Cities, Bodies, Memories Art

Reflective Analysis of Interactive tour 'Chronicles of Little India'

2009-11-16T05:40:00.000-08:00

Objective:

Little India is undeniably a place with a collection of historical and cultural richness. Walking around Little India, one would feel surrounded and blended into their rich culture. This kind of experience is different from that of many places in Singapore, in which the surroundings are fast-changing and adapting to human’s lifestyle.

Through numerous personal experiences and deriving around the area, I feel that there are a lot of amazing sounds, smells, interactions and gossips that could be found from this little dot of Singapore. Interviews are also a critical source for Little India’s remapping. Interviews with the Indian Jewellery and Chinese coffee-shop owners and Desker road’s gambling guard have given me unique insights of the beauty of Little India. The beauty of Little India lies beyond the tourism make-out of the area.

What is everyone’s first impression of Little India? Yes, it’s the 24-hour operating Mustafa Centre. Mustafa Centre sells the most affordable and variable commodities that caters mainly to the lowly-paid foreign workers that lived around the area. These foreign workers are frequently depicted as the unwelcomed and discriminated population in this city; hence they are usually out of place in most shopper malls. To them, Mustafa serves as a recreation haven that gives them the most assurance in this city. It is depicted as the shining jewel in Little India that seeks to bring together all Indians in Singapore.

The Lembu Road’s Open space is another essence in Little India that serves as a gathering corner for Indian community and foreign workers. However, this Open space that is initially built for the welfare of foreign workers is even guarded against by the authority. There is an obvious signboard around the area that stated ‘Police Camera in Operation’. What freedom is there in reality when privacy is invaded? The place name and its surveillance seem to be an irony.

From my first experience of walking around the streets, I can already feel the heavy religious background of Little India. That can be illustrated from their heavy jasmine flowers, Indian religious songs, bird fortune telling and even huge crowds gathering for temple worshipping. The temple and religious aspect seems to create an indescribable honor among the Indian community. Among many talks are the gossips about Desker road. Many people may know about Desker road, but the insider-info of the area is vague. Many people choose to avoid talking about the area, and some may even fake ignorance of the activities going on in the area. We were even told that the female and male would avoid going pass the area, to avoid mistaken cases by their known friends. The alley of Desker road seems to evoke such eerie and negative emotions that repel others away. This serves to bring out the mystery part of Little India.

Therefore in this project, I wish to create a tour that could illustrate out the life within Little India through its four energy sources, namely its honor, mystery, recreation and even liberty. A lot of ideas had come through my mind, such as exploring Little India’s life through on-site visiting of the four areas, flash movie, narrative story and etc. After many discussions, my group decided to create a mythical narrative tour based on a mixture of our personal experiences, historical facts and mythical legends. The mythical tour will be based on Little India’s highly-regarded Sri Ruthra Kaliamman Temple (honor), the avoided alleys of Desker Road (mystery), Mustafa Centre (recreation) and also the Lembu Road’s open space (liberty).

By relating parts of little India to mythical legends, my group is trying to create an interesting story plot so that the audiences can be easily led into the remapped Little India. Through this electronic book we named ‘Chronicles of Little India’, I hope my audience can examine Little India from a different perspective, which is a shift away from the factual knowledge we obtain from existing guidebooks. To us, History is subjective and there can be many versions to it. In a bid for the user to have a fresh new experience, we have defamiliarised the four chosen places in Little India, followed by analysing the stereotypes and perceptions people have of Little India, then invert them and try to fill in the gaps with our imagination and own experience.

Through the virtual tour, I hope that my audiences can gain new insights of culturally rich Little India. The book will be written from the first person perspective, so that the audiences can personally experience the circumstances and the feelings Little India have evoked in my group. Hopefully, the virtual tour will allow the audiences to view Little India from another angle.

The virtual tour “Chronicles of Little India”:
http://www.pixelblowup.com/matthias/ADM420/

Outcome:

I was basically pleased with my group’s final virtual presentation of “Chronicles of Little India”. At first thought, the idea is to present the virtual tour by projecting the electronic book in front of the whole class. However taking note that each person’s time specificity may be different, it is understood that each person’s pace and speed of reading a text is relatively different. In order not to deprive each audience of the emotions evoked from reading the narration, I decided that the presentation is best efficiently carried out when the audience gains control of the book, and hence allowing them to develop personal and direct experience through the whole concept. However, we know that there may be limitations of allowing personal laptops to each of the 7 group members. Eventually, we resolved this small limitation by assigning 2 persons to each laptop.

Even though the decision had been made that we are allowing our audiences to have their personal experience on the virtual tour, we oversee the silence and awkwardness that may arise when each individual is carrying on their virtual tour. I felt that the silence should be exchanged for by the sound and audio system. I should have added in the temple praying sound for the temple pages, the eerie and wind-howling sound to create the tense feeling the Pontianak exert upon the Desker Road and finally the magical music ‘A whole new world’ from Aladdin movie soundtrack to celebrate Aladdin’s transformation story from-rags-to-riches. However, I feel very well-applauded for the combination of narrative and visual drawings within the book. I feel that without any of the either, the visual tour experience of the audience will not be met fully. The self-felt flick pages concept of the book is also great, given that it really seem to create a flicking-the-book feeling for the audiences. Nevertheless, I have forgotten that the self-felt flick pages need a mouse to direct the cursor in a better way. Using the laptop own self-touch mouse, it will require 2 fingers to move the cursor, hence I should have arranged mouse for everyone to attach to their computers. Moreover due to restrictive resources, the screen may be too small for the audience to make out the text and the photos. The electronic book should have set to 900 x 600 pixels. The settings of the atmosphere of the electronic book are cleverly organized with a foreword to describe the purpose and agenda of the user’s movement and slowly lead them into the remapped Little India storyline. The credits section of the story is well-fitted into the book, to provide an overall ending and conclusion of the remapping. The well-organized presentation of the book with its classification (foreword, story, credits) has abandoned any needs for our group’s verbal presentation and replaces it with the self-felt experience of the user.

One concerning factor for the visual images is the copyright issues of the photos of Aladdin and Kali. However considering that this is just our school project, I believe the copyright issue shouldn’t be too restrictive in my project. To make the pictures more lively, our group members divide our work and carry out speed painting to make the pictures illustrate the forceful elements we wanted in each storyboarding pictures.

The connection of the characters in the narrative story and the real places is based on intensive research of the characters’ characteristics. For example, the connection of Kali’s ferocity and Sri Ruthra Kaliamman Temple is based upon the real story. I have added emphasis to bring in as much truth to the story so that the history will not be distorted so much that the project’s objective is undermined.

Feedback:

Compiling the feedbacks taken by the class and Lucy, I feel that my group’s virtual tour is a fair success. However, there are some areas of improvements that should have being noted.

Lucy had pointed out that the Kali’s story will be well-narrated if the story also explains the characters of the other gods and demons, such as Raktabija, Shiva and Skanda. When I try to put myself in the layman position and experience the electronic book myself, I finally understand the users’ confusion of who is Raktabija, Shiva and Skanda. Even though I did add in some basic understanding of Raktabija being a demonized character, the development of each of their roles is not clearly developed yet. I found loopholes in this area and I should have added in some elaboration of the dramatic war between Kali and Raktabija in order to heighten the climax of the story.

As the story slowly proceeds to the Desker Road story, it serves to be a confusing path for the user to undertake. The other group has commented that they have not known that the eerie place in the story is actually the inverted Desker Road until the history part was told. The graphics of the story should have being done more closely to the real alleys of Desker Road. I should have allowed the real Desker Road alleys as the background and place the forestly atmosphere inside the visual arts. However due to restriction of the heavily guarded Desker alleys, my group only manage to capture one photo of the Desker alley while touring the area. Still, the photo is not well-fitted into the story. To find the most familiarization to Desker Road, we decide to reframe Desker alley as an eerie and ‘out-of-bound’ forest that people may choose to avoid.

