Content warning: Eating issues, body image, some blood I’ve always been a fan of supernatural dramas and wished Singapore would come up with a local response to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed and The Vampire Diaries. Recently, Siti Vampire, a Viddsee Original series by M. Raihan Halim, caught my interest for being that and more. With a sincere story, wonderful … Continue reading Right in the Heart: “Siti Vampire” (2021)
O人tation (O-“ren”-tation): How Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre’s Permanent Exhibition Negotiates Local Chineseness
One foreign ambassador asked me why it was necessary in Singapore to have both a China Cultural Centre and a Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre.I replied that it was absolutely necessary to separate the two or else there will be confusion. I suspect that he was testing me.George Yeo Asserting yourself globally is hard because countries … Continue reading O人tation (O-“ren”-tation): How Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre’s Permanent Exhibition Negotiates Local Chineseness
“Growing Up” (1996-2001) Doesn’t Think Activism is a Western Import
CW: Sexual assault Is social justice a Western import? Growing Up doesn’t think so! Remembered for its heartland wholesomeness, Growing Up is a classic 1990s family drama that charts a family’s journey alongside Singapore’s walk into the present. Through its run, Growing Up envisions methods of social engagement that spring naturally from Singaporean ground. Embedded deeply within and engaging with real local … Continue reading “Growing Up” (1996-2001) Doesn’t Think Activism is a Western Import
“Lost Cinema 20/20” (2020) – What We Find Amidst Loss
I was having lunch with a friend when we talked about whether Lost Cinema 20/20 benefited from its move to YouTube. My friend thought that digitising theatre has its losses - what could have been an immersive communal experience is now sealed off into a box on a screen. I agree with him in general, … Continue reading “Lost Cinema 20/20” (2020) – What We Find Amidst Loss
“I Dream of Singapore” (2019): To Become Grievable
We live, in a daily way, with knowledge of nameless groups of people abandoned to death[.]Judith Butler, The Force of Nonviolence, 28 In her latest book, The Force of Nonviolence, Judith Butler writes that society is built on a distinction between lives that are grievable and lives that are not. Often based on little more … Continue reading “I Dream of Singapore” (2019): To Become Grievable
“High” (2020): Choices and Circumstances
Much has already been said about High (2020), Singapore's first interactive online film and anti-drug campaign. On its emphasis of choice, director Royston Tan tells Today that We all have a choice and that comes with a consequence. And that consequence not only affects you; it affects your family as well as your loved ones, … Continue reading “High” (2020): Choices and Circumstances
Loneliness and Reconnection in “The Listener” (2020) and “Waiting Room” (2018)
A catacomb of home units stacked into high-rise flats, Singapore’s dense population and geographical constraints force citizens to live in close proximity with each other. Yet, this closeness does little in alleviating the loneliness that surrounds residents, where greater barriers against human connection are built for the fear of being too nosy or feeling too … Continue reading Loneliness and Reconnection in “The Listener” (2020) and “Waiting Room” (2018)
“Still Standing” (2020): A Love Letter to Things Lost
Singapore has always been a nation of contradictions. A young nation looking forward to a better future yet reluctant to leave tradition behind; a nation refusing to jeopardise the status quo yet yearning for progress; a nation held together by ‘kampung spirit’ yet comprising individuals who all have to look out for their own best … Continue reading “Still Standing” (2020): A Love Letter to Things Lost
Nearly Headless Chickens: “New Resident” (2020)
New Resident (2020) is one of those films in which what happens around the film is almost as interesting as the film itself. As director Jun Chong reveals in the Facebook post accompanying New Resident's online premiere, New Resident has been influenced by - and has also influenced - the neighbourhood-level politics of Sin Ming … Continue reading Nearly Headless Chickens: “New Resident” (2020)
Looking and Knowing in “Wet Season” (2019)
Thirty spokes converge on a hubbut it’s the emptinessthat makes a wheel workpots are fashioned from claybut it’s the hollowthat makes a pot workwindows and doors are carved for a housebut it’s the spacesthat make a house workexistence makes a thing usefulbut nonexistence makes it workDao De Jing 11:1-2, Red Pine translation In his post-screening … Continue reading Looking and Knowing in “Wet Season” (2019)
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