Monday, June 26, 2006
the induction of stupidity
warning: potentially offensive post ahead.
yes, to my detractors, this post is a (most welcome) departure from my usual mush-filled photologs tt are driving almost everyone else, nuts. i bet tt you have been craving my more... reasonable (right, like i ever was?), or at least more intellectually-stimulating posts/rants abt life and the likeness of it. so in this post, your wish has now been fulfilled.
my mom accuses me of not spending time with the family - when she and my dad are downstairs watching tv, i'm usually either out, in my room, or on this damn contraption known as the pc. rarely am i ever downstairs watching the tube with them.
i provide 2 reasons: 1) they almost exclusively watch channel 55, which has mainly hong kong, taiwanese, korean and japanese serials; and 2) i don't watch tv. especially not hong kong, taiwanese, korean and japanese serials.
don't get me wrong, i'm not tt anti-asian or anything. i generally don't like watching tv; not the reality tv shows like the amazing race or american idol (i saw the trailer for singapore idol, but the hairstyles tt looked like they came straight off star wars: attack of the clones completely turned me off the whole series), and not the ang moh dramas like desperate housewives and the oc. you see, i don't like living vicariously, not thru these dramas, and i honestly think i have better things to do with my time. not to say tt my life is particularly interesting or particularly meaningful, but coz i believe tt bored people are naturally boring people, i therefore prefer to use my choices to make my own life purposeful enough. in any case, some people have already commented tt my life, especially in recent weeks, has played out almost like one of those singaporean or hong kong drama serials, so i suppose art imitates life as much as life imitates art.
but speaking of singaporean drama serials, although i generally believe tt most oriental serials are by and large trashy and somewhat of a waste of time, i have come to the conclusion tt singaporean drama serials are not only a complete waste of tt time, but also serve the purpose of being positively mind-numbing and stupidity-inducing.
yes, we've all been young once. yes, we've all been weaned on serials like the last swordsman or shuang tian zi zhun when we were kids and totally in love with a younger li nanxing and zoe tay. but then, one evening while waiting at home for my parents to return, out of sheer boredom and having nothing to do, i flip on to channel 8 for the first time in years, to this show known as 'cid 2'. i think.
anyway, considering a future vocation i decide to see if this is any good (with lowered expectations of course), or if mediacorp channel 8 tv has changed since the last time i tapped tt button years ago.
sadly, no. in fact, if environmental awareness has ever been an issue of concern in our little island, it has been most manifest in mediacorp channel 8 shows - the scripts have all been reused, reduced, and recycled.
i kid you not. one show has all the elements found in the shows tt we'd been subjected to since the 1980s - in the current episode of 'cid 2' tt i was watching, there was once again the over-the-top dramatic acting replete with the usual lines like (i apologise for the english. i type as the subtitles read) "my last hopes have been dashed!" and "it's over! over!" and "i have nothing else to live for", bucketloads of tears to fill macritchie reservoir, and the episode's plot contained a showdown between wife of murdered man and his lover (in a jail, no less), a miscarriage, and a suicide with the (soon-to-be-dead) wife looking pretty and despondent all at once and doing the usual 'falling peaceably' suicide, plus a nice little letter tt sums up the entire case. *jumps for joy* once again, the cops are shown as good-looking tay ping hui, the 1-dimensional good guy with the furrowed brow who seems to know everyone on the case personally, and his kah kias who listen to him and follow him religiously, no one ever fucks up, and all the girls are pretty flower vases. and there are the usual car chases, crashes, gun fights and fake taekwondo battles.
according to some people, the plots are so predictable tt the standard actually seems much worse than before. is it therefore no wonder why more people are subscribing to cable?
i mean, let's face it. this isn't watchable tv even. this is drivel. this is mind-numbing. this kind of plot and characterisation makes you stupid. i believe tt over time, the more of this tt you watch, the more stupid you become. seriously, who watches these kinds of show the most? well, most people think back to the stereotypical housewife taking a break after cleaning up after dinner. or maybe her kids too. is it therefore any wonder why these housewives tend to be or become the usual aunties tt hug the poles on the mrt trains, shoot you the dagger look of death if you accidentally bump into them or cut their queue, or generally behave in an unhappy and ungracious manner when out in civil society?