However, my group may have dragged the story a bit too far that it has lost the realism of Desker Road. Through many interviews, we had gained understanding that Desker Road is the avoided place of Little India and that there are a number of secret activities (gambling and prostitution) going on there. We had tried to depict the sex workers there as poor victims using the sad story of Pontianak. In this way, we thought that we are removing the common stereotypes people have for those sex workers. However, we have not observed that we may have been stereotyping them in another form. When we try to relate them to the victim role, we are stereotyping that all the sex workers there are doing it not of their will and they are being forced into the situation. We are sympathizing with them from our perspective, without noting that sometimes they are prostituting out of their own will and they do not wish for any sympathy. In relation, Lucy commented that we should have realism to the real myth that Pontianaks are vengeful spirits instead of them being soft. More scary elements of the place should have been positioned in the Desker Road graphics and narration. We can add in the celebration of the Pontianaks who are actually an army of prostitutes. We can relate the similarity of the Pontianaks trying to attract man to their side to slaughter them for their revenge to the prostitutes trying to attract customers for their livelihood. We should also be using more cosntemporary images of Desker road, such as including and blending in the pictures of prostitutes if possible.

The Aladdin part is the most celebrated part of all the comments given by the class. There is a parallel similarity of Aladdin’s rags-to-riches story and the real Mustafa story of creating a small stall business to today’s multi-millions complex business. However, more richness of Mustafa should have been focused on, such as the simple tour of the Mustafa Centre. The narration part should have been more developed. Being a place which sells everything that can be found in India, Mustafa serves as a great connection of the Indians back to their memory times in India. Stepping into Mustafa is a rich experience of the culture of Little India. Hence, the in-depth development of story inside Mustafa centre should have been more built up.

The next scene of the beach has been a shock to the audiences as the stimulation and expectation of the Mustafa story has not yet being met. The narration seems to flow a bit too fast from the Mustafa centre to the Open space. Lucy had commented that she enjoyed the ambience created in the Open space, relaxing as heard from the name (as depict from the beach scene) but yet tensing from the surveillance cameras located around the area (as depict from the glaring eyes of high above). The good use of the beach has created the impression every individual seeks for, an open space where their desires are free to roam. That reveals the wish for the mass public to escape from the stone pavements in every malls, house and walking paths and explore what is beneath the city. However, the freedom of one is always restricted by the surveillance of the authority. The police surveillance of Lembu Road’s Open space in Little India has arisen from the discrimination and mistrust of the foreign workers in this city. It seems to depict the slight curtailment of personal liberty and freedom of expression suppressed by the authority in this city.

Overall, the story plot is commented to be interesting, yet there should be better transition between the narration of each hotspots, or even having a connection between them. The last two scenes at the Open space should involve a conclusion of all the stories and it may have been interesting to have the characters reacting to one another. One of such idea is arrange for a plot to have all the characters Kali, Aladdin and Pontianak seated together on the beach.

National Museum-- Lost in the City

2009-10-14T18:51:00.000-07:00

Singapore is a place we live in. A neighbourhood is where we may grow up in. But how well do we know these places and how well do we stand in these places? A city is inescapable from a person’s life, but is there any possibility a person can escape from a city? Lost in the city may not necessary happen in this transportation-convenient Singapore today, but may now instead be emotionally lost in this fast-paced Singapore.

The exhibition is co-held by 5 Singapore-based artists, namely Justin Lee, Genevieve Chua, Michael Lee, and Joo Choo Lin and Chun Kai Qun who play out their responses to the city as part of this year's Singapore Art Show, at the vast spaces of the National Museum's Rotunda, Glass Passage, Glass Atrium and The Atelier.

The first visual art started off with a collaboration between Choon Lin and Kai Qun, who are both concerned with the rapid pace of urban development, especially the adverse effects on the environment and the behaviour of its inhabitants. The animation shows the plight of creatures when their land is being developed, while the diorama, which is also used as a scene in the animation, is a wasteland. The creatures seem to represent us Singaporeans living in a construction-based environment. As Singapore is a relatively small country, everywhere and everyday we can see new buildings on the rise and neighbourhood reconstruction is happening everywhere. Construction is indeed a way to modernization and improving people physical well-beings (example life upgrade can benefit the residents in the long run). However, construction is a scary image that people fear in their life. Noise pollution and physical changes are found in statistics to be increasing stress in individual’s life. Construction has impact our life so much that we are losing our culture and traditions. Chinatown is been revamped until the external buildings’ design look like intact but the cultures and emotions evoked by the buildings are all gone.

The second visual art illustrates Justin Lee by featuring a small army of terracotta warriors, gentle ladies from olden Tang dynasty China, and auspicious cranes in a procession ceremony. The figurines are interestingly integrated with elements of contrasting commercialisation such as technology gadgets - headphones, laptops, and coca cola cans. Warriers listening to MP3 while marching, gentle ladies playing with laptop and even auspicious cranes play around with coke cans. Doesn’t it serve like an irony? Chinese soldiers during the dynasty periods are always depict as serious and order-controlling slaves of the emperors. However, Justin chooses to portray that with modernization, even the serious-looking soldiers will slacken with the fun that modernization brings for today’s individuals. Even the gentle ladies will also pick laptop and internet as their past-time, contrast to our perception of virtuous ladies being well-versed in qin (music instruments), qi (chess), shu (poetry), hua (paintings). Finally, with modernization, even the Chinese offerings to the auspicious cranes during the procession ceremony may revert to coca cola instead of the traditional offering items such as fruits and chicken.
It seems like modernization is influencing all over the world that even traditions and perceptions are evolving. Traditions like reading books are giving way to e-books. Interestingly, Justin chooses to show a contrast between the olden traditions and people and those of technology gadgets. It seems to indicate modernization go all the way out to even haunting the old traditions to give way. Even religion is on the decline. Is our traditions and culture giving way? Yes I believe so.

The third visual art presents a model-and-text installation of “National Columbarium of Singapore” created by Michael Lee Hong Hwe. The installation features 100 of lost Singapore architecture which includes models of demolished buildings as well as fictitious and unbuilt structures. The miniature buildings that we saw in HDB or other housing development exhibitions are always illustrate in real colours and inbuilt in realistic environment. However, the installations are all painted in white. It seems to trigger one’s memory and illustrates the 100 lost architectures living in another space. Most of the lost architectures are demolished before my birth so I don’t have many emotion-linked memories of them. However, this visual art indeed triggers my feeling towards the impact of urban development, memory, and naming. Previously before government intervention, Singapore-based company was allowed to use the word “Singapore” in the company naming. However, from the early 90s onwards, Singapore-based companies are not allowed to do so anymore. Isn’t Singapore urban development history interesting?

The fourth visual art presents a video of “Full Moon & Foxes” by Genevieve Chua. The video seems to illustrate a narrative of late adolescence and the period towards the end of innocence. When I enter the dark room, I was instantly struck by fear and alertness. I sit in the middle of the room. The screen before me starts to play. The 2 screens in front of me seem like the eyes of mine and my real side is viewing every action from behind my eye balls. Sometimes, I feel myself viewing a person, sometimes many people at one people. The people I saw triggers fear within me. They seem to be related to me in some sense, certainly they are not me. But indeed they seem to remind me of myself. The foxes moving in front of me all seem to be troubled and seem like their hearts are facing death. Everyone seems tired to move on, move on to the next stage of adolescence, which is maturity. Innocence is always the best bet in the society. For example, underage is the best bet for escaping jail sentence when commit a crime. Fear is normally the word used in today’s times to describe growing up, especially for girls. However, regardless girl or boy, growing up represents a sense of responsibility and burden.

