watched slumdog millionaire yesterday with bee. enjoyed the show very much. and i shan't attempt to review the show here. there are more than enough people out there who have reviewed it. enough of people out there who loved it, bitched it, went crazy about it... la la la... i would however like to share some of the thoughts that went through my mind when i watched the show. i walked into the theatre with no expectations nor idea about what to expect except that it would be an production shot in india amongst the slum about a slum boy who made it rich. the following were some of the thoughts that went through my mind:
1. the toilet scene where boy-kamal crapped was very similar to the toilet i used when i was a boy living in kampong in paya lebar. and at that time, my constant fear was that i would fall into the shit if i did not spread my legs wide enough... and looking at the shit of my fellow kampong dwellers, the creepie crawlies crawling in the shit and the green houseflies buzzing around would be enough to make any stomach churn today.
2. the slum scene reminded me of my kampong to a small extend. well, not the compact nature, rather, the zine sheets. it was exactly the same in my kampong and my little zinc sheet house/ zinc attap houses. the close proximity between neighbours with little or no private spaces.
3. running and playing with other children in open spaces. yes, this was what my neighbour's kids did. it was the same as per shown in the movie. but for me, i was not allowed to do so. my mum was afraid i might get run over by cars or get into bad influence given that my kampong kids had rather thuggish parents.
4. racial/ religious clashes. yes, that also reminded me of how similar clashes occurred when i was a kid. i remembered my mum keeping me at home and refusing to let me out. i remembered my dad coming home late one night and spoke of malays and chinese fighting at kampong eunos. and i remembered him telling my mum to stay at home and not go out.
5. rubbish scavenging. no, i did not need to scavenge for anything when i was a kid. life was very tough and we were poor, but we did not need to resort to scavenging for stuff from rubbish dump. rather, this scene reminded me of lorong halus. it reminded me of how i sent trucks of rubbish to the lorong halus dump and how my truckload of rubbish would be weighed before being allowed to enter the dump to drop our load. that was in 1991. this scene also reminded me of manila, philippines.
6. murky/ greenish river filled with rubbish and people wading through it. it reminded me of jakarta when i visited indonesia in 2006. lots of slums by the canals and rivers and lots of rubbish too. very contrasting when i thought of the singapore river today (not the singapore river when i was a kid for its water was black and smelly back then).
7. digging children's eyes out and exploiting them to beg. this reminded me of 2 singaporean boys who mysteriously disappeared in 1978 (i think) and was never found. there were rumours that they had been brought to either thailand bangkok or india by syndicates to beg. i remembered them cos for a short while, i followed their news. that was a long time back. they are still missing.
8. overall, it reminded me that during such times, it is about the survival of the fittest, survival of the individual. everyone for himself. altruism is probably non-existent. screw the society, screw the law, screw morality, screw values... it's sad. but to survive, that's the only way. it's a fact of life. and it's true.
1. the toilet scene where boy-kamal crapped was very similar to the toilet i used when i was a boy living in kampong in paya lebar. and at that time, my constant fear was that i would fall into the shit if i did not spread my legs wide enough... and looking at the shit of my fellow kampong dwellers, the creepie crawlies crawling in the shit and the green houseflies buzzing around would be enough to make any stomach churn today.
2. the slum scene reminded me of my kampong to a small extend. well, not the compact nature, rather, the zine sheets. it was exactly the same in my kampong and my little zinc sheet house/ zinc attap houses. the close proximity between neighbours with little or no private spaces.
3. running and playing with other children in open spaces. yes, this was what my neighbour's kids did. it was the same as per shown in the movie. but for me, i was not allowed to do so. my mum was afraid i might get run over by cars or get into bad influence given that my kampong kids had rather thuggish parents.
4. racial/ religious clashes. yes, that also reminded me of how similar clashes occurred when i was a kid. i remembered my mum keeping me at home and refusing to let me out. i remembered my dad coming home late one night and spoke of malays and chinese fighting at kampong eunos. and i remembered him telling my mum to stay at home and not go out.
5. rubbish scavenging. no, i did not need to scavenge for anything when i was a kid. life was very tough and we were poor, but we did not need to resort to scavenging for stuff from rubbish dump. rather, this scene reminded me of lorong halus. it reminded me of how i sent trucks of rubbish to the lorong halus dump and how my truckload of rubbish would be weighed before being allowed to enter the dump to drop our load. that was in 1991. this scene also reminded me of manila, philippines.
6. murky/ greenish river filled with rubbish and people wading through it. it reminded me of jakarta when i visited indonesia in 2006. lots of slums by the canals and rivers and lots of rubbish too. very contrasting when i thought of the singapore river today (not the singapore river when i was a kid for its water was black and smelly back then).
7. digging children's eyes out and exploiting them to beg. this reminded me of 2 singaporean boys who mysteriously disappeared in 1978 (i think) and was never found. there were rumours that they had been brought to either thailand bangkok or india by syndicates to beg. i remembered them cos for a short while, i followed their news. that was a long time back. they are still missing.
8. overall, it reminded me that during such times, it is about the survival of the fittest, survival of the individual. everyone for himself. altruism is probably non-existent. screw the society, screw the law, screw morality, screw values... it's sad. but to survive, that's the only way. it's a fact of life. and it's true.
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