Just a detailed story about the short film: Television made its debut in Singapore managed by Television Singapore in 1963, this film is our story of 50 years of television in Singapore. Our story is told by 3 generations of people, namely the 1st generation viewer who is in her 80s, the two 2nd generation viewers who are in their 50s and the two 3rd generation viewers who are in their 20s. The film starts with flashbacks of the Kampong scene which the older generation interviewee would be able to relate to when people were enthralled to watch television at their homes with their neighbours peering in to watch from the mini television set which were kept in cupboards. The 2nd generation of TV viewers could also remember the days when many people would gather in front of the shops selling television, police stations or community centres to catch a glimpse of the early broadcast of TV programmes. Also, the 2nd generation observed the phasing out of Teochew/Cantonese programmes from local broadcast, mainly “brought in from Hong Kong”. However, they enjoy the “divers(ity)” of local programmes now. The 3rd generation of TV viewers expresses their regret and longing for such gatherings in front of the television as related by the 1st and 2nd generations. The description of what each generation thinks about TV viewing tells the gist of things; Mdm Mok Gek Heng, who is in her 80s discusses about the thrill and excitement of sharing a small television set kept in a cupboard and the neighbours would also gather outside their house and peek in to watch. The simplicity of television viewing in the past is captured in the archival photos of families sharing the moment of watching TV together be it during celebrations or just in their daily lives, which Mdm Mok closely reminisces. Through interviews with Mdm Mok, a picture grows of a woman who is nostalgic about the past yet feels fortunate about the state of watching television in the comfort of her own space. However, the audience is not told whether she prefers the present state of watching TV in private or the communal watching of TV in the past. The film continues on to investigate the past through the story-telling of two middle aged uncles who have experienced the variety of shows presented in the past and their memory of going down to the second floor to peek in to the neighbour’s TV to watch the shows. The availability of local TV content online now has made TV viewing more convenient and led to people watching TV in isolation. This is experienced first hand by the last two young interviewees. One of them explains that the “community” spirit of watching TV is lost, as the younger generation “does not have the opportunity to watch TV together (as in the past)”. Yet they express their wish to do so. However the film ends on a contemplative note, getting the audience to think if there is even any opportunity to come together to view TV with the convenience of watching local TV content on portable technological devices such as smartphones, laptops and tablets. Mdm Mok tells the audience that there is none. The last scene of her looking longingly at one of the archive photos leaves with the audience this sad truth whereby the wish for community bonding through TV viewing is fast disappearing. The ending scene of a lonely figure ironically contradicts the earlier statement of “leading a good life”.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Nov 2013 13:00:47 +0000
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