Halloween, shocks, shiok and cultural imperialism?

ACTION Theatre presents

SHOCKS & SHIOK!

A Singapore Halloween Double Bill
Vampire Monologues by Gary Ow
The Patient by Dennis Chew

October 22 to November 1, 2009
8pm daily plus 10.30pm on Fri & Sat
No performance on Mon
The Room Upstairs @ ACTION Theatre’s 42 Waterloo Street

Halloween in Singapore will never be the same again! ACTION Theatre proudly presents first-of-its-kind Halloween theatre – Singapore style! Hilarious, haunting and spine-chilling, SHOCKS & SHIOK! is a double bill of two original plays about Asian ghosts, Ang Moh Vampires and Singaporeans who happen to cross their paths!

VAMPIRE MONOLOGUES
A finalist and a big hit with the audience at Theatre Idols 2009, VAMPIRE MONOLOGUES tells a riotous tale about Bob, a Singapore bartender who willingly lets himself be turned into a vampire in the hope of becoming a top comedian! With the help of Victor, a charismatic but very cunning Vampire, Bob learns to master his newly acquired “vampiric” powers, relish in them and eventually discovers how much he’s willing to give up to get laughs from his audiences!

THE PATIENT
Inspired by a true story, THE PATIENT is a riveting and chilling play about an aged Singapore man and a rookie Shanghainese nurse. From his hospital bed, the grouchy old man claims that vicious ghosts are after his life. Whenever there’s blood in his urine, they appear. Is he lying to get the attention from the nurse, the only living soul left in this world who still bothers to listen to what he has to say? Or is he suffering for real? Praised for its well drawn characters and adept social commentary, this finalist from Theatre Idols 2009 is a Halloween must-see!

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<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainmentfeatures/view/1013074/1/.html>

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While the Chinese have their Hungry Ghost festival for spooks, the Americans have their own fun during Halloween. This halloween, even us Singaporeans will have our fair share of fun with dress-up parties, perhaps no trick or treating, but also Spooks and Shiok!

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Portraying Caucasian vampires, Asian ghosts, and Singaporean, these theatre productions clearly shows the distinction of the rightful places of these characters. In the play “Vampire Monologues”, the mythical creatures invented by Western cultures are played by Caucasian actors and in “The Patient”, the ghosts which represents Singapore’s culture and the Chinese Hungry Ghost festival, are played by Asians. However the link of both plays involves Singaporeans, showing how us Singapore retain our own cultures, yet are also susceptible to Culture imperialism – influenced by the Western cultures.

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The appearance of the Vampires clearly shows the influence of the Western cultures into Singapore’s way of thinking. Vampires, clearly a media product of Western cultures, shows the one-way flow of international media products into smaller nations such as Singapore. As we accept this media product, there is often bound to lead to dilution of our own culture; yet, the theatrical production of “Vampire Monologues” is juxtaposed with “The Patient”, clearly showing the retention of Singapore own cultural with the Asian ghosts and all.

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Even as seen in the poster for these productions, the Caucasian Vampire is placed beside the Asian nurse, clearly bringing across the ideas of “East meets West” and also the obvious influence of the Western cultures in our society which is also effectively shown by this media product – “Shocks and Shiok!” is a local production.

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As mentioned by Crispian Chan in the article, “Asian ghosts will probably scare the living daylights out of everyone – living or dead,” and “The Western genre is more fantastical or they are more seductive… they are more of a visual spectacle so they aren’t as scary.” This fusion of the Asian and Western culture would definitely bring a new level of spooks and scare this halloween.

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On top of this theatrical production, the mere idea of Halloween itself (which these productions choose to screen play over this period) also shows the idea of Cultural Imperialism. Halloween is a day celebrated by the West, but is not a widespread holiday in Singapore. However, Halloween is gradually finding a place in Singapore’s culture which is also shown by how the media capitalize on the day for media products – these theatrical production. On top of that, there are also many businesses, like clubs, bars, or costume stores, which capitalizes on these day – an influence of the West, for economical reasons.

