Vol 1 No 1 (2020) E-ISSN: 2716-6333
International Journal of Creative Multimedia (2020) 1, 1, 20200104:26-32
doi: https://doi.org/10.33093/ijcm.2020.1.4
© The Authors. This article is licensed under Creative Common License.
Published by MMU PRESS. URL: https://journals.mmupress.com/index.php/ijcm
Abstract
Television is a popular medium that is used as a propaganda tool in spreading ideologies. As such, the
continuous propagation of ideologies through television fiddles with the sentiment of the public over time.
This is obvious through various media campaigns that was broadcasted through television during the
14
th
general election of Malaysia in 2018. These media campaigns propagate the idea of ‘change’ by presenting
audio-visual information that instigates a euphoric reaction. ‘Beauty (fool) of destruction’ is an experimental
video art prompted by such propagation and its effect on society. This essay discusses the creation of the video
work and its adaptation of the Malay proverb ‘Indah Khabar dari Rupa’ as a reaction to the political campaigns
of the 14
th
general election. Specifically, it examines video as an avenue for responding towards the wield of
ideology on electronic media and as a medium of expression for new forms of art making.
Keywords Video art; Propaganda; Socio-politics
Subtle Cynicism of the Malay Proverb
‘Beauty (fool) of destruction’ is an experimental video art inspired by an old Malay proverb. The Malay
dictionary or better known as ‘Kamus Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka’ defines Malay proverbs as a sentence or
words arranged in a particular sequence to convey certain meaning. ‘Peribahasa’ (proverbs) for the Malay is
meant to describe human behavior in a situation. The purpose of the proverb is to educate or reprimand people
in a polite manner.
The video work that I submitted for Antara is inspired by the peribahasa ‘Indah Khabar dari Rupa’ -
closely similar to the English proverb ‘All that glitter is not gold’. This proverb means things that appear
Video Art as a Propaganda Medium of the Socio-Politics
Mohamad Fadly Sabran
moham573@perak.uitm.edu.my
Universiti Teknologi MARA
International Journal of
Creative Multimedia