Journal no. 3

yesterday, the guest lecturer was talking about the PhD students he supervised.
one of them was a Singaporean who wrote his thesis on cultural development in the Singapore 'Renaissance', which is part of the plan to transform it into a vibrant global city of the arts.

the guest lecturer was saying Singapore is "Disneyland with the death penalty".
guess he was referring to this article by Gibson, who wrote about our wonderful repressive blandness.
he said chewing gum is allowed, which is true for medicinal gum only. import and sale of gum is still illegal.
and he said homosexuality behind closed doors is allowed. no, sex between men is still criminal.


anyway, here's an extract from Woon Tien Wei's thesis:
"While Singapore appears more liberal, these steps can seem merely 'gestural' as the
government remains cautious of 'disruptive' works, and through the National Art Council and
Media Development Authority, has exercised control over the outcome of art works and
programs" 
 

it's hard to look at which parts of my identity resulted from my being Singaporean.
but i definitely need to look into that sometime.