9/08/2006

mickey mouse game

We planned for two Integrated Resorts, thinking that two is just about right. We are not that ambitious to think bigger. This is just a little aberration from the big ego that we have, to be the best in everything. Could we go bigger than the two IRs, bigger than the biggest Disney the world ever had? We plan, others plan too. Now it seems that the big boys have bigger plans for Singapore, a regional funland with all the big names in one little island. One trip to Universal Studio, Disneyland, Casinos and all the fun for a whole family. No long hours of coach or plane rides in between destinations. The savings from transportation and travelling time will be a big plus for an island resort with the best of the world, yes, all here. This is the first positive development out of the IR projects. Suddenly the whole picture changes. Instead of two miserable IRs, there can be 3, 5 or more and other combinations. Would our plans change to embrace a flood of more funlands to set foot here and turning the island into an international wonderland? The catch is how to remove the monks and priests.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cherche is back:
I'm not in the country and so am sorely out of touch with current news.

Was what you said true? That Singapore is looking towards building a regional one-stop entertainment centre in which the likes of Mickey Mouse and (shudders) Disney are some of its highlights?

NO!! If this ever comes to reality I oppose it and I will torch it down! Not physically, of course, in case any official is reading this. What I shall do, instead, is become another Singaporean talent who leaves our fair country. Why stay behind if what becomes of our culturally-rich nation is an empty, artificial shell of entertainment?

Please don't be bloody stupid. The strengths of Singapore lie in a few small places, number one of which is in CULTURE. We are a potpourri of harmonious yet distinct cultures and that is a fact I am very proud of. It is also the factor which keeps me proud of being a Singaporean (it is already bad enough that political plurality is suppressed and we are not allowed to grow as a civil society).

When I am overseas, what I miss about my nation is the food, the people and the culture. Not the Wild Wild Wet park at Pasir Ris. Trust me (at least to the extent that an individual view achieves) that what foreigners are interested to hear about Singapore is her food, culture and people as well. If America wants to become a globally criticised, culturally empty country and if Japan wants to become a globally-criticised, culturally warped American copycat, let them. Just don't let Singapore follow suit.

We have a genuinity about us that screams culture and nation-specific way of life. Granted, to climb on top of the commercial ladder Singapore has had to create the two IRs. Fair enough. But an entertainment centre that does more to destroy the cultural hegemony than an IR? Exercise some common sense. It is the cultural hegemony that is the issue, not the actual financial returns. The IRs promote Singapore as a progressive, trustworthy place for foreign investments. What does the entertainment centre promote? Singapore as a plastic shell.

Anonymous said...

Note
By bloody stupid I didn't mean you, I meant the certain unknown and unidentified individuals within the entity of governance which determines the future of our nation.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

hi cherche,

we planned for 2 IRs. but it seems that the big boys are having different thoughts. the way things are going these big boys are seeing synergies in having a big fun city with everything here. that's why today we are hearing disneyland is in serious talks with STB and not interested in Johore.

these big parks are synthetic as you said and exist mainly for economic reasons. there are pros and cons of their existence. the people and its culture will always remain unique despite the parks. the artificiality exists only within them.

would we lose our culture? lky said we don't have any. in that sense nothing to lose. actually culture is a living thing and is always there. it will change with time and environment. it is not static. it is what it is now and what it will be in the future. our food and way of life will always be what we want them to be but will change with time.

win some. lose some.