National Museum-- Image of our Landscape

2009-10-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

The image of our landscape, are images documented in the form of photographs, prints and even paintings by people who came to Singapore in the 19th century. They are the people holding different occupations, such as official surveyors, artists, administrators and even leisure travelers who stopped at Singapore in their journey around the world.

On the path of our exploration of Singapore through 19th Century, I felt like I was picturing the 19th century olden Singapore from far ashore to walking deeper and inside of the history and structure of Singapore. From the paintings and drawings of the travellers’ 1st impressions of Singapore, I can see that their drawing pattern is very similar. All of the travellers see Singapore as a good harbour with a number of English steamships and Tua Kow, moreover with a good view of the Forbidden Hill (aka Fort Canning Hill). There are a number of Paintings that presented a perspective taken from ships anchored at sea, a distance from the coast.

Through these exhibit pictures, we viewers can get to have an understanding of what are the modes of transports in the earler days. Twakow, a Chinese ship is a mode of transport that brought hundreds and thousands of Chinese coolies and immigrants from China to Singapore. The immigrants are all packed like sardines on the ship. There were even death counts results from such ill hygiene condition. This situation can’t be seen in today’s times anymore. However, it reminds me of the cases of packed foreign workers on the vans, the mean of transport to send them off and to work. Even though Singapore are said to be a first class country, our treatments to our foreign labour doesn’t seem to differ too much from the past. Similarly, our ill-treatments of maids are infamously around here.

From photographs and paintings, we can even get to interpret the “Raffles Town Plan” and how Singapore is shaped before and after the town allocation Before Raffles town allocation, Singapore is like a small village which lived a number of sultans and malay fish-villagers. Most of them stay in slums or kampongs. With Raffles development of Singapore being a good port base, boat quay became one of the key areas along the Singapore River in 1823 that held a lot of economic trading activities there. Now our Singapore River has been transformed. Our government has reversed everything to changing Boat quay and Clarke quay into pubs and restaurant hangouts, including clean-up of the river. Gone are the days.

Paintings taken from forbidden hill also illustrate the landscape of the past Singapore. From Forbidden Hill, we can even see the town structure in the Chinatown area and Little India area. I realize that from the English paintings, it is always depicted that the westerners are always the enjoyer (either having a picnic or view gazing) while the Chinese and Indian are always the servant character (helping the western carry luggage etc).

I love the art piece of the whole Singapore view by Percy Carpenter the most. It was acknowledged as the best art piece that illustrates the whole landscape of Singapore drawn from the Forbidden Hill. Through the paintings, I can even find the location of the current LAU PAT SAT on the painting (by the guidance of the tour volunteer) and even the location of Chinatown. Contrasting to the current Singapore outline and map, I can recognize that Singapore is no longer the same as before. There is a lot of reclaimed land, including those in Raffles place. In the past, the location of LAU PAT SAT is lying along the border of the sea. Hence now when I go to Raffles place or anywhere near or beside LAU PAT SAT, I will also ponder where am I standing? On a reclaimed land or the real Singapore land ground. The tour instructor even made a joke that it may be because Raffles place is on a reclaimed land, hence people working there are able to feel the slight impact from Indonesia earthquake.

And did I ever know that Singapore was once a plantation ground for cultivate vegetables pepper and gambit which are important articles of export. The Raffles town allocation has gone to the extent of cutting down the dense jungle to build the plantation. What they sacrifice were the best beauty nature of Singapore, in which Singapore with its valleys, plains, grand trees and undulating hills was indeed very beautiful in 1846. However, now all Singapore’s nature was cut down for the sake for modernization and housing development. Now that’s all left are just tourists and environmentists’ critiques of Singapore’s fake nature and diminishing culture. Singapore has no mountains and hills, maybe what we Singapore do acclaimed as our only hill is the Bukit Timah Hill and Fort Canning Park. Although Singapore is well-known as a greenery city with flowers and trees everywhere, it is saddening to know that most of them are relocated there. The Singapore orchid is even planted in charcoal to sustain its life and colour in the humid Singapore. However, what sacrifices again is the fragrance (nature) again.

Many paintings’ emphasis of Esplanade also illustrates Esplanade area during the 19th century as a popular meeting place for residents to interact and engage in recreational activities. The architecture and bungalows during the 19th century also creates sensational historical memories. The government house (aka angsana), national library and the national museum (where I was standing at when viewing the exhibition) were all the landmarks that made its stand on Singapore since the 19th century. What differs may be the external structure and designs add to it in today times.

“Desire Paths” Tour of Little India --- spell#7 performance

2009-10-10T06:41:00.000-07:00

Little India is Singapore’s Indian heartland, yet another cultural heritage site in Singapore. It used to be a division where Indian immigrants would reside in olden days, but under Singapore government’s policy for racial harmony, the immigrant population (just like Chinese and other immigrants) was spatially segregated into different parts of the islands. However, that doesn’t seem to stop Little India been a buzzing hangout for our fellow Indians friends and foeigner workers from Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Where is Little India? To get to this prominent part of Singapore tourist attraction, one can just grab a taxi or even conveniently by MRT north-east line which will lead u directly to Little India. The main 3 types of tourist attractions to explore Singapore’s multi-racial cultures are to visit Chinatown, Little India and also Kampong Glam. But truly speaking of the cultures and tradition preservation, only Little India seems to be the only settlement in Singapore that still avoids the government mass transformation (or should I take it as destruction instead? haha) But what really makes Little India unique is its beautiful street (no big heavy traffic, but instead more of human traffic walking along the roadside) and beautiful shops that sell erotic stuffs that seem extinct in other parts of Singapore.

Spell#7 performance allows us Singaporeans a chance to get to know this part of Singapore in a greater depth. Singapore is a fast pace country. Our walking pace is so fast that we may miss out significant details even without knowing it.

Through the tour, I realized that Little India area was developed around a former settlement for Indian convicts. Its location along the Serangoon River originally made it attractive for raising cattle, and trade in livestock was once prominent in the area. Eventually, other economic activity developed, and by the turn of the 20th century, the area began to look like an Indian ethnic neighbourhood.

Without Spell#7 tour, I may not even know:
 Where is the Tekka Market Centre?
 Fresh jasmine flowers string together for Indian religious purposes. The type of stringing flowers culture I think can only find in Little India market nowadays.
 Fortune told by psychic parrot. This kind of fortune telling can also only be found in Little India only already. The charge is 3 dollars per fortune told.
 Henna Tattoing ( I saw this stall along the way of spell#7 tour path)
 There is Chinese working in Little India too. (The 2 brothers who own the coffee shop at Upper Weld Road) I had always thought only Indian work in Little India. How ignorant am i.
 Beautiful shophouses that alike those structures in Chinatown, expect that Chinatown ones are very commercial now.
 Little India is full of stuffs, after I move out of another alley; there are even car servicing shops here. This just seems like a self-sufficient small town of its own.
 Famous Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple
 There are 4 payphones behind the temple. That is a frequent place for those foreign workers to use their IDD call cards to call back to their respective countries.

From my first experience of walking around the streets, I can already feel the heavy religious background of Little India. That can be illustrated from their heavy jasmine flowers, Indian religious songs, fortune telling and even huge crowds gathering for temple worshipping. The temple and religious aspect seems to create an indescribable honor among the Indian community.

