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LGBT Film Becomes Surprise Hit In Malaysia |
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Written by Instinct Staff |
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
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| Tags: dalam botol, in a bottle, malaysia, films, censorship, lgbt, transgender, transexual, post-op |
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LGBT-themed movies like Brokeback Mountain, A Single Man and The Kids Are All Right have been paving the way in mainstream theaters for several years now, but find out why the Malaysian film Dalam Botol (In a Botol), produced by Raja Azmi Raja Sulaiman, has been a surprise hit after the jump.
Opening less than a week ago, Dalam Botol is about a post-op transsexual who comes to realize that she may have been better off as a man. The film has already earned more than one million ringgit ($330,000) at Malaysian cinemas, which is surprising enough even without knowing that Malaysian films are not allowed to depict support for gay life, and homosexual intercourse remains illegal in the country (and could get you 20 years in prison).
While this may seem like a milestone, some people in Malaysia’s LGBT community are concerned because the story centers on a man’s misguided attempt to please his male lover by having a sex change, which he then regrets and moves back home and falls in love with a girl.
Pang Khee Teik, co-founder of the Malaysian sexual rights awareness group Sexuality Independence said, "Many of us Malaysian gays, lesbians and transgenders have absolutely no regrets being who we are." Others are upset because Dalam Botol depicts LGBT people as unhappy and regretful in their decisions.
Alex, a gay blogger who prefers some anonymity said, “"The ending is very negative. Having the main character regret being gay and falling in love with a woman is not going to help our image problem here.”
Like Alex and Pang Khee Teik, do you feel that films like this further stigmatise LGBT people, especially in Maylasia where there is a Muslim majority?
(via NME)
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