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Whether we are or not susceptible to this Cultural Imperialism, it does not really matter to me. With this influence, we get another day to enjoy and party for. Halloween, anyone dressing up as a sexy Vampire or some Chinese ghost this year? Or shall we hop over to catch “Spooks and Shiok!” for a night of scare?

Anyone wants to join me?

TVC … a mass media product.

The advertisement above clearly shows the functions of the media of surveillance, correlation, cultural transmission, and entertainment.

• Surveillance: The advertisement has the purpose of informing the audience regarding Tiger Beer.
• Correlation: It helps the audience to understand that value of Tiger Beer that it is so good that is worth playing for.
• Cultural transmission: Though the advertisement, it has also revealed that the lady gets the last beer, hence showing what society’s norms and standards are regarding how a guy  sees a lady and also treats one.
• Entertainment: The advertisement also proofs to be entertaining as audiences it is an interesting portrayal of the beer’s worth and audience gets a good laugh out of it.

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It also shows the characteristics of the mass media of being from an institutional source, has invisible receivers, uses interposed channels and being non-exclusive and temporal in nature.

• Institutional source: It is from Tiger Beer company with the purpose of consumerism and selling their Tiger Beer products.
• Invisible receives: Being broadcasted on Television, views have the choice of watching or not watching the advertisement. They can choose to switch the channel upon the commercial break and hence not watching the advertisement.
• Interposed channels: As mentioned before, it is broadcasted on the Television, and hence producers require special equipments to film and make the advertisement. Similarly for audience, they would require a Television set at home to have access to this advertisement.
• Non-exclusive and Temporal: This advertisement is meant to reach a wide range of people and not just exclusively to one and also over time, the effect of this advertisement would be lost and people will forget about it unless Tiger Beer produces new advertisements. Nevertheless, the effect of this particular advertisement would still be lost and hence is temporal.

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This advertisement follows the Moderate effects Model in the media communication theory where the advertisement is able to capture and create a lasting impression on its audience. People who watched it would be sure to remember this innovative and humorous advertisement. However, whether they subscribe to its message is another issue. Not all audience who watches this advertisement would choose Tiger Beer over other beers as audiences have a mind of their own and can choose which beers they like. However for those who have never heard of or tried Tiger Beer, this advertisement has effectively informed them of this product.

Personally I feel that the advertisement was successful in capturing one’s attention which the humorous message that Tiger Beer is so good you need to play for it, and also that the lady always gets what she wants. However, I do not like the taste of beer and despite it being able to capture my attention, sadly I will not be a consumer of this product.

How bout you? Care for a Tiger?

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accidents? or m-u-r-d-er?

This week, group communication was covered in COM101 class. Hence I would like to use this movie to show an example of a group communication – success or failure, you decide. *warning! blog post contains spoilers*

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ACCIDENT (2009)

Sypnosis: (From http://www.mediaasia.com/accident/eng/index.html - Trailer can also be found there)

A self-styled “accident choreographer” the Brain (Louis KOO) is a professional hitman who kills his vitcims by trapping them in well crafted “accidents” that look like unfortunate mishaps but are in fact perfrectly stages acts of crime. Perennially plagued with guilt, he is also suspicious and morbid by nature. The recent avalanche of memories of his lost wife does not make things any easier.

After one mission accidentally goes wrong, causing the life of one of his men, the Brain is convinced that this accident has ben choreographed: someone is out there plotting to terminate him and his team. He becomes increasingly paranoid walking on the thin line between reality and delusion.

When he is accosted by a mysterious insurance agent Fong (Richie JEN) who happened to be on the scene of the accident as well, the Brain becomes obsessed that this man must be the mastermind behind a conspiracy to take him out. To regain his sanity and to safe his life, he must strive to kill Fong before he makes his next move.

