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KUALA LUMPUR: Suddenly noticing that a video camera is trained on you as you’re absentmindedly going about your day can be spectacularly startling. What more, if you’ve been engaging in gauche behaviour, such as picking your nose, scratching your unmentionables, or wearing Crocs.
One woman who can attest to this appeared unwittingly on live Malaysian television last week – and although she commanded less than two seconds of screen time, her remarkable demeanour has ensured that she will be remembered by everyone, for all of eternity.
The hapless lady in question appeared to have been a participant of a walk or parade in Kuala Lumpur or Putrajaya during Federal Territory Day on Feb 1. Several events marking the special day were held in Malaysia’s administrative and commercial capitals and drew thousands of people – not to mention live coverage by major media outlets such as TV3.
A painfully brief – but extremely rewarding – 3-second clip of the woman was uploaded the following day, and quickly went viral not just locally (that’s for amateurs!) but on a global scale. Within days, the clip went supernova on Facebook and was featured on major international portals.
But the footage transcended mere virality to become a bona fide meme earlier this week when it made the ‘Hot’ section of the hard-to-crack image and video-sharing site, 9Gag (and its ilk). It was a truly proud moment for Malaysia (we at NST were startled upon seeing the video of the woman being startled, featured in 9Gag).
As for the 3-second video’s content: The footage opens on a kawaii young woman in a purple hijab, cheerfully ambling along in concert with a large crowd. She suddenly notices a videographer training his/her camera directly at her, at close range – but is not only unperturbed, she flashes a TV-ready smile (which, judging by internet comments, won her an instant following).
As the hijabi hottie exits the frame, we see our superstar in question, directly behind her. The bespectacled woman, also in a purple hijab, seems lost in thought and has her eyes cast downward. When she suddenly looks up, she instantly notices the cameraperson (which apparently appeared to her as some monstrous, other-worldy creature which materialised out of thin air.)
Our poor lady starts VIOLENTLY, and comically makes an abrupt 90-degree turn to her right and stumbles out of the frame (and possibly breaking into a run, through the crowd, in search of a doomsday bunker). A woman behind HER, wearing a black hijab, simply looks on with nonchalance.
It is a moment of brief, exquisite beauty – very human, very relatable and gut-burstingly hilarious. Wherever you are, Kak, the world thanks you for the laughs!