Seniman Bujang Lapok ( Dir. P.Ramlee, 1961) is about 3 best friends Ramli, Sudin and Aziz who's trying to become movie stars with their inexperience and funny moments in the film industry together with their hilarious yet sarcastic neighbors' features the process in the-making-of the Malay film during that time.
One of the social issues highlighted in this film in relation to the Malay society during the 60's is the post-war effect by the Japanese occupation in Malaya. The phobia of bomb attack during the Japanese occupation can be found at the part where Ramli, Sudin and Aziz are having tea break in a stall and Sudin immediately hides under the table right after he heard the sound of an exploded tire and mistook it as bomb attack. Sudin also mentioned about how the sound of the exploded tire reminds him of the Japanese occupation which gives us a hint that the post-war has deeply affected their lives during that time.
Next, this film also highlighted the issue of education, unemployment and poverty during 1960's. In Seniman Bujang Lapok, there is a part where Ramli and his friends interview for casting in a movie and they mentioned about their qualifications in which Ramli reveals his level of education only until Standard 5 in Malay school, Standard 4 and a quarter in English school due to the Japanese's attacks on the fourth month after the school reopened. The use of English words such as "Aku pun dah fed up" by Ramli, and "Aku sack sama kau" by the manager also show the expansion of British influence in Malaya during that time.
The unemployment issue can be seen in where Sudin mistook the exploded tire as bomb attacks and Ramli reply, "We are jobless. Why think of bombs?", followed by Sudin bravely ask for a job from the tire-burst-truck guy before they went for an interview at a film company gives us a hint that the 3 best friends are currently in a status of no incomes and trying to improve their lives by randomly seeking for jobs.
Meanwhile the poverty issue can be found throughout the film, for example, Sudin and Aziz sold their newspapers and empty bottles with cheap price while Ramli tried to sell his tattered pants for a transport fare to the Chinese guy but unluckily failed in the end. The 3 best friends also show the poverty issue around them such as choosing over a trishaw instead of a taxi, living in a small room instead of a house, queue up to wait for a public toilet and bathroom, and the most obvious and direct point to the poverty is when Ramli accidentally bumped into Salmah and pretended that he got some money in his pocket before he pulling out his empty pocket in shame.
There are also Malay cultures and Islamic context can be found in this film such as superstitious, arranged marriage and the practice of polygamy. Superstitious can be found at the part where Ramli needed RM350 to marry Salmah and Sudin bought a magic stone just to help him to get the money in a blink of an eye, but still they failed to do so. Whereas the arranged marriage can be found when both Sharif and Salmah's mothers set up an engagement, also known as ' meminang' in Malay word, for their son and daughter with an amount of money after the discussion between two families. The practice of polygamy can be found at where the noisy neighbor of Ramli caught in action by his wife when he is spending the night with other women in reply, "We are Muslims. According to our faith, we can have 4 wives" which directly led us to the Islamic context of a maximum of four wives in a Muslims' family.
Lastly, my recommendation for those who have not watch any of P.Ramlee's works before, try this out and you will not disappointed for his rude yet hilarious classic jokes and filmed in a smart way to entertain everyone despite the differences in one's sense of humor.
References:
Malaysian Cinema, Asian Film, Border Crossings and National Cultures, William Van Der Heide, Amsterdam University Press.
https://www.academia.edu/4570309/_Pontianaks_P_Ramlee_and_Islam_The_Cinema_of_Malaysia_?login=&email_was_taken=true&login=&email_was_taken=true&login=&email_was_taken=true&login=&email_was_taken=true&login=&email_was_taken=true
http://www.academia.edu/3015750/Films_as_Social_History-P._Ramlees_Seniman_Bujang_Lapok_and_Malays_in_Singapore_1950s-60s_
http://coredev.fsktm.um.edu.my/document/PR/history6.jsp