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First let’s take a look at the characters:

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These four unlikely people are actually part of a group of assassins who sculpture deaths to appear as though as they are accidents. In this group, led by The Brain, the members all assume task roles – executing actions just in order to accomplish their mission. The Brain plays the role of the leader, carefully planning out the steps while the rest of the members follow his orders in order to get the job done. The maintenance roles - behaviors that enhance social climate of the group, has a small part in their group communication.  As their main aim is to get the job done, the social aspect of their communication is kept minimal and simple.

They form this group in order to achieve group synergy, as their mission requires team effort to be carried out efficiently. They also establish support and commitment to the group, especially when they had to embark on a mission which was necessary to be carried out on a rainy day. Their commitment is shown when team stationed themselves every night, all ready to carry out their roles, whether or not the rain falls. Support is subtly shown as they keep in contact with each other every night during their mission.

All in all, I believe their main purpose in forming this group is just to get the mission done and part with their money. Hence, according to Poole’s Multiple Sequence Model, the group develop on the task and topic track, but their relationship track is rarely developed. However, there are still signs of the relationship track attempting to be developed. The nameless character which I will call Woman, attempts really hard to gain the trust and friendship of The Brain, but to no avail. Yet The Brain does show certain levels of concern for Uncle especially when Uncle was found out to suffer from dementia.

The ultimate downfall of the group started when a mission went wrong, causing the death of Fatty. The Brain then starts to be suspicious of his members and also the people around him. The one whom he suspects highly is Woman. I believe that he had never trusted due to his brushing aside of her attempts to gain his friendship. His lack of trust in his group member led to a series of unfortunate events, causing an “accident” to take place with Woman, and also another “accident” he inflicted on an innocent person. Ultimately, it also led to his own death.

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The movie shows interestingly the group communication in this eccentric group of “murderers” or otherwise known as “accident creators”. If you want to know more about their group communications, why not drop by a theatre near you and catch this movie.

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when love comes so strong, there is no right or wrong … your love is your life …

Just by looking at my title (which was taking from the song I Have a Love from West Side Story), you will know that this time I’ll talking about love and interpersonal relationships.

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Picture taken from HERE.

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What is love? Why do we fall in love? Some people say that love just happens. We cannot control why we fall in love, or love someone. But no, love don’t just happen. It is a subconscious process, that is so subtle and slow that we do not notice that is has taken place.

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In the forming and developing a relationship, the first thing we take note of is the physical appearance. Attraction first take place by attraction toward ones’ looks. I don’t need a charming guy, I just need someone who cares. Having said that, of course I would go for a guy with pleasant looks. Not to mention, having good looks would be a plus point for me. However, the saying goes “Beautiful is in the eye of the beholder”, so eventually when one is in love, their significant is always perfect.

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Regarding similarity and difference, everyone have their preference in their other half. Some wants similarities so there’s a common platform for communication, others want differences to bring them excitement to a world they did not know of. I want a balance of both. Similarity so we can somehow still communicate, and difference to move out of my mundane life.

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Differences

Picture from HERE

Similarities
Picture from HERE

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Similarites vs Difference … Which one do you prefer?

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Most of the time, people find themselves in an interpersonal relationship due to an exchange in which they can benefit. Maybe it is monetary gains, a raise in social status, companionship, intimacy or a source of support. I go for emotional needs. The superficial needs are not important to me.

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Moreover, proximity is important in the development of relationship. A relationship cannot move forward if both parties do not meet. A relationship based solely on non-face to face communication is hard to sustain. Yet this doesn’t mean that it cannot happen. There are successful long distance relationships which work out despite the difficulties faced. For me, I like someone whom I can meet often, yet not all the time. Well, they say absence make the heart grow fonder. And I feel that meeting too much may cause too much reliance on each other.

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Ultimately, self disclosure in a relationship play one of the most important role. Self disclosure allows your other half to know more about you, and sometimes things that we only share with them. This shows a commitment and trust in the relationship, and also increasing a sense of intimacy, bringing both parties closer together. As I find out new things, I find myself drawn in deeper to the relationship and also feel more willing to my personal informations and emotions.

