occurs when a servant or warrior rebels against the act of injustice of
his master. This paper aims to discuss the act of merajuk which often stereotyped as a feminine
trait but in Hang Jebat it can be understood as a form of rebellion against feudalism and can be
further attributed to understanding issues related to marginalisation and class oppression.
Through an intertextual study of this film, this paper unravels how the rajuk of Hang Jebat
represents an act of rebellion that challenges class inequality and gender representations. This
article analyses rajuk in two main focuses; firstly on how explosive rajuk which is an allegory
to the anti-feudal nature is expressed by Hang Jebat and how rajuk resulted an implication in
his more feminine character compare to his rebel character at the beginning of this film. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T00:30:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | oai:generic.eprints.org:17019 |
| institution | Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T00:30:23Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | oai:generic.eprints.org:170192021-07-11T17:36:50Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17019/ Of Rajuk and demasculinization. Examining class inequality and gender representations in Hussain Haniff’s Hang Jebat (1961) Muhamad Farid Abdul Rahman, Mahyuddin Ahmad, Lee, Adrian Yuen Beng During the Golden Age of Malay cinema, Hussain Haniff was a prolific filmmaker who made 12 films within a period of five years. Started as an extra, escalated to editor, Hussain Haniff’s films mostly questioned the powers advocating the subject of rebellion and class injustice. Known as a rebel with modernist approaches, Hussain Haniff made films with rebellion being the theme within its narratives. This can be seen in his first directorial debut Hang Jebat (1961) that tells the story of how the warrior Hang Jebat stood up for his comrade Hang Tuah who was unjustly sent to the gallows. Hang Jebat in defying the orders of the Sultan and thinking that Hang Tuah had been executed, went into a fit of rage and as an act of rebellion ran amok while killing several villagers. In the Malay culture and Malay purbawara films, this treasonous act of rebellion known as “durhaka” is caused by an expression of “rajuk” – the sulk, or “merajuk” – the act of sulking, and occurs when a servant or warrior rebels against the act of injustice of his master. This paper aims to discuss the act of merajuk which often stereotyped as a feminine trait but in Hang Jebat it can be understood as a form of rebellion against feudalism and can be further attributed to understanding issues related to marginalisation and class oppression. Through an intertextual study of this film, this paper unravels how the rajuk of Hang Jebat represents an act of rebellion that challenges class inequality and gender representations. This article analyses rajuk in two main focuses; firstly on how explosive rajuk which is an allegory to the anti-feudal nature is expressed by Hang Jebat and how rajuk resulted an implication in his more feminine character compare to his rebel character at the beginning of this film. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2020 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17019/1/44755-144046-1-SM.pdf Muhamad Farid Abdul Rahman, and Mahyuddin Ahmad, and Lee, Adrian Yuen Beng (2020) Of Rajuk and demasculinization. Examining class inequality and gender representations in Hussain Haniff’s Hang Jebat (1961). e-BANGI: Jurnal Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan, 17 (9). pp. 104-113. ISSN 1823-884x https://ejournal.ukm.my/ebangi/issue/view/1359 |
| spellingShingle | Muhamad Farid Abdul Rahman, Mahyuddin Ahmad, Lee, Adrian Yuen Beng Of Rajuk and demasculinization. Examining class inequality and gender representations in Hussain Haniff’s Hang Jebat (1961) |
| title | Of Rajuk and demasculinization. Examining class inequality and gender representations in Hussain Haniff’s Hang Jebat (1961) |
| title_full | Of Rajuk and demasculinization. Examining class inequality and gender representations in Hussain Haniff’s Hang Jebat (1961) |
| title_fullStr | Of Rajuk and demasculinization. Examining class inequality and gender representations in Hussain Haniff’s Hang Jebat (1961) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Of Rajuk and demasculinization. Examining class inequality and gender representations in Hussain Haniff’s Hang Jebat (1961) |
| title_short | Of Rajuk and demasculinization. Examining class inequality and gender representations in Hussain Haniff’s Hang Jebat (1961) |
| title_sort | of rajuk and demasculinization. examining class inequality and gender representations in hussain haniff’s hang jebat (1961) |
| url | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17019/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17019/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17019/1/44755-144046-1-SM.pdf |