The Malayan Emergency in Film, Literature and Art: Cultural Memory as Historical Other

Examining film, literature and art produced during and after the Malayan Emergency, the guerrilla war fought between the Malayan National Liberation Army and the military forces of the British Commonwealth, this collection demonstrates how art functions as a record of cultural memory that both reinforces and challenges official histories. Beyond that, it also brings new understandings of the Malayan Emergency itself, and Malaysia’s subsequent development as a postcolonial nation.

The first section of the book focuses on films and writings produced during the period of the Emergency to capture the socio-political circumstances of the time and understand its effect on the people. The second section goes on to explore representations of the Emergency generated after the event, highlighting how it was reimagined or reevaluated by later artists, and what ideological ends they served. Offering a comparative methodological approach, it investigates works that account for a range of perspectives, including British, Communist and Malayan/Malaysian. Bringing together the personal and political within individual and collective histories, this collection offers a new understanding of how the Emergency contributed to the formation of postcolonial Malaysia, and demonstrates the central role that film, literature and art play in the creation of cultural memory.

Jonathan Driskell is Lecturer of Film, Television and Screen Studies at Monash University, Malaysia, and is the author of two books Marcel Carne (2012) and The French Screen Goddess (2015). He is also the editor of Film Stardom in Southeast Asia (2022) and has written a number of articles and book chapters.

Marek W. Rutkowski is an independent historian specializing in the Cold War in Asia. His research interest include the history of the Vietnam War, middle power diplomacy and the Soviet Bloc’s developmental initiatives in Asia.

Andrew Ng Hock Soon is Associate Professor of Literature and Chair of Postgraduate Studies at Monash University, Malaysia. His research includes horror and the Gothic, postcolonial literature and literary and film aesthetics. He is the author or editor of six books.