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I bet you never really took note of these aspects of a relationship. Because they are so obvious that we tend to over look it and believe that when we fall in love, we just do. (When actually, so much is actually taking place, without us even noticing it at all)

Teddy Bears let loose …

Watch Muse’s latest single, Uprising, which its music video was official released on the 17th of September 2009. It is a phenomenal song which turns on your thinking caps.

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Apart from it being obviously an awesomely good hear, it actually has an underlying meaning to it. Through the music video, we can clearly see how verbal and non verbal communication complement each other and are part of a whole. It elevates the meaning of the song to greater heights; showing a clearer picture of what is implied from the song lyrics. I can also truly see how non verbal communication is receiver orientated and subjective, as it took me a while to understood what the song implied and also some reading up to understand the context of which the song was written.

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Through the music video, various types of non verbal communication are explored.

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The most obvious use of non verbal communication is Objectics, as we see the band placed in the miniature world of the toys, signifying our positions in reality and how small we are. We are almost like the toys, like how they are being controlled, we are too being manipulated. There is also the use of the teddy bears which the band uses to represent how we are usually constricted and constrain and the need for us to break free (shown when the teddy bears start tearing up the town). It also implied that we are not that innocent like how we look.

Through the teddy bear, there is also the use of Physical Appearance, as scary and even vampiric looking teddy bears are intentional chosen to show how ugly and aggressive we can get after being controlled for so long. Additionally, the set of the toy town was initially portrayed in its appearance to be dark, gloomy and chaotic (with the sparks and fires) to show the ugliness, lies, and deceptions of the world we live in.

The use of Paralinguistics in the song also evidently supports my previous statement of how verbal and non verbal communication compliments each other. This is shown during the chorus (shown below):

They will not force us,
They will stop degrading us,
They will not control us,
We will be victorious ~

The use of the tone, volume and the background music accentuate and compliments the verbal intentions in the chorus; the force and power in the tone of the singer further amplifies the passion and strength conveyed in the chorus of how we are to break free from the control.

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The above analysis and interpretation of the song is purely my own personal views and we can clearly see how non verbal communication is receiver orientated and subjective, as you compare my interpretation of the song with the Band’s true intentions in this article. http://www.mtv.co.uk/artists/muse/news/155533-muse-uprising-was-inspired-by-g20-protests

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So what was your interpretation of the song at first. To be truthful, I did not actually understood it at all. However, now I am totally in love with it and can feel for it.

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VMAs: Award for Biggest Jerk of the night and Classiest Move ever

If you do not already know what the big commotion about the Kanye and Taylor issue, take a look at the video or the article below.
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< http://www.usmagazine.com/celebritynews/news/kanye-west-ambushes-taylor-swift-at-vmas-2009139 >

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That was the essence of the whole incident regarding how Kanye West spoilt Taylor Swift very first VMA moment.

After this incident, everyone is raging about it. The question is everywhere.

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Team Kanye or Team Taylor?

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If you guys watched the video and read the article, it is most likely that you would be on Team Taylor. What you might not have noticed is how these medium of the mass media affect your perception process of your selection, organization and interpretation.

Take a closer look at the choice of words that video and article used. In the video, Kanye West as termed the “Biggest Jerk of the night” and in the article Kanye West was described to have “Ambush(ed)” Taylor Swift during the VMAs. The intensity of the words (showing negative connotations) used by the mass media influences our selection. The use of the word “Jerk” to describe Kanye West, also shows how the media aids in organizing our perception through prototypes as we immediately associate the work “Jerk” to various negative qualities. These subtly shape our interpretation, causing us to easily decide to be on Team Taylor; which is exactly what the media is trying to get at.

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However, I am not saying that we are following blindly to the media’s point of view, I am merely showing how the mass media is able to manipulate language to influence our ideas and feelings.

Of course, we all have our own points of view. For those who merely watched the VMAs (the 2 footages is at the bottom of my post) will also pass judgement. It is not hard to see that Kanye West had his faults.

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So how exactly did Kanye West failed in his communication skills?