No doubt that Little India is a vibrant and colourful ethnic quarter that always seems to be bustling with people from all races who wish to savour Indian food and buy Indian stuffs. I can always find the best Indian food in Little India! There are clusters of old yet beautiful shophouses in Little India. Moreover, Little India never sleeps. I can shop in this very big Mustafa shopping centre that opens 24-hrs a day, 7-days a week! This shopping centre offers almost everything; from fresh vegetables, meats, other groceries to furniture, electronic products, apparels, stationery, car accessories, and even jewellery. This is a typical “mama” shop, that’s what the locals called it. Though the shop is small, i can find magazines, newspapers, drinks, snacks, cigarettes, medications, stationery, toys and many more (Who knows? Maybe 7-eleven is an imitated venture of these “mama” shops). Now there aren’t many mama shops left in Singapore, and most of them are found in those older neighborhoods (I stay in Bukit Batok which still have a number of these shops around. So lucky). However, as bigger chains of convenient shops like NTUC, 7-eleven operate in increasing area; I believe there might be days these “mama” shops may be cease to exist. So saddening.
P.S: (But why these grocery shops are called “mama” shop? From findings, I realize Mama = Uncle. So it’s actually called Uncle shop).

Another phenomenon we will see in Little India is that there are a number of Indian shops selling ethnic jewellery. Anyone passing by will be dazzled by all these ethnic gold jewellery elegantly displayed in the showcases. Little India is so full of such amazing culture and findings.

NUS Museum-- Ivan Poluni

2009-10-03T06:27:00.000-07:00

The significant meaning of "I Poluni" means not only "Ivan Poluni", but also refers to "I taking on the tour with Poluni". The exhibition had gathered information and memories that Poluni had collected during all his years in Malaya and also Singapore from the 50's to the 90's. Now assuming the role of Ivan Poluni himself, i am now going to travel back to the times when he first stepped foot into Malaya and Singapore.

Before i start traveling, i get prepared my passport stamped and now step slowly towards the other space. It is an interesting fact that the room is vertical in depth and the photos and audio are placed in line after another. It seems to really give me the feeling of a whole of memories in line waiting for me to reveal.

Poluni seem to be doing a survey study on the tribal people. He felt that tribal societies are at the polar extreme from modernized communities. Poluni tried to illustrate the constrast of the wide variation in bio-social response between modernized world and the Tribal people. Therefore from a 3 photos series of Murul Tribes, we can see that Poluni did an interesting and irony contrast of the Murul tribe and the westernized fellows.

For the first 2 photos, it is evident that Murul tribal people guys wear only a cloth to cover their private parts, without nothing else (no shoes, no socks, no clothes) as accessories or protection. However for the 3rd photos, it is evident that the western guy is nude with only socks and shoes. Why is that so, this is a funny irony analysis of tribal social perception. Tribal people is conservative in their thinking and feel that only the most important part that they need to carry out their life journey serves the most meaning. Whereas, the other body parts such as feet, and body are just a surface body, we don need to hide them. In contrast, the westernized people feel that our feet is the one that helps us to walk on our journey, whereas the guy’s penis (or even women breasts') is just a sexual object. The difference is westernized treat sex (represented by penis) as casual and a love making chance whereas i feel tribal people treat sex(represented by penis) as their procreation terms.

I was wondering to myself whether their marriage also stands the procreation meaning. Or else in the photo of ‘Christian wedding of a Tambunan couple in Sabah’, why the couple doesn’t look real happy, blissful and in love as those marriages we encountered in modernized weddings. Or is it just their culture and Tribal characteristics never to reveal their real happiness to people.

I reach the crossroads where one lead on to Poluni’s medical research and another to his footage tour. I carried on the vertical footage tour first. Now poluni seem to encounter a chinese farmer family in Singapore Paya Lebar. There were 7 kids and one granny and the 2 parents. It seems like a typical happy family of 3 generations. There were at least 4 boys. Suddenly it pushs me to think of the "favor boy over girls" issue in the olden days and having many kids is common so that they can help out with the farming work.

Followed on are a lot of photos about who he met and what he encountered in Malaya. Finally I reach a chair that is placed in front of the plasma tv. It seems like all the previous photos that we passed by is just his random thoughts and memories about his times in Malaya and Singapore. The chair seems to indicate that it was times he lay back and played back his previous memories (but this time to the audience). I would love to listen to Poluni talked with visual effects about the olden times, however too bad that the speakers don’t seem to be working. Luckily for me, I would still make out the pictures in the tv and interpret myself the situations in the video. Children playing a spinning nut, Fishing game and even the ‘Jong’ sail sea game seem to be telling us ‘a picture tells a million words’ of the simple life in the past Malaya and what he had encountered. Caucasians and Malays are already living in Harmony during that time. The video lasted on for around 13 mins and I stand up to prepare myself to Poluni’s medical life.

In the section of Poluni’s medical life, the exhibition had really made me feel in the sudden world of Dr Poluni. Why is that so? With maps, patients’ photo (the infected eye & the family consultation) and the huge long showcase of documents, cameras and books, I feel like I was in an office. If I can touch the artifacts, I believe everything could seem more realistic. The huge map of photos on the wall seems to give me a great explosion of memories of everything Poluni encountered. The photos seem so far from me, yet so familiar of such we can saw in our grandparents’ precious photo album.

I entered into the small room and saw the video of old Poluni, relating to his olden days. However, no sound again. Too bad. The great picture of Tuas reclamation was impactful to me, since it is near where ntu is and is a common industrial area of the west region. I never seem to ponder how the previous Tuas look like, suddenly looking at the big vast land; I could only utter a “wah”

Stepping out of Poluni memories is like gaining a knowledge box of a city I never know. The voices from the recorder and images seem to linger in my head as I walk out of the museum.

Davis Systems Formulas Heartlanders

2009-09-25T16:22:00.000-07:00

Today, our view of Singapore doesn’t stay at the beautiful picture Lee Kuan Yew paints for us but instead the awful but realistic images that we normal citizens see around. To know Singapore, one shouldn’t say they know Singapore based on the clean and green environment. But instead, to really know Singapore, one should view Singapore from inside to outside. That is obviously what many photographers and film directors try to paint Singapore as. Many people always question why they like to paint Singapore as a dirty and ugly city with gamblers, red light districts and our juvenile ‘ah bengs’. But I gradually realize that from their point of view is then the real daily life of Singaporeans. To analyse Singapore’s society, we can reflect on the humans (our common citizens’ actions and routine), artifacts (our daily necessities and belongings), landscape (interiors and structure of buildings). Definitely, the artists today receive more freedom in their creation as compared to the artists in the past who have pressure to only bring the good side of Singapore.

Shannon Castleman posts an interesting system to explore the life within a certain space, in order to attract us, influencing viewers to post attention into the issue of homeless man. This seems to create a visual image and story for the viewer to understand and stand in the situation of the homeless man issue. The “Jurong West Street 81” project provides an opportunity for all the residents to really interact with each other. The high-stories of HDB seem to like encompass the density of all the residents’ energies, personalities, intimacies and distances inside and between these bricks and cements.

However, residents are residents. They are just common citizens of Singapore. Through them, we can see the different characteristics and personalities of heartlanders living on this land. Some people are shy (avoid the camera) and some are overly-enthusiastic. However, through 20 minutes of looking at their actions, we are like looking at their daily life. A picture tells a thousand words. That is definitely true for Singapore. We should be more observant for things and people around us, and we will realize Singapore really do indeed has cultures and is a place with a cool character. We are definitely beyond just Merlion statutes and modern buildings.

