The new Singapore Tourism Board video (above) is all about hip people in pretty places. The average tourist will never see any of these people. And if they do go to these locations they certainly will not get these perspectives.
The feel is gritty, the soundtrack grooves to the refrain ‘this is the place’ and builds an anticipation to be blown away by the unseen. The sparse spoken word voice-over hints at a country of edgy, defiant possibilities.
The reality is that these human possibilities are colorfully engineered constructs of ideals. The entire video is a freeze frame homage to the mise en scene of social media. It’s guaranteed to get a lot of likes. And hopefully some package tours.
Yes, we have to sell Singapore. And perhaps it is true, Orchard Road is no longer current and the theme park has lost its thrill. But there are other things to feature beyond this slick selection of experiential moments that seem to comprise the passion of this country.
Passion also means suffering, and that word is indeed apt, as there are whole swathes of people who will never be cool enough for this country.
There is no place like this
with flattened ideas, hearts and hills
There is no place for those
who deny the whitewashed will
This is the place
where passion is a mod-sin word
raised up to be worshipped
by an undercut, lit shook herd
But passion is also suffering
stateless, disoriented
frustrated from raids
on dreams disappeared
A wish to have a full meal,
lights on at night
make good on impossible loans
no rats gnawing at toes
To love who you want to love
But this is a place
where you cannot love freely
So when people visit
what is it they really see?
They won’t hear about one people,
one nation, they don’t care for our songs
of celebration, they only see success
stories, buildings that clip the clouds,
shops full of bright baubles
trains that wear no frown
They don’t see the offerings
swept up by workers
with no minimum wage
behind maximum fences
When race is not about the finish line
but the colour of our skin,
all of the Others
are washed away by the spin
When the boxes that keep us apart
help to keep our nation smart
When the leaders that we need
are voted least likely to succeed
This is the place
with world-class education and
bad grammar littered everywhere,
where schools are processions of paperwork
real learning is after school tuition-care
This is where we live
amongst a splendour of trees
but insist on double-bagging
styro-foamed plastic wrapped packaging
This is where creativity becomes a hashtag
and then a graded course in five sessions
with a complimentary tote bag
This is the place
where gambling is never as bad
as honest questioning
Where we’re encouraged to spend
without worry, but the interest
on our lives grows daily
This is the place where we roll dice, leave on the red lights
patrol with swagger, check IDs to prevent terror.
where we claim to be secure, claim to endure,
but will not stop to ask if people are ok;
we’re messaging the monsters in our heads
Where backstreets are abandoned trolleys and non-existent homeless,
where graffiti is state-sanctioned, toe the line wholeness
where nostalgia is best sold with one story-line
where we’re told what to do, and do what we’re told
time after time
and any other way out needs a license
and any other opinion means silence
Where impossibilities lead to endless possibilities
and then censorship and then fewer possibilities,
until all that’s left is a national education lesson on harmony
Where who you were will not be who you will become,
not unless your name is Meritocracy
This is where compassion should be made compulsory,
but all we get is a country we love to hate, and passion
becomes just another word for never being sorry
This weekend is Neon Lights, a madcap music festival that also has a large chunk of exciting arts programming. In addition to trying to catch some of my favourite acts like Foals, Jose Gonzales and Funkadelic, I’m curating the spoken word segment of the festival. Held in the Rocking Horse tent, it’ll feature new work by Deborah Emmanuel, Steph Dogfoot, Ng Yi-Sheng, Jennifer Champion, Shivram Gopinath, Kok Wei Liang, Shak and yours truly.
