Post-Modernism and Existentialism in Indie Books: A Study of Undergraduates’ Notes

Pascamodernisme dan Eksistentialisme dalam Buku Indie: Kajian Terhadap Catatan Mahasasiswa

Abstract

Indie books are produced by writers who believe in “absolute freedom in creating something by writing”. In Malaysia, Indie works do not use standard literary language, contain perverse thinking and often deviate from the teachings of Ahlu Sunnah wal Jamaah, which criticized and considered Indie’s as works that go against the mainstream of Islam. However, Indie books had received warm responses from the younger generation, targeting undergraduates as its primary readers. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify undergraduates’ understanding and reactions upon the contents contained in the Indie books and explore the philosophy of thought behind the writing of this book. This study uses a qualitative approach by using document analysis and grounded theory techniques. The findings of this study show that Indie books are infused with negative features that contain elements of pornography, violence and ideology that deviate from the policies of the state government. In fact, Indie's work is a phenomenon that resulted from the philosophy of post-modernism and existentialism that supports absolute freedom in work. The features of post-modernism inside the content of Indie books are anti-Islamic mainstream, leftist and modern? Meanwhile the characteristics of existentialism in Indie books is to evoke a sense of self-importance, indifference towards society and highlighting freedom. This study has implications on the authorities, teachers and parents who are concerned with reading material and children's morals. Therefore, such work should be monitored and avoided for the sake of mental and social well-being of the community.