Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam (2004)

This is a reflection of the movie, Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam screened in 2004.

This is the first Malay film I ever watched and being a horror movie, it was not exactly the best experience. However, this movie made me realize the prevalence of collective representation and some feudal values that are displayed so subtly that they often go unobserved in a modern society.

In the film, Marsani resembled very closely to the authoritarian, tyrannical and masochistic character traits of the ruling class during feudal period. Unable to withhold his vengeance at the disobedience of his men who shamed him, Marsani cut off the genitals of his subordinates. This was a cruel, dehumanizing punishment by today's legal standards of punishment. The fact that Marsani meted punishment in his own hands, even going as far as burning the house highlighted the unquestioning judicial power the elites yielded There was no follow-up investigation of the murder of Mariam either. While these may be just scenes in a film, episodes like that are quite real elsewhere, manifested as media or political cover-ups by powerful elites. A man conscious of his social status and power, Marsani could not tolerate the shame brought about by the felony of his subordinates in front of the woman he loved. This reflected feudal ethics of obsession with power to get whatever he wanted and the erratic nature of feudal temperament. An illustration of feudal traits and the pervasiveness of collective representation were illustrated in how Marsani tried to grapple with his guilt. He pinned the blame on Maria and advanced the impression of the Pontianak to justify his circumstances. Instead of investigating the deaths of women, he dismissed and even projected it to be the works of the Pontianak. Such abusive use of myths as an explanation for the causation of events by an elite is problematic as it colored the mindsets of the people to hold the same view. The people were more interested in protecting against a mythical creature instead of tracing down the actual murderer. Thus, we could see how easily a community can be influenced by the propagations of elites.

This movie allowed me to appreciate the actual significance of collective representation to those who subscribed to it. For non-participants in Collective Representation, myths we dismiss to be irrational such as "looking between your legs to see a ghost" are actually ways in which members try to relate to his natural environment. Hence, subscribing to mystical possibilities bring some sort of psychological comfort to this group. This is probably why Marsani's troubled family was influenced albeit in varying degrees into believing the vengeance of the Pontianak and the need to seek mystical help from a Bomoh. It was also interesting to note how the manifest and latent functions of collective representation are also blurred when man tries to invoke