SISTERHOOD POLITICAL SOLIDARITY IN BLACK WIDOW-WAJAH AYU (1994) DIRECTED BY U-WEI HAJI SAARI

Black Widow-Wajah Ayu (1994) film was directed by prolific director U-Wei Haji Saari. This film was adapted from a bestseller novel Black Widow written by Raja Azmi Raja Sulaiman in 1993. This film is about protagonist character Mas Ayu who has a career but at the same time facing with criticism and oppression from society just because being born as an illegitimate child. In this regard, this article applies sisterhood political solidarity theory by Hooks (1993) based on two concepts namely the structure of social institutions and sexism. The forms of sexism (discrimination, exploitation and oppression) are analyzed based on two contexts of the protagonist of women with female characters and the female protagonist’s relation with a male character. This article aims to answer questions on ‘how the structure of social institution of Malay society become basic of sexism forms experienced by protagonist Mas Ayu in the Black Widow - Wajah Ayu film (1994)?’. Therefore, the data for this study is fundamental research with qualitative study approach. The main instrument for data collecting is through content analysis from Black Widow- Wajah Ayu film and related material such as journal articles, thesis, book chapter, magazine and newspaper. Through Hooks’s view, the findings confirm that family-based institution which based on the weak patriarchal system, uncontrolled and selfish is the cause Mas Ayu faced the forms of sexism. The findings also show that the forms of sexism more in Mas Ayu’s relationship with male characters than relation to female characters. In fact, Mas Ayu not only facing with sexism but she also did sexism to others, especially in her relation with male characters.