The Demolition Man: Lessons for Malaysian Academia

-
There was an article i read recently, complaining about the sorry state of UK universities where staff are depressed and thinking of leaving. (Click https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/may/21/cut-throat-half-academics-stressed-thinking-leaving)

So id like to propose the dismantling of the current academic authoritarian culture hankering after artificial ranking.

Then I imagine the backlash from hardcore executives " so what would you suggest? Let it be free and easy? Well go back to incompetent modes low grade univ we were before?" or to quote one actual response "All hell break lose". To answer this I would like to refer the ending scene of "The Demolition Man".

The film Demolition Man is about a state where crime was successfully curbed through technology that virtually it become a Utopian state, ideal, crime free, clean and seemingly happy citizen. But these come at a cost where dissenting voices and culture are curbed. Too much control lead people to hate the loss of freedom that some of them went underground to become rebels.

After the dictatorial Utopian regime was destroyed by Sylvester Stallone, the former state police chef ask him "so how will we live?"...

Chief George Earle (the former state police): What will we do? How will we live?
Edgar Friendly (The underground  rebel): I tell you what we're gonna' do... we're gonna' go out drinking, get shit-faced and paint the town literally; put up graffiti, slogans... it'll be a blast!
John Spartan (Demolition Man): Whoa! I'll tell you what you're gonna' do: [turns to Earle] Why don't you get a little dirty... [turns to Edgar] ...and you, a lot clean. And somewhere in the middle... I don't know, you'll figure it out.

The answer by John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone) is brilliant. Hes handing over the decision to the group to find the right balance. Academia is in need of 1) dismantling an authoritarian regime, 2) inclusive dialogue to build the new paradigm.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intellectual crisis in Malaysian Academia: In search of an overall philosophy

-
Image
We often refer to the progress of western civilisations in terms of their contributions in science and technology. We believe if we can have access, or even replicate their technological advancement as well as achieve the same level of prosperity, we will reach the same status they enjoyed as developed nations. With relative prosperity that enabled us to acquire the best technology out there, the best infra and with democratisation of information, by right, we should be behaving and thinking like one. But yet, something is amiss. Our mentality, our culture, our politics, don’t seem to reflect one. Why can’t we do this? Do we lack the psycho-sociological make up to stand like one? (cite K Mahbubani, “can Asian think?”). Why don’t we feel like living in a developed society? We don’t behave like one, even worse, our collective way of thinking as a nation doesn’t seem to be beyond those of ancient civilisations, stuck in bygone era. If we look at our public dialogues more often than n
Read more

From Ubercab to Uber: The Needed Paradigm Shift in Malaysian Education

-
Image
When UberCab decided to ditch the word Cab from its name, it was a revelation in the importance of stepping back and doing less and not doing more. This is something that our education system in Malaysia can learn. We are at the time  when doing something different almost always mean doing something new, the idea of doing away with unnecessary baggage as a way to progress is almost unheard of. In 2011, when Uber CEO decided to change it's name from UberCab to Uber, one of its team asked "If we ditch the word Cab from UberCab, then we are Uber what?", as if Uber cannot stand on its own as a word. Nevertheless the company proceeded changing the name. The move was quite significant in the history of the company. San Francisco Municipal Transport Authority has been threatening UberCab with many potential lawsuits due to its unconventional practice in cab service. By getting rid of the idea of the company as a cab service, and reposition itself as a non cab service,  it simply
Read more

The Scientific mind and modern world crisis. (In search of an overall academic philosophy- part 2)

-
Image
In my previous article , I talked of the absence of an overall, cohesive philosophy for Malaysian academia. This time the focus will be on a particular philosophy permeating academic realm,  pushing out alternative paradigms aggressively. Instead of bringing about cohesion, it divides academia and degrades it into fragmented chaos. Philosophy is not a subject favoured by contemporary scholars. Any discussion bearing any abstract concept  would quickly be labelled "rhetoric" and not worth serious attention. What matters are real 'empirical' hard data. Swift judgement based on scientific data would be the hallmark of modern and sharp intellectualism. For academia, this is unfortunate. It creates the current crisis or paralysis currently infecting it. Ironically, for all the low admiration of philosophy currently in academia, it embrace one particular philosophy religiously. Admit it or not, this particular attitude highlighted above originates from A particula
Read more