Excursion around Chinatown People's Park Complex

2009-09-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

It was certainly not my first time stepping into Chinatown People Park Complex. I had accompanied my parents here a number of times during Chinese New year period to shop for New Year goodies. Sometimes I would also come to the People Park Food Centre for meal. However, this time is certainly the first time I see People Park Complex in a different light. Never did I think about its architecture and history background every time I came here. I had just thought of People Park Complex as an old and “ready to be extinct” shopping mall that can only attracts elders to come here shop here. However, I was wrong.Through the architect, Dinesh Naidu's explanation, I finally realized what the elders always quoted ‘Everything was built for a reason”. The 31-storey high People's Park Complex building is certainly not the first shopping mall in Singapore; however it is certainly the first shopping centre of this structure in Southeast Asia and has set the building design pattern for most of today’s retail developments in Singapore. The shopping centre was completed in October 1970, while the residential block, in 1973. The residential block accommodates a variety of apartment sizes, and access to them is through a lift that is independent of the shopping centre. The roof-level of the block previously was a common area contained shared amenities, such as an open-air play space, built for communal use. That was told to us by the accompanying Naidu that the concept was just like today’s neighbouring playground corner and open space. However, it is a pity that such thing is all history. Now what is left is that the open space serves as a dormitory and hangout for those foreign workers. The people park complex itself is made up of an outer shopping area and an inner shopping area. The shopping centre had incorporated the first "city room" or atrium in Singapore, a concept that was introduced under the Metabolist Movement in the 1960s. The shops in the shopping mall surround the large internal space, which consists of two multi-storey interlocking atriums. The "city room" serves to retain the busy character and atmosphere of the olden Chinatown Street.

Today People Park Complex seems no different from when it is just built. The varieties of the shops there are more than what we found in most shopping malls. Most new shopping malls have spa, fashion, food court and gifts place. However in People Park Complex, there is far more choices of needs. Where do you go when you need a good cheap travel deal? Yes, it is People Park Complex. Moreover, we may be surprised at what shops we can find here. There is authentic foot reflexology, massage shop, acupuncture, Chinese medicated shop, fortune telling and even ghost buster. However as Chinatown becoming an elderly populated place where elderly get seated around playing chess and chats, many under the blanket activities started to creep into the People Park Complex. Many massage parlors begun to open in mass. There are a number of small massage places offering "other" services. The KTV and karaoke clubs are also providing more than "singing". There is a whole big group of freelancers with regular customers and spread of word through mouth. There was a period that prostitution is even more active than the standing ladies in Geylang or Desker Road area. Finally, the police raids become frequent and People Park Complex had tarnished its reputation. When I was there with my guy friend, I do not know that there are these kinds of activities going on. Initially I just thought that it was kinda of weird that why the massage parlors are mainly standing outside the entrance and they are wearing very skimpy clothing. More badly, they are making eyes to my guy friend when I was not looking. The feeling is awkward and I was feeling naked with their eyes scanning all over us. I can only take a couple of pictures before a security guard asked me to stop taking photos. I suspect that the security and the authority know about this kind of obscene business, but they do not wish further new reports on this. It is really sad that such thing is moving into one of the Singapore world-class architecture. I feel that People Park Complex may be on the chopping block in the near future. So now, we should really appreciate People Park Complex and try to keep the building from future demolition. In our rush to rebuild Singapore, the government had knocked down many old and quaint Singapore buildings. Only after years later that Singapore realise we were actually destroying a valuable part of our cultural heritage that we were demolishing what tourists found attractive and unique in Singapore. That is exactly what Gibson condemns Singapore about.

Nosing Around a Singapore Scent Trail

2009-09-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

This article sees Singapore from the perspective view of a foreigner who just stepped into Singapore. If tourists follow the Singapore tourist guides and website, they will be able to tour Singapore with ease and learn about the usual places of interests such as Sentosa and Orchard Road. However, these places certainly do not present the whole picture and real cultures of Singapore. “Nosing Around” brings us to explore Singapore by physically touring Changi, Orchard Road, Tekka Market, Geylang and Esplanade.
Why do everything comment that Singapore is a fake greenery country, with no cultures left of this society. Standing in the perceptive of a tourist, I will analyse Singapore by nosing around. Even when I first started at Changi, I can see why Singapore has fake greenery. Orchid, being our national flower really resembles our country well. However, it is not in a good way. Do you ever realize that Singapore orchid planted around Changi airport are scentless and fake. The orchid flower is planted and manicured in charcoal in order to prevent its colour. However, in Singapore’s attempts to bring out the best colour beauty to the tourists, it sacrifices on its real nature and characteristics. Similarly, Singapore has also manicured its environment and urban development so much like it manicured the orchid growth such that critics comment that Singapore is uninteresting with no cultures to explore. Is a scentless orchid still considered a beautiful flower? Is a culture-less country still considered a interesting and successful country? I wouldn’t say an absolute yes.
The tourist’s first attraction is in Orchard Road. Reaching Orchard Road by MRT, I can take the passageways south towards Wisma Atria, and the huge Ngee Ann City mall, or east towards Tangs and Isetan without ever needing to expose myself to the open air. There is no nature to be seen in the urban development of Orchard Road, only through the packed underground tunnels which seem to leave minimal private space for each individual. We are well-directed by the spaces created by the structure design of Orchard Road. That determines our shopping direction (either to Wisma or Wheelock)and what we are viewing. For example, unknowingly we have looked at the wall posters along the tunnel. However, Singapore is also very successful in looking after its population, did so much as in even able to manicure our environment such as Singapore River, toilets and public housing.
Tekka Market serves to be one important place to really learn about Singapore. Here, it is an intensively smelly wet market where fresh pork, chicken, fish and vegetables are sold here and the floor is accumulated with wet dirty water. Unlike the supermarket concept of clean, hygiene shopping environment, tekka market illustrates the true weather condition and environment of Singapore, where it is actually humid and hot when away from air-conditioner. Over here, we are finally away from the manicured direction and city that the government keeps creating for the tourists. Tekka Market is one place where tourist will never see it in the tourist guide, as this is not a place government will hope to create a first impression. Only those who stay long enough in Singapore are able to see the real culture and Singapore’s personality here. In this market, there are a lot of cross-cultural bargaining, commerce and exchange of fresh food products which alike the trading period during the Raffles colony. Here, even our multi-racial society, bargaining of selling takes place with our fingers, faces and a mixture of Singlish and Malay.
Geylang, as known to tourist is popularly known for its local delicacies and red-light district. The geylang structure is like the previous duplication olden time shophouses, brothels, food and durians. However, Geylang is also a place that shows the history tracks of early immigrants. Over there are Buddhist institutes, lion dance headquarters and clan associations. Many do not know that Geylang was once a performing ground for Geylang stadium, Gay world amusement park and Chinese Wayang. With government manicured smells and geylang is now distinguished as a well-known red-light district for food, prostitution and clans. The ‘clean and artisitc’ performance theatre ground has to shift elsewhere away from the stinky regular Singapore smell to the manicured, coordinated clean smell. We can’t deny that Singapore government is really manipulative in what we smell, such as air-conditioner in mall, the scentless orchid smell, supermarket fresh smell and non-smoking and no durian smell on the public transport.
Esplanade, our Singapore art house has no smell at all. The truth behind a real art performing centre is that they reveal cultures and accept artistic way of nature. Even the messiest area can be seen as the most beautiful landscape. However our esplanade ‘Durian’ is a manicured building with manicured artistic atmosphere.

"Singapore Songlines" by Rem Koolhaas

2009-09-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

Koolhaas has argued that Singapore has totally become a new town, the city now represented the ideological production of the past three decade in its purest form, it is managed by a regime that has excluded accident and randomness: even his nature is entirely remade. Singapore has become incredibly “western” for an Asian city; it is like an apparent victim of an out of control process of modernization. The refusal to read Singapore on its own term is frivolous; our most sophisticated reflections on the contemporary condition of the city are completely disconnected from the operational; our incapacity to “make” the city, internalized to the point where any evidence of its fabrication is by definition suspect and unbelievable. Koolhaas feel that Singapore is a paroxysm of the operational, therefore inaccessible to his imagination and interpretation. Furthermore, Singapore is clearly not free and it stands out as a highly alternative in a landscape of near pessimism about a marketable future, a pertinent can-do world of clearly defined ambitions, long term strategies, a ruthless determination to avoid the debris and chaos that democracy leaves in its wake elsewhere.