what i don't get, is why the fuck scriptwriters are still putting out this kind of drivel on national tv. this, as well as the subtle messages regarding entrepreneurship, family-centricity, and baby-making, on national tv in almost every single serial? i mean, is mediacorp short of manpower? after all, i figured tt the scriptwriters of the 1980s should either be dead or retired by now, so what is wrong with the new batch? i mean, if they aren't able to generate creativity, maybe what the government terms "economic restructuring" should also take place in mediacorp. after all, singapore has proven tt it is not short of talent in our arts industry. we have film makers like eric khoo and roystan tan, who have taken facets of singaporean life - facets tt are supposed to be displayed on television to win the so-called "hearts and minds of the people", and have made them into riveting pieces of history to be so valued and so remembered.
and yet, though celebrated they remain niche and under suspicion from the censorship board, while mind-numbing drivel gets free reign on national tv. tell me, if something isn't wrong here.
of course, the explanation could be, because mind-numbing drivel appeals to the mainstream. the conservative, the proletariat. who have enough worries about their own lives and just want something tt does not involve real mental stimulation, to entertain themselves. who just want to live vicariously through heroes tt they can admire without complication or confusion. because these make up the majority of the population, and something must be done to keep them happy. or at least, happy enough to vote the right way.
eric khoo and roystan tan might be edgy, but they highlight certain social issues tt might prove to be dangerous. they help to open otherwise blind or unseeing eyes, and tt puts certain people in precarious positions. therefore to keep the subservient meek, their minds must be numbed enough tt they merely think a certain way, such tt life may go on as per normal and no one will be the wiser.
i suppose if this is the real reason behind mindless drivel, then maybe mediacorp is much smarter than we think.
of course, this also means tt i am never going to watch tv for a long long time.
someone told me tt staying at home is the most fool-proof way to keep a person out of trouble. indeed, staying at home keeps you out of physical harm. but if all you have to watch is mindless drivel on tv, your brain will suffer more mental damage than is worth the risk of physical harm.
stop watching tv and get out more. or at least, read more instead.
now playing: hotel costes - cafe de flor
yes, to my detractors, this post is a (most welcome) departure from my usual mush-filled photologs tt are driving almost everyone else, nuts. i bet tt you have been craving my more... reasonable (right, like i ever was?), or at least more intellectually-stimulating posts/rants abt life and the likeness of it. so in this post, your wish has now been fulfilled.
my mom accuses me of not spending time with the family - when she and my dad are downstairs watching tv, i'm usually either out, in my room, or on this damn contraption known as the pc. rarely am i ever downstairs watching the tube with them.
i provide 2 reasons: 1) they almost exclusively watch channel 55, which has mainly hong kong, taiwanese, korean and japanese serials; and 2) i don't watch tv. especially not hong kong, taiwanese, korean and japanese serials.
don't get me wrong, i'm not tt anti-asian or anything. i generally don't like watching tv; not the reality tv shows like the amazing race or american idol (i saw the trailer for singapore idol, but the hairstyles tt looked like they came straight off star wars: attack of the clones completely turned me off the whole series), and not the ang moh dramas like desperate housewives and the oc. you see, i don't like living vicariously, not thru these dramas, and i honestly think i have better things to do with my time. not to say tt my life is particularly interesting or particularly meaningful, but coz i believe tt bored people are naturally boring people, i therefore prefer to use my choices to make my own life purposeful enough. in any case, some people have already commented tt my life, especially in recent weeks, has played out almost like one of those singaporean or hong kong drama serials, so i suppose art imitates life as much as life imitates art.
but speaking of singaporean drama serials, although i generally believe tt most oriental serials are by and large trashy and somewhat of a waste of time, i have come to the conclusion tt singaporean drama serials are not only a complete waste of tt time, but also serve the purpose of being positively mind-numbing and stupidity-inducing.
yes, we've all been young once. yes, we've all been weaned on serials like the last swordsman or shuang tian zi zhun when we were kids and totally in love with a younger li nanxing and zoe tay. but then, one evening while waiting at home for my parents to return, out of sheer boredom and having nothing to do, i flip on to channel 8 for the first time in years, to this show known as 'cid 2'. i think.
