Rehearsal 8 & Preview 2, 20 February 2020
Updated: May 16
7pm – 10:30pm
Rumah P7:1SMA
The time was first used to recap and refine Medicine and Slam segments before proceeding to prepare for the second preview. This time, it was attended by Mdm Jalyn and Iris.
After the showing, everyone came together to share and exchange feedback. Haizad started it off by giving a deeper introduction to the work:
- How he and some Malays grow up listening to jiwang songs
o Now they are perceived as cheesy or cringy.
o Embarrassed to admit having to listen or enjoy jiwang songs.
- Jiwang is a broad concept and hard to explain.
o He wanted to focus more on the jiwa (“soul”) aspect at first and did not want to go in too deep into it, so he used the band names to relate instead.
o The term itself is loaded.
o Maybe Malays are how they are now because of what happened in the past.
- Jiwang usually has a negative connotation associated with it.
o Sex/vices, emotional, suffering, dark times
- Binary of escapism & trauma
After gaining a better understanding and context of the work, Aunt Jalyn shared her thoughts:
- Fantasia Bulan Madu by Search sounded familiar during some parts.
- The work was episodic.
- The “I” in Jiwang represented “identity” and the work is exploring Haizad’s interpretation of identity.
o Jiwang is deemed orbit by those who are looking in from outside.
o Do Malays dislike being called jiwang, not “cool”?
o The handwritten paper during the U.K’s segment serves a purpose to showcase that identity of traditional methods, being old-fashioned/stuck in time, yet still reliable.
- Jiwang is an important feeling for everyone in addition to just Malays.
o Are Malay souls particularly jiwang?
- Posing a question to Malays and the Malay community in general;
o Do you want people to accept who you are?
o Do you accept yourselves?
- Is jiwang a male-dominated/male-centric feeling?
- Does it have something to do with ego?
o To want something but will not explicitly ask for it?
o Reluctantly do it for the sake of _____?
o Determined by something.
- Does not understand the lyrics, started drifting off during the Spoon segment.
- Was the paper part of the props?
o What is the relationship between the paper, the performers and the work?
- Dreaming, but also “trapped” in the jiwang era; it is still a part of us.
- The notion of “being” vs “acting” when it comes to characterisation.
- The conflict of holding water in the mouth during the Iklim segment.
o To swallow or spit or continue holding?
- The awareness of letting go, yet still being drawn back into it.
- The performers’ character/s?
o Performing as themselves, supposedly effortlessly?
- Jiwang has different dimensions
o Which state of jiwang is being portrayed in each segment?
o Confidence during New Boyz segment.
o Egoistic and syiok sendiri (“self indulgent”) during Medicine segment.
- Shouldn’t give one definite answer to any work or production, allows room for interpretation and for the audience to think for themselves.
- The songs brings one back to more confident times.
After Mdm Jalyn shared her thoughts, Iris was invited to share her piece as well:
- The scenes were interpreted as parodies.
- Reminded her of trashy Indonesian soap operas.
o Romanticised poverty.
§ Togetherness, companionship
There were also additional notes that the collaborators shared after experiencing the work during the second preview:
- There was a conscious effort to connect more to each song by channeling or being jiwang; to have 15 different characters/versions of jiwang for 15 different songs.
- The natural response/reflex to the segment names being flashed on screen (especially Iklim) might be a reflection of a modern form of jiwang.
o i.e. 2020 “jiwang-ness”
- The Search segment can be interpreted as a representation of contemporary vs traditional dance/body/concepts/identities.
- As much as the segments are open to interpretation and there is some guidance through the band names on the screen, those who do not understand the lyrics feel excluded after comparing themselves to those who do.
- The songs triggered memories of where one was when enjoying/celebrating/singing the songs.