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Basically, he failed to take note of the context if the situation. He was at the VMAs, not forgetting to mention, in front of a crowd and national television. With such a context in mind, he should have known to have acted in a more professional manner. What he did was not just unprofessional, it was being rude and insensitive. Personally, I felt that he had totally disregarded Taylor Swift’s feelings and had embarrassed. (Note that I am not being bias because I am not really a fan of either.) I mean, it was the poor girl’s first ever VMA! Not to mention, she is only nineteen; no doubt winning the award must have felt like the world to her. What did she do to deserve being embarrassed and have moment ruined when at nineteen, winning the Best Female Music Video Award was actually a really great achievement.

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Of course, reports mention that Kanye West could have been influenced by alcohol. Hence I shall be less harsh on his behaviour. Furthermore, he had made a personal apology (article HERE) to Taylor Swift and I believe that admitting to his mistakes was all he needed for forgiveness.

Gratefully, Beyonce did the “classiest move ever”. Her effective communication which was triggered by her own past experience as we see her recall her first MTV award, gave closure for Taylor Swift’s embarrassment.

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So are you on Team Kanye or Team Taylor? Share your views. I would love to see opinions of those on Team Kanye.

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As for Taylor Swift, let’s just say that at least Kanye West made her first VMAs a very memorable one.

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Believe in your strength, Unleash your talents

You can turn on the english subtitles by clicking the bottom-right button of the youtube screen and then click the “CC” button.

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I still remember the first time I chanced upon this Television Commercial (TVC). I was about to leave the house when this young girl speaking to various objects in the house captured my gaze for a good three minutes.

I was intrigued, but not particularly bemused by the actions of the young girl. While some may quickly pass judgement that the girl has psychological issues, I was captivated by her wild imagination and creativity of how she was able to relate

This is due to the different perception different people have, which causes each person to interpret messages differently. Apart from how the audience’s perception, within the TVC itself, there are different characters who judge the young girl different. Her parents, teacher and friends see her as psychologically unsound, perhaps due to social factors and the influence of mass media; a mentally unsound person is often protrayed speaking to oneself. This is also a social constructionist perspective of communication where  her parents, teacher and friends judged her based on the society’s judgement of how a person should behave.

However, she made friends with this young boy who interprets her actions differently. He saw communication in a psychological perspective and understood her from her point of view, where he saw her as “unique” / “special” rather than “weird“.

It is also due to the support of her friend who accepted her and her “weird” antics that we see years later, she is able to succeed in her acting career due to her imaginative mind.

This TVC effective brought across the message of “Believe in your strength, Unleash your talents“. In order to attain our very best, we should not to let anyone waive our feelings or choice or let anyone put us down.

Apart from believing in ourselves, I believe that, like the TVC, we really do need someone to stand by us and tell us that we are “special” and “unique”. We humans are social creatures and need to constantly have support from the people around us.

Support can come in any form. It could be constant words of encouragement, or merely actions like in the TVC where all the boy did was befriend the girl. Nonetheless, the message sent by those around us, whatever form it may take, can affect us in many ways.

If the girl in the TVC did not had the constant understand and support from her friend, but instead suffered with the judgement and prejudice from the people around her, she would not have been able to succeed in her auditions as an actor.

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So to everyone who may have judged someone due to their choices, think back and check if you had been too harsh on that person, or was your judgement sole based on society’s expectations of life without regard of the person’s interest?

Or have you been put down or judged because of your choices? Do not be despair, just believe in your strength and you will unleash your potential.

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Like in Eminem’s song Beautiful, “Don’t let them say you ain’t beautiful ...” [Click to enjoy the song]

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* Credits: This TVC belongs to MediaCorp Channel 8.

All hail world ~

Hello world!

This my blog specially dedicated to my module COM 101.

There is current not a single post here, but let’s look forward to a series of interesting posts that will hopefully give me my A for my COM 101.

So do engage discussions and I hope to see you guys around!

♥ Lee Jun Ying