Singapore Dreaming was fantastic. and i agree that the actresses were fabulous but the actors could have their roles more developed. lim yu beng was more of fretting over breadnbutter than over the apparent mid-life crisis. richard low came to an early demise and the son called seng(cant remember his name) only truly became a wastrel towards the end of the show. it was clearly much better than any of the local productions that we have seen so far. ok perhaps im biased against the other films (or not seen all of them) but this one was full of local flavour.

All the sights and sounds of everything that we take for granted: the activity at the kopitiams and along the MRT stations, and in the stressful workplace. Everything was depicted exactly as we see it in real life and it is just amazing to know that things so ordinary could lend the movie such authenticity. It was and even replete with all the correct social bias - the family, gender discrimination, sibling rivalry, elitism in school and society, the rat race and the 5 'C's, the concept of 'face', how we treat our maids and other people, mid-life crises and the list goes on. The only gripe i have abt the show is how pathetic every character is and how coincidentally are part of this woe-ridden family. Everyone is laden with so much responsibility and holds so much anticpation, which often turns into disappointment and even despair as a whole slew of lies and ugly truths get exposed with the loss of a loved one. Do we want our lives to be like that? Even though there was minimal involvment of the other races (i guess it would be too contrived and NE to make it multi-racial), it still turned out to be a very poignant piece of work that im sure many can easily relate to. it's almost as if we are watching our lives go on in a movie.

Which group do we belong to - the one that sells out their dreams for bread and butter or the one that does something they dislike in order to finance their dreams? If the portrayal of the characters in the show is true of the average singaporean, then i must count my lucky stars. perhaps it's the tried-and-tested system of success that we are forcing on the next generation that is responsible for the sterile reputation that we have as a nation. what would it be like if everyone is allowed and even encouraged to puruse their dreams and not forced to conform to a one-size-fits-all system? Then perhaps we'd have more world-class musicians, designers, sportsmen and artistes and become a truly global city. and what exactly is the opportunity cost for that?

Tmr im going back for my posting order. im going to miss alot of ppl in the course. roc has made me see appreciate each and everyone's presence. and even as much as i dun want to leave ati, i guess my chances there are close to zero. hopefully i get to be int. or ops. spec but it's like one in a million. AISL Dreaming, anyone?