In 1985, years after Queenstown was constructed, HDB admits that in the first stage of public housing development, urgency to find a solution to the problem of housing shortage in Singapore did not allow time for research. The transition from the English slum to the estate was traumatic, the leap from the Chinese shop house- topology that packs store, factory, family living quarters together in a single block around a courtyard – to Singapore’s high-rise containers is even more merciless, not only in term of material difference; from the Asian to the Western; but because the new inhabitants begin cut off from the connective network of family relationships, tradition, habits, are abruptly forced into another civilization.

In 1959, Singapore – a British Colony – become a self govern ate country, with Lee Kuan Yew to power with his People’s Action Party (PAP). Singapore during that time was in a mess: clumps of stylish colonial enclave, shabby military bases, a port, embedded in a huge, overcrowded Chinatown with a neglected hinterland of marsh, jungle, incidental farming, largely covered by squatter encampments. To overcome this situations, polices have been structuring and rationalizing to help in Singapore’s survival. The result was, and continues to be, an ideology that embodies a vigorous development orientation that emphasize science, technology, and centralized public administration as the fundamental basis for an export oriented industrialization programs, financed largely multinational capital.
In 1963 three experts came to Singapore and they have prepared a report to the government of Singapore; subject of the mission is “the general development of the island… with the specific objective of recommending the right strategy for Urban Renewal. They then articulate Singapore’s dilemma which was clearly a dilemma in the 1964; the question that an urban renewal programme must face and resolve is whether to make a commitment to the retention of some of its area or to raze them and create something different in their place.
First they identify Singapore as the “the first Asian city to embark on a programme of Urban Renewal. This programme is not intended to be an exercise in conversation or restoration but a bold attempt to modernize and develop the city.

In 1960s, Housing and Development board was formed, within month’s construction of Queentowns begun. 160,000 inhabitants lived in it, Queenstown can be said to be “lived in”
In 1966, a second new town was launched. This time round the city is for 180,000 people but still it is not perfect reasons is simple, that is one can easily detect that HDB was still struggling in its experiment.
During the period of just 20 years, from 1965 to 1988, well over 1200 sites were selected for expropriation and nearly 270000 families were displaced; i.e about one third of the country’s population. The redistribution of inhabitants, which turns the entire island into a modernistic, dismantled Chinatown, proceeds to plan too. In 1959 less then 9% of the population was sheltered in public housing, by 1974 nearly 43% of the population lived in HDB flats and by 1989 the proportion was 87% (2.3 million persons). To be precise, twenty New towns encircling the original urban core over 16000 hectares, or a quarter of the national territory.

Sadly there is no space for poetry and dreams in Singapore city as the government force all others, especially those handicapped by a need for reflection into a different degree of more or less humiliating passivity or complicity.

Our young architects, trained in Europe and America and ideological still in their third world/ developing country phrase, underestimate both the determination and the ability of the regime. Their skepticism now will disqualify them later from full participation on anything but the regime’s terms which is something that offends their sixties sensibilities. As quoted from “Investigation in Collective Form” by Fumihiko Maki 1964; “There is nothing less urban, nothing less productive of cosmopolitan mixture than raw renewal, which displays, destroy, and replaces, in the mechanistic order.” It has becomes the new republic’s blueprint, its dystopian program: display, destroy, replace.

Chua Beng Huat Housing and Legitimacy….

2009-08-29T15:24:00.000-07:00

1) How does Chua Beng Huat describe the spatial organization of life in kampong?

Kampong has its own distinct physical, social, economic characteristics.
Living in kampong has its advantages and there are a lot of reasons for all the kampongers to dwell on staying in kampong.
• The villagers are very close neighbors
• Strong sense of security in the kampong.

The advantages of staying in kampong arises from the factors that the village’s physical environment is very highly differentiated, thus no one familiar with the village would get lost (unlike in neighborhoods today). Moreover, villagers know almost everyone that foreigners or intruders will not easily get in the kampong.

There are disadvantages too. Certain conditions like physical condition, public hygiene and other private amenities were undesirable. For example, there were no toilet within the house for most housing hence public hygiene and convenience certainly posed a problem. Moreover, the kampong houses are packed closed to each other, therefore fire may occur easily, resulting in not very safe environment.

2) How does he describe the spatial organization in new HDB flat?

Spatial organization of life in new HDB was different from life in villages as villagers now have moved from a small insular village to a new urban town. Most of the villagers experience difficulties in coming to terms with certain physical barriers which they saw as restricting their movements. For e.g. in the past, villagers would have the practice of keeping their front door open at all times. Whereas at HDB they now experience the inconvenience of having to open /shut and lock/unlock the front door since it’s a common practice at HDB. Other than that, problems which lie beyond the block started to surface as middle-aged and the elderly had to overcome the fears of taking lifts and many could not figure out the combination of vertical and horizontal movement within a block.

Biggest Benefited in kampong

The aged and middle-aged women, village-bound working women and working men and retied men tend to enjoy the benefit the most during the life in kampong

 Aged and middle-aged women

Big family living together in one kampong, however when they move to HDB, they may suffer from the prospect of family split-up because every sub family may located to different neighborhood.

 Village-bound women

They work and stay in the village, hence there is frequent casual interaction with neighbors that used to occur in village. However, after settlement their neighbors may not be their colleagues anymore. Their social network have become a work-based rather then residential-based.

 Working men

Low cost of living in the kampong. However after settlement they faced an increase of household cost, greater financial responsibilities to respective household cause them to speed up their lives that left them with little time or energy to do much beyond resting for the next day’s work. Therefore they tend to wrap up their day by watching TV at home, resulting their social life was drastically reduced to nominal exchanges with family and relatives.

 Retired man

There are many gathering places for the elderly in the kampong. However the settlement, old men have difficultly in finding suitable gathering places their new surroundings. Even though these men could gather at ground floor deck, they did not do so as the fear of police check and of being branded as “bad habits”. For example, retired men gambling in kampong may be a common sight in kampong, however under HDB, gambling acts is deemed as illegal. Now, obviously they can’t regain the same level of interaction with their neighboring friends.

Biggest benefited in HDB

The young married people enjoy the most benefits from life in HDB. Through HDB, they enjoys greater privacy, greater freedom of movement and in the scheduling of one’s daily routines, more control over the up-bringing of one’s own children and a greater cohesion within one small household.
Their status also radically elevated; from being one among many daughters-in-law in the village to being a mother in their own unclear family. They were also able to build up social ties with new, mainly immediate neighbors very quickly.

The Gaze of the City: Psychogeography Experiments in an Emotive Environment of My Choice

2009-08-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

A brief history of Alkaff Bridge:

Alkaff Bridge is also known as the ‘ArtBridge’. Actually, it is a pedestrian bridge in Singapore, which spans the Singapore River at Robertson Quay. The bridge connects the Quayside (where all those pubs & restaurants are) and the Riverside (the residential area).

The Alkaff Bridge was painted in January 2004 in vibrant colours by Filipino artist Pacita Abad (1946–2004) and a team of rope specialists. The artist and her crew of helpers used 55 different colours and more than 900 litres of industrial-strength paint to transform the bridge into Singapore's first "Bridge of Art". The bridge is 55 m in length It is shaped like a tongkang (a light boat used commonly in the early days to carry goods along rivers.

Time: 4.50pm

The Alkaff Bridge’s region is not packed during that time, except for a number of joggers, tourists and strolling residents. I started walking from one end of the bridge. Using every slow move, with my feet place nicely in front of the other, I started to make my first move and the second and the third…
It was a slope up the bridge and I tried to carry myself lightly. I can smell the river water up my nostrils. As I continued walking slowly, a lot of people passed by me. All of them were walking very quickly, as if they were rushing for time. The fast-paced people and the slow me seemed to be living in different spaces throughout the time. Time seemed to pass really slow or even stop. For that time, I seemed to drift away from the heavy workload and fast paced lifestyle. However, those people not in my space cannot appreciate my ‘slow walk’ and seems to cast a few doubts at me. Suddenly, I feel like a ‘outsider’ of this location and time era. Even though, I was out-casted in my space, I was feeling good. I felt freedom and the wind breeze passing by me seems to give me wings. Next, I touched the handle rail of the bridge as I continued my walk. I felt the rail is giving me strength and supporting me up the slope. It suddenly felt like my mom’s hands, bringing me on a stroll.

