Assignment 7: Singapore Culture
Singapore culture? is there even one- perhaps many people would question. Look at our people (Kiasu, Kiasi, but its the same everywhere else). Our food (we just have more variety than elsewhere). Our gahmen (a love-hate relationship, which i’m sure different country folks have similar sentiments towards their own). But surely we recognise that there is some truth in the Uniquely Singapore label? what about our lingo… now thats a unique Singapore culture.
Personally, i’ve always been fascinated with Singlish. its just incredibly funny sometimes when even we singaporeans can’t grasp the totality of OUR lingo. we learn some new words everyday, and we teach others new vocab, or ‘bo-cab’ (no vocabulary) as i call it, too. The other day, my Singlish-impaired Singaporean friend asked me what is “‘tin teh’” (something like being uncomfortably obstructed, you just gotta know these kinda things, very hard to explain). And i replied that it means “zor teng”. Then me and my other friends had a good laugh, leaving my poor ‘handicapped’ friend lost in what seemed like a personal joke between the rest of us. basically, they both mean somewhat the same (from what i know, that is), but just that the former is expressed in hokkien while the latter in cantonese.
My point is, it makes a Singaporean life so much more interesting with diversity, and we have come to take it for granted. MM LKY mentioned that “Singlish is a handicap we must not wish on Singaporeans”. Singlish has long been condemned by the government as being an obstacle to nation-building (Rappa and Wee, 2006, p80). The government, though not unique in its embrace of the Herderian conception, has fallen into “homogenism: a view of society in which differences are seen as dangerous and centrifugal and in which the ‘best’ society is suggested to be one without intergroup differences” (Blornmaert and Verschueren, 1991, 1998: p194) This has led the state to reduce the number of languages spoken, supposedly to foster social cohesion. Maybe, it is neccessary for socio-economic, pragmatic reasons, but its not all that bad right for establish some sort of cultural, national identity right? finding something, ANYTHING, that comes close to establish a Singaporean-ness in us all, is an amazing feat already
How does this relate to photography…
I think its really difficult to find substantial materials, especially photographs that capture the use of Singlish. its a spoken element after all. But i think really good examples are all the Jack Neo movies that somehow an emphasis on the Singlish-ness in ur culture. without singlish, it can’t consider itself a singaporean movie, can it?
Many, i mean MANY, of out local productions, be it tv programmes such as channel 8 chinese dramas or food programmes like Makansutra and theatre plays such as DimSum dollies and Armydaze, all incorporate some form of Singlish. I would say it connects the audience with the performers and the subject it is discussing. If they were to speak in Queen’s english, as seemingly proposed by the state, then performers wouldn’t successful engage with their audience and we honestly wouldn’t enjoy the performance as much as we would have in Singlish.
This, applies to photgraphy as well. I guess all this while what Mr Reddy has been trying to tell us for our final assignement is that we need to feel Singaporean for the subject we are going to shoot. In doing so, can we then truly engage with the audience whom in return will be able to aprreciate what we have taken.
As easy as it sounds, i think i as a Singaporean have come to take for granted what i call to be Singaporean. Our group discussion with Tea, an overseas exchange student, showed me how as Singaporean youth, we can be really unappreciative of the things we have such as safety, convenience and comfort.
Thus, i’ve kept in mind what is it that i appreciate in Singapore when i went out to shoot for the final assignment. Hopefully, it will help me capture my thoughts about what i feel about life that is good in Singapore and that the audience can relate to them.
“I thought I would come to Singapore for two to three years maybe. Sixteen years later, I’m still here.” Tim , CEO DDB (View From The Top, a TV Works programme 9 Jul 2001) quote from getforme.com
- I hope that Singaporeans who leave for sixteen years, will eventually return home.
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