i seem to have a personal disliking to sensasi the channel these days, heh. one after another. but setting the mind to anything goodness this month and sensitive to anything negative*, one particular trailer in sensasi caught my critical attention.
*negative here as defined by my own personal conviction.

a little bit background, there’s a number of ‘not so new’ dramas coming up at sensasi, which features the younger generation, dramas like Kami and Dunia Baru, the likes of Gol and Gincu drama. i have nothing against the dramas, other than it being a bit too modern in terms of lifestyle AND the way they dress, i do not deny that there are some message the dramas trying to convey, like independence, confidence, friendship, loyal and importance of education. but these have become the end product of modernity rather than a tool towards knowledge and living values. but today’s not the day to share about changes and what modernity is.

back to the dramas! so dramas about young pretty girls and young handsome guys, maintaining friendships, relationship problems and whatnots. so sensasi see the need to have a trailer to ‘promote’ these dramas (heh, maybe because most of us have watched these very dramas on malaysian tv, 2-3 years back, we don’t want to have to watch it again).

so the trailer starts “Generasi S!” “Generasi S mestilah….”. what does “S” stands for? first and foremost it mentioned:
SEKSI – ok in how they dress literally, and attracting attention nonetheless
STYLO – what’s is stylo? i don’t know. it’s a vague and non-malay word
Sibuk – sibuk with what?
….and i can’t remember one term.

it definitely sounds superficial. now we can all say seksi doesn’t all mean short skirts and shorter shirts with much make-up on. but that’s exactly what it shows on tv and mainstreamers already have a mindset what seksi would mean.

you know what sticks to mind when young people saw this trailer? they will understand that they are the now generation which is suddenly labeled generasi S, and being in this S generation, you must be this and this- referring to the criteria listed above. young people learn fast, and sensasi is doing a ‘great’ job in doing it. from my own personal conviction, it sounded negative and tak membangun langsung.

and just like what ‘muslimah anggun’ competition brought buzz on “why use the word anggun?” i want to ask “why use the word seksi?”

but these are for entertainment and media purposes. i’m not interested in talking about that business. but my concern was, tv are already ‘sanctifying’ the very characteristics we see everyday among our youth. what would be non-mainstreamers definition of Generasi S? in a mix of languages, i’m trying to list out what could S possibly stands for.

S= Solat, Sabar, Smart, Spiritual, Sporty, Sharp, Sensible, Steadfast, Strong

please, if you have more suggestions, tag them on.

let generasi S be quality generation, modern but wise, of physical health and spiritual strength, of knowledge and tradition.

just my two-cents. i’m not doing this alone.