Finally, I reached the centre of the slope. Leading against the rail, I looked straight at the river water in front of me. It was glittery against the sun rays reflection. It felt like diamonds in the water, so bright and pretty. Even though this was not the 1st time I came here and look at the glittering river, the feeling it gave me never went away. The river water seems so glittery; it must be refreshing to fall into the river for a nice connection with the water. However, when I shift my gaze to the corners of the river, it is not difficult to realize rubbish floating by the sides. Far end of the corner, I saw the river boat coming straight towards the Alkaff Bridge. The oil produced by the river engine was disseminated into the river water. Is the water is really clean as it seems to appear? The fact seems to differ from the glittery glamorous characteristics.

The glittery river seems to give me power, to drive away all of the troubles as the wind swept pass me and the sparkling reflection seems to give energy to my eyes as I gaze ahead. In front of the river, I feel small before the river that never gives up on flowing. The bridge is the connection between 2 different worlds. One side of the bridge is the Quayside (where all those pubs & restaurants are) and the other side is the Riverside (the residential area). When I look towards the Quayside, I could feel energy and activities going on in my head. The Quayside area is where I normally spend my weekends on pubs, clubs and restaurant near Mohd Sultan Road. With so much activities going on there, it seems colourful to me in a non-visible way.
All seems to differ from my known history of Singapore River which is the major settings for trading and port. The smelly river is cleaned up now after the previous clean up of Singapore River in the 90s. No matter how much the whole landscape seems to change, when I come here, I still can somewhere have a déjà vu of the past history by looking at the stone steps of the river side.

‘Derive’ Environment

It is 5.30pm sharp now. I am standing in the middle of the Alkaff Bridge walking path. Trying to drift using my sense of hearing, I closed my eyes and let my senses do the work. 1 min, 2 min passed by and I can gradually hear laughter nearing my left hand side. I knew this is the sound I am waiting for. I opened my eyes and turned towards body to the left. Yes, a number of working adults were walking towards the bridge. Some were on the phone while some were talking to each other. The common thing among them is they all appeared to have knocked off from work and the Alkaff Bridge is the passing point away from work. I can see the buildings behind them, which seems to be their working place. The closer they walked towards me, I can feel their smile happier, away from the place that had cooped them up the whole 8 hours. Simultaneously as they walked towards me and the bridge, I walked towards them. Why do I do so? I can feel the urge to take control of their thoughts, by just passing them. I feel a transition of our roles. As I walked towards the building, I saw a few guys talking in front of me, suggesting to each other about the visiting the nearby pubs. Afterall, it’s a Friday night. Their conversation derives me to them, and I followed them. Where I standing am the famous Singapore Clarke Quay where the later it is, the more exciting it is. As I walked with them along the path, I feel my eyes deriving away to the river again. It is the evening already. The sun rays are hitting the river water like stars on the sky. Just then, the river boat caught my attention. I followed it. The river boat passed the Oat Bridge. I know it is leading me to Clarke Quay. I went under the tunnel to get to the other side. Now, I can see the river boat again. But the river boat is moving too fast, I can still see its sight, but it is moving further from me. Now the lightings in front caught my attention. I know the dazzling lightings in front is where the crowds belong, the Clarke Quay. My eyes drew towards the lights and I walked and walked. Not long after, I reached Liang Court. Now, the lightings are all around me. The heavy metal music of the night is slowly heightening up. I walked on, and the restaurants and pubs are filled with waiting customers to be seated. I can smell the smell of food coming from my left. It is the ‘Hookers’ pub. My eyes derive to the dressing code of the waitress. All of them are wearing tank-top with skimpy shorts. My attention is drawn to them even though I’m a girl. The smell of the food one waitress is carrying in, entices my sense of smell. I suddenly realise I am hungry. I look at my watch. It is 6.05pm.

Comparing Invisible Cities & 12 Stories & Gibson

2009-08-23T05:48:00.000-07:00

1) What kind of dreams of the Singapore cityscape is suggested by the 2 movies?
2) To whom do these dreams belong?

In Eric Khoo “12 Stories”, on the surface the characters in the movie are dreaming of the material aspect of life (such as becoming rich, better lifestyle, fashionable), but in a deeper depth, we can sense that the characters in the movie are just seeking for immaterial wants (such as Shan Shan only wants love from her mother, the china bride seek for her real love and the brother love for his siblings).

From the movie, we can see that Eric Khoo hoped to bring out the real Singapore unique characteristics under his camera lens. The high storey HDB flats, living condition and understanding of hundred of people living under I root in different flats, the uncle and aunties 4D wealth purse. Eric Khoo major/focus his storyline on three Singapore’s life, China bridge issue, lonely spinster situation in today’s late marriage trend and Singaporean’s dreams of leading a better lifestyle.

In contrast, Tan Pin Pin’s “Invisible Cities”, the movie is neither looking for the money nor love, what the characters in the movie want is offering their story at social responsibility to the nation. It is like a historical redress for them. Officially, there has been official stories about Singapore history, now through interviews they wish to provide a ground to rethink history and our known memories. Through photographers and personal memories, it provides a gateway back to our history.

3) How are the bodies of the main protagonists in these films shaped by the spaces that they inhabit in each of the movies?
4) How do the main protagonists negotiate/project their individual personalities and dreams back onto the spaces that they inhabit?

In Eric Khoo’s “12 Stories”, there are a lot of spaces created to contain the atmosphere and create the characteristics of the respective protagonists. Firstly, at the start of the movie, we can already see that the protagonists are all staying at different levels of the HDB 12 Storey. The multiple flats with closed doors act like a multi-storey cage, separating all the other from each others lives but also ragin the respective protagonists in their own home.
Secondly, the protagonists can mostly shot in a 1-long-shot(LS). They are mostly shot in their own area of space. This seems to depict the protagonists are always reserved in their thoughts, seem like no one can enter their world. They are seldom shot in a wide shot with the other characters, such as the brother and sister together and the another and Shan Shan together, because their worlds and thinking are wide apart, despite seen to the audience they are filmed in the same room.

Despite the distinct filming editing in Eric Khoo, “Invisible Cities” editing illustrate bits and pieces of fragmented editing of the protagonists. The fragmented editing seen to tell us tat the facts the interviews told us in the film are actually the lost fragmented parts that we should piece them up on our own. Even though the editing between interviewees shows no beautiful connection, it seems to illustrate an even stronger real life side of story.

5) Do you feel as a spectator that you are able to enter the universes represented in the 2 movies?
6) Is the city represented by these 2 movies a city with which you can relate; identify? Do you feel that the cityscapes represented in the movies are representative of the Singapore city you know?

In the Eric Khoo “12 stories”, it seems like that usual routine stories that we can see around in our neighborhood and newspaper article, e.g china bridge, lonely hearts women and men. The topic that the movie covered is the important social aspect that we faced in our everyday life. After watching this film, I will realize many issues that they covered is close to Singapore society. However, I will feel that the main protagonists are all depressed about life. But, my life doesn’t seem so depressed. I am 90% almost most of the neighborhoods we see in Singapore is also pretty clean and new, unlike the retro HDB building that Eric is trying to create. The movie also depict neighbors all living under closed doors, not close to each other. But well, I feel the city the movie try to address seem to depress about most of the lifestyles. Living in Singapore is not that unhappy.

