Teaser Trailer

Teaser Trailer

Output Ideas

Below are two sketches for my ideas for the output of the project:

My first idea is to make an interactive picture gallery.

My second idea is a flash game.

(New) Chosen Issue, Research Justification, Ideation

Chosen Issue

The culture and lifestyle of the kampong life that are currently diminishing against the developing world.

Research Justification

Preserving to save the local culture and identity of the country.

Target Audience

My target audience for this project are both for young and old people. While I mostly catered to local (Malaysian) populace, I would also welcome foreigners to participate to let them experience and learn about our local culture.  

Ideation

I want to create an artwork that covers the universal theme of childhood (for the younger audience) and experiences (for the older audience) in order to invoke the audiences’ emotions.

The Aesthetic Values Behind Kampung Boy - The Universal Themes

While catered primarily to Malaysian audience, Kampung Boy managed to reach far and wide, across the country and the whole globe. There are many factors that can consider, such as the vivid art style and the clever and humorous writing. But that was only scratching the surface. The value of the story – the aesthetic value – is laid behind them: the beauty of the kampong life. At first I asked myself, how something that is set in a kampong can attract even foreign readers, which of course are unfamiliar with it?

The kampong is merely the setting of the story; the culture and lifestyle within it are the substance. What made the book engaging however was the emphasis of the universal theme and experiences behind Lat’s childhood:

 playing games 

hanging out with friends 

getting scolded by parents for getting into trouble 

Situations that are relatable for most people, and things that readers can connect to when they read the book. On top of that, the story is an honest reflection of the author’s experience, which managed to draw the readers in and bring them into what we can call this ‘other world’ and won their hearts.  

Further Studies on Aesthetic Values

By definition, ‘aesthetic’ is a set of rules and a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty or the appreciation of beauty. The word was first coined by the German philosopher, Alexander Gottlieb Baumgartner in 1753, who helped established the study of aesthetics as a different philosophical field of study (although, the study of the nature of beauty has been pursued for years). 

Alexander Gottlieb Baumgartner

Aesthetics also deal with how we see things, how we evaluate them – our perception towards something and whether it was has special qualities – aesthetic qualities.

When it comes to an artwork, there are factors that drive us to evaluate it, mostly base on our taste and sense of judgment. So, when we say an artwork has aesthetic values, what does our praise consist in?  In some philosophical issues, there can’t be any objective standard when it comes to artistic goodness, other than the extent to which large number of people like it (the art). Hugo A. Meynell however, argued that there is objective standard (Meynell, 1986). When it comes to art, the aesthetic value does not lie within the art’s use, but rather on the impact it gives to the individual. The aesthetic value of an artwork is not an objective concept in a sense, but it can be determine (objectively) based on the impact it gives to an individual. 

Aesthetic Values - A mindmap of my understanding

Above is a mindmap of my understanding regarding 'aesthetic values' based on Hugo A. Meynell (The Nature of Aesthetic Value - Macmillan 1986).

Proposal and Mindmap

Proposal

Topic Background:

Datuk Mohammad Nor Khalid, better known as Lat, is a Malaysian cartoonist who has produced cartoons over a span of years. His honest humor, witty portrayals of the Malaysian life and cleverly written political satire has appealed to many people regardless of races and culture. Lat is also very passionate about Malaysian cartoons having their own identity and style; keeping and preserving the touch of the local culture.

Nowadays, such works of high caliber is hard to come by. For example, we often come across works that attempted to emulate the kampong setting, but were superficial when it comes to the local content. In addition, today’s young cartoonists are more into foreign works such as from Japan (manga) and western style comic books (like Marvel and DC).

Objective:

Presenting ways to preserve the works of Datuk Lat for future generations as well as to encourage young cartoonists to emulate the works of Lat in preserving the local culture.

Suggested Output:

• ·       Digital Preservation
• ·       Documentation 

Mindmap

TOPIC: Preserving Lat's Works for Future Generations

Background

Datuk Mohammad Nor Khalid, better known as Lat, is a Malaysian cartoonist who started producing cartoons at a young age. His works have earned him many awards. In 1994, he was awarded the honorific title of “Datuk” by the Sultan of Perak, in recognition of his work in promoting social harmony and understanding. Besides writing and publishing cartoons, Lat also have ventured into the fields of animation, merchandising and theme parks with his creation. Lat’s work gained admiration from local and foreign cartoonists. Foreign governments invited him to their countries in hope of greater exposure for their countries through his works.

Research

Lat’s cartoons is a reflection of his experiences in life. He is very passionate about Malaysian cartoons having their own identity and style; keeping and preserving the touch of the local culture. The aesthetic parts of his work are very interesting. His art style is a blend of caricature and cartoony; approached with bold strokes of ink and pen – the three-loop noses is the trademark of his Malay characters. Not only they were simple, but also well structured, clean and full of life. The same can be said for his writing style. He was greatly influence by ‘The Beano’ and ‘The Dandy’, which is reflected in his early works. He later came up with his own style of illustration. Lat’s honest and witty humor managed to breakthrough communication barriers, both local and foreign. 

His best known work is The Kampung Boy, which was first published in 1979. The graphic novel was a critical success; it was sold out within four months of its release during its first printing (which was about 60,000 copies). The book, with its far reaching appeal, have sold well abroad. It was first narrated in English with smatterings of Malay, but now it has been translated to at least nine other different languages. Lat’s works contains values that could be learned by everyone; having the symbol of multiculturalism that helps to unite people of diverse racial background, culture and traditions. It helps to create and preserve that harmonious socio-cultural relationship. 

For example, Town Boy depicted Lat’s life during his teen years where he stayed in the town of Ipoh. It was during that time that he befriended a Chinese boy named Frankie. 

Despite their different cultural and racial background, they managed to bond with each other because of their shared common interest in music. 

(I wonder what mutton taste like...)

Another of his work that interests me is Kampung Boy: Then and Now. It illustrates the simple life the cartoonist had during his childhood in the kampong in comparison to the life of modern kids today. 

(Which one is the instructor again?)

(Sploosh!)

Nowadays, such works of high caliber is hard to come by. For example, we often come across works that attempted to emulate the kampong setting, but were superficial when it comes to the local content. According to Lat, today’s young cartoonists are mostly into manga. They should make their work more Malaysian. 

Justification of Research

I want to do this research because I want to promote Lat’s works and its values as well as preserving them for future generations.

Ideas

Final Year Project theme: Preservation

Definition:

The word "preservation" can be defined mostly as an act of preserving or protecting something of value from getting destroyed or damaged, and to a lesser degree, letting something continue without changing. Related to this word are the words "conservation" and "restoration".

Ideas:

1) History of Malaysia (knowledge) - documentation

2) Interest in reading - based on the issue of the decline of reading.

3) Forest - common issue.

4) Fossils - restoration
                 - awareness of extinct and endangered animals.

5) Digital restoration of old literature - preservation of old printed medias

6) Film preservation - old films
                                   - film props, techniques

7) Art - techniques, style