For Me Friends Only

After a period of absence, I'm back. The long silence is mainly because I felt I had nothing much to blog about. Even if I did, it will probably be whinings about my job and colleagues. I decided to spare all you guys the agony and also, to step away from the vicious cycle. The more I talk about the unpleasant incidences, the harder it is for me to forget them. So, there you have it, my explanation for the hiatus.

Anyway, wanted to write something about one of the short films I saw today. I am never a fan of Eric Khoo as I felt that his films are not and were not meant to be accessible to the masses. I ascribe to the belief that "art" can be high brow but they should be accessible. Of course, there are others who believe that "art" is the manifestation of an artiste's vision and he/she cannot control the masses' perception and interpretation. His/her job is to tell a narrative from his/her voice.

Anyway, this is not suppose to be a debate about art but an explanation of why despite my feelings about Khoo, I was touched by his latest short film. It's about maids in Singapore and the story is told through the eyes of an Indonesian maid. Short synop, Siti's a 24 yo woman from a village in Sulawesi, Indonesia. a fellow villager told her to go to Batam and be trained as a maid so that she can come work in Singapore. With her earnings, she can realised her dream of owning her own place. There is a clincher however; she only gets $10 a months till her 10 month of employment as the money is deducted for all the miscellaneous fees and expenses like boat ticket, agent's fees etc. Siti agrees and left her husband and new born son. She travelled by boat for four days to reach Batam. There, she undergoes training in using fancy schamancy household equipment for two months and was employed in three sterotypical Singaporean households. The first, an upperclass young couple staying in a big bungalow. The second, your typical heartlander hdb family and the last, an Indian woman with a sick father.

What's interesting about this short film is how Khoo is able to make audience empathise with Siti. It's common to hear Singaporeans complaining about their maids, that they are stupid, that they always give blank looks when questioned, or that they are slow or that they can't cook or that they do not know how to clean the house and etc.

But because we see that Siti's is just a simple village girl who has never used washing machines, coffee makers or special detergents for marble floors, it makes us feel for Siti. It is not her fault for not knowing. She has tried her best. And there is language barriers as well. She doesn't understand English at all, so whatever that she knew, it was learned in that two months.

Taking all these into accounts, at the end of the film, I think the movie has reminded us to see maids as people and not just machines. Therein, lies the unexpected reaction from me to Khoo's efforts. I have always hold him in some sort of derision; he's a rich man's son and has it a little easier than many local film maker. But this short film has changed my perception of him somewhat, yeah, he may still be a "snob" pretending to understand the less privileges but I think there is a sincerity here.

Anyway, this is getting long winded as usual, but the session this afternoon reminded me why I love the movies. It's gems like this that ignites the passion and interest in me again.