anyway, considering a future vocation i decide to see if this is any good (with lowered expectations of course), or if mediacorp channel 8 tv has changed since the last time i tapped tt button years ago.
sadly, no. in fact, if environmental awareness has ever been an issue of concern in our little island, it has been most manifest in mediacorp channel 8 shows - the scripts have all been reused, reduced, and recycled.
i kid you not. one show has all the elements found in the shows tt we'd been subjected to since the 1980s - in the current episode of 'cid 2' tt i was watching, there was once again the over-the-top dramatic acting replete with the usual lines like (i apologise for the english. i type as the subtitles read) "my last hopes have been dashed!" and "it's over! over!" and "i have nothing else to live for", bucketloads of tears to fill macritchie reservoir, and the episode's plot contained a showdown between wife of murdered man and his lover (in a jail, no less), a miscarriage, and a suicide with the (soon-to-be-dead) wife looking pretty and despondent all at once and doing the usual 'falling peaceably' suicide, plus a nice little letter tt sums up the entire case. *jumps for joy* once again, the cops are shown as good-looking tay ping hui, the 1-dimensional good guy with the furrowed brow who seems to know everyone on the case personally, and his kah kias who listen to him and follow him religiously, no one ever fucks up, and all the girls are pretty flower vases. and there are the usual car chases, crashes, gun fights and fake taekwondo battles.
according to some people, the plots are so predictable tt the standard actually seems much worse than before. is it therefore no wonder why more people are subscribing to cable?
i mean, let's face it. this isn't watchable tv even. this is drivel. this is mind-numbing. this kind of plot and characterisation makes you stupid. i believe tt over time, the more of this tt you watch, the more stupid you become. seriously, who watches these kinds of show the most? well, most people think back to the stereotypical housewife taking a break after cleaning up after dinner. or maybe her kids too. is it therefore any wonder why these housewives tend to be or become the usual aunties tt hug the poles on the mrt trains, shoot you the dagger look of death if you accidentally bump into them or cut their queue, or generally behave in an unhappy and ungracious manner when out in civil society?
what i don't get, is why the fuck scriptwriters are still putting out this kind of drivel on national tv. this, as well as the subtle messages regarding entrepreneurship, family-centricity, and baby-making, on national tv in almost every single serial? i mean, is mediacorp short of manpower? after all, i figured tt the scriptwriters of the 1980s should either be dead or retired by now, so what is wrong with the new batch? i mean, if they aren't able to generate creativity, maybe what the government terms "economic restructuring" should also take place in mediacorp. after all, singapore has proven tt it is not short of talent in our arts industry. we have film makers like eric khoo and roystan tan, who have taken facets of singaporean life - facets tt are supposed to be displayed on television to win the so-called "hearts and minds of the people", and have made them into riveting pieces of history to be so valued and so remembered.
and yet, though celebrated they remain niche and under suspicion from the censorship board, while mind-numbing drivel gets free reign on national tv. tell me, if something isn't wrong here.
of course, the explanation could be, because mind-numbing drivel appeals to the mainstream. the conservative, the proletariat. who have enough worries about their own lives and just want something tt does not involve real mental stimulation, to entertain themselves. who just want to live vicariously through heroes tt they can admire without complication or confusion. because these make up the majority of the population, and something must be done to keep them happy. or at least, happy enough to vote the right way.
eric khoo and roystan tan might be edgy, but they highlight certain social issues tt might prove to be dangerous. they help to open otherwise blind or unseeing eyes, and tt puts certain people in precarious positions. therefore to keep the subservient meek, their minds must be numbed enough tt they merely think a certain way, such tt life may go on as per normal and no one will be the wiser.
i suppose if this is the real reason behind mindless drivel, then maybe mediacorp is much smarter than we think.
of course, this also means tt i am never going to watch tv for a long long time.
someone told me tt staying at home is the most fool-proof way to keep a person out of trouble. indeed, staying at home keeps you out of physical harm. but if all you have to watch is mindless drivel on tv, your brain will suffer more mental damage than is worth the risk of physical harm.
stop watching tv and get out more. or at least, read more instead.
# posted by Kitana @ 6/26/2006 01:40:00 AM 
