Showing posts with label stereotype. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stereotype. Show all posts

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Why U No Like Comics ? !


Why......

This afternoon before I had lunch with my friends, we went to the bookstore as we just accepted BB1M a few days ago. As I go through the racks of books, I overheard a loud Malay Mom in jogging suit who kept telling her son not to buy comics, in English.

“No comics. It’s not good for you. You can’t learn anything from comics!”.

She kept repeating those dialogues over and over again – which made me a little bit upset about her being so paranoid about graphic novels. It is sad to know there are still parents out there with that kind of attitude. She looks like the educated type of people but when she did the stereotyping, I swear I could sense the flame’s bursting in my heart.

I’m not saying all comics are beneficial, on the other hand keep in mind; not all of them are good-for-nothings. The lady’s son once took a comic from PTS publication which is still in “good comic” category but again, she said no, a big bold NO. For your information, PTS which owns Komik-M has publishes a lot of good quality comics, full with moral values and correct uses of Malay language, include motivations and study tips. In Malaysia we also got Ana Muslim – their comics are really educational for every little child out there. Gempakstarz is way more popular but it doesn't really brings good influences but there are still comics which tell about science and stuffs. There are various kinds of comics, just take a look for a while! When the mom scolded her son, she even held an Ana Muslim’s comic in her hand, and she didn’t realize it.





When I told Mom on this matter, Mom said maybe the comics during the days of the boy’s mother were awful in terms of educating the kids. And maybe she really didn’t notice the development of Malaysian comic industry. Nevertheless I find it hard to believe, well, to begin with; didn’t Dato’ Lat created the well-known and legendary Kampung Boy years before I was even born? But then again I’m not really sure, I don’t live in her childhood, so, maybe Mom’s right.

I am a proud comic reader; I am truly a big fan. From local to other countries’ comics – I read them all. I started to read one when I was still in elementary school which is exactly the same with her son. I got good grades. Hobbies and interests didn’t stop me from studying. In fact, comics helped me to study better. Mom had never prohibited me from reading comics, she read them with me.

You see, sometimes you just need to look from a different perspective. Don’t simply build walls onto something unnecessary; something that’s actually not as bad as you think it is.