In contrast when watching “Invisible cities”, it is more difficult for me. However, it keeps me thinking throughout the film. I think about of a lot of histories that were not learnt about Chinese racial riot, photographers of old historical buildings. It is a city that no one mentions anymore in today times. The buildings all gone, the facts all erased from textbooks. However it is only from books and films that we can get back and remember the facts. Lee Kuan Yew has in fact formed a nation with history that is organized.

7) What else do the dreams of the Singapore city in each of these movies remind you of?

Eric Khoo movie reminds me that within Singapore well developed, seemingly culture nation, there can exist dysfunctional struggling to cope in a rigid and yet fast-paced society administered by harsh forms. Money, love or family may be significant to some yet insignificant to the others.

Rather in “Invisible cities”, it reminds me of a lot of anti-Singapore books that talk about the hidden truths of PAP government. It reminds of Dr. Chee Soon Juan, who had launched a number of open talks and books against PAP. Even though he was prosecuted, he dared to do what he believes on bringing the truth, just like the interviewers in the “Invisible Cities”.

8) What impressions of the Singapore cityscape are suggested by Gibson?
9) Whose kinds of impressions are these?

Basically, Gibson sees Singapore as a “Disneyland with the death penalty”. A well shaped structured nation that is too good to have its real beauty left. Singapore has too many restrictions on its citizens (such as littering). Singapore environment has been manicured into a country with no cultures, no heritage. Gibson sees Singapore as a country that sacrifice heritage for progress. Our citizens seem to be controlled by the government, especially Lee Kuan Yew. They are the big brother in action.

10) What do I think of Gibson article? Do I agree to his argument?

I think Gibson article is too self-centered. There are neither other foreigners nor tourists being interviewed. No local Singaporeans were allowed for their opinions as well. It seems like Gibson sees no need for debate. I am somehow criticism. I feel that he is critical of his articles. Why did he pick Singapore to be topic of criticism? I feel that he is critical of Singapore because he is envy of our nation international success despite our small demographic size. Even though, I think he is May too arrogant, I have to admit what he points out are rather true, but too critical. True enough, our citizens abide to the government rules and regulations, but that is also because the scheme set out for us is beneficial for us. The government introduced CPF scheme, ERP, law regulations against littering, splitting etc. at least these government interventions help Singapore shape our environment progress better than other countries.

11) How so the 3(2 films and Gibson article) relate to each other?

Topics tat “Invisible Cities” covered on was
 Heritage buildings were lost to progress to make space for housing and commercial use
 Truth of social progress was covered by the government.

Watching “12 stories” provide many interesting insights. One of the protagonists is a model citizen. He is just like the typical individual in Singapore, who always talks about following the standard procedure to succeed in Singapore, such as study hard, get a good job, find a good life partner and get married. Moreover, it also shows Singapore government even has to act, as the big brother to educate and guide the citizens at every step of life, even the moral of not peeing in the HDB life has to be done under the regulation of the government. That is the 2 main reasons why gibbons feel that Singaporeans are too manipulated by government about the social truth and the government decisions. We are shaped by the government to follow only their directions.

12) What do you think about Gibson’s implicit comparison with Hong Kong? Does this comparison resonate with either of the movies? Does this comparison work for you?

In Gibson perspective, Singapore is one country which tears and destroys any of its ugly embarrassing truth in returning of creating a progressive, cultural society. He actually looks down on Singapore for this part. He salivate Hong Kong for tolerating all this unsightly culture and accepting their roots and culture progress as well.

These enough, Hong Kong is one rare country which is a first world country, yet keeps its second world country street behavior. But it is due to this rareness that makes Hong Kong one of the top financial centres in Asia, yet is also one of the most likeable traveling countries for photographers and tourists.
If we are to look at the environment and neighborhoods we live in, we will not be able to find much roots to any history. Everywhere in Singapore is way too clean and manicured. But from “12 stories”, we can see that Eric Khoo captures grittier, less sanitized images of Singapore’s underbelly that contrast with the projected images of tourism hungry Singapore. However similar to Hong Kong, there was aesthetics beauty found into the dilapidated back alley and crumbling old buildings.

Thinking about it, if we also try to retain more of our China heritage or other heritage over the years, Singapore might not even need Integrated Resorts and Casinos to attract tourist. Our 4 racial cultures certainly could contribute to more tremendous dramatic contrast of street beauty better then Hong Kong and other countries.

13) What do you think in retrospect – 2009 about Gibson 1990’s speculations about the significances of the internet? (The signification of cyber cultures to the ways in which Singapore operate, to the interactions between the bodies of Singaporeans and the cities through which they dram their lives?

In 1990s, Gibson had predicted that Singaporean being a “mode citizen” will certainly not try to exploit the best uses and ugly sexuality side of internet. The feels that we Singaporeans might even choose to turn away as far away from internet as we could, just because in his eyes, Singaporeans are the “good boy” lots who always heed our Big brother advice and stay out of trouble. But apparently, Gibson is very wrong. Not only does most Singaporean know how to use the internet, we can use it well and even play it around our fingers. Singapore serves to have the 1st world stuffs. Computerized immigration passport system, Ez-link to use got transport, payment and even ERP system are all adopted by Gibson’s “good boy” representatives, Singaporeans.
Even Gibson agrees that we are good, really impressed by our evident willingness to view such technology with the most utmost seriousness.

My first lesson in Adm420

2009-08-21T22:22:00.000-07:00

Even though this is the 2nd week of school, today is my first lesson of adm420. A blur me indeed, late into the class and without any lesson notes, i stepped into the lecture room just in time to catch the "12 stories" movie playing. Without any ADM background, i watched the movie just like a casual audience looking for just pure entertainment.

12 STORIES....

Well, this is my first time watching Eric Khoo's "12 stories" and also the first time watching a Singapore-Based film. Sad to admit, i had been one of the many Singaporeans to be ashamed of Singapore very own film. What seems to be the reason? ... Well, maybe we Singaporeans are just afraid of acknowledging our own culture(urine behaviors in the life, 4-D gambling-obsessed uncles, obsenities-speaking ah bengs). However, what "12 stories" illustrate is quite an actual reality of Singapore. No nation's culture is as perfect as on the surface. Through this course, i learnt to appreciate my own Singapore beauty through the movie.

Yes, more than 70% of Singapore population lived in HDB today. But behind every household, there seems to always have a story behind it.

There are basically 4 main protagonists in "12 stories", being the spirit, the faithful brother, the disgruntled couple and the lonely loveless depressed spinister respectively. Behind the story Eric tried to depict, it reflected their respective dreams.

Invisible Cities....

Invisible cities are one of the few documents about Singapore that I watched. Before this documents, I never stop to think about the fast pace of development; how cultures buildings and environments are sacrificed for industrialization and nation building. Until this documents, I gained my insight on how fragile histories are, only to be remembered through memories and artifacts, and many soon be forgotten over times.

Photographs, artifacts and recounts are usually the medium we seek our knowledge of the past from. From the movie, we can see a number of different individuals being interviewed. Retied photographers, pervious Chinese school protestors and even the Japanese news reporter gave greater insights to the previous history collections.

Their dreams: Even though their agendas may differ, they share the same dream. Retired photographers took photos of the buildings they seen in the past as they foresee changes that could happen when the buildings are demolished over time. Those previous Chinese school protestors hope to regain their pride and glory of the olden days and wished to pass on the time history to the current generation even when they passed away.

History is something we should learnt about, no matter how ugly the truth may seen. The Japanese news journalist wrote about the recounts f a sufferer of the Japanese occupation period. Her agenda is simple. She hoped to pass on the truth and learning histories to her citizens.

When we finally reached the end of the 1-hour documentary, we will realize behind all these people, their dreams are united. They seek to preserve the memories of the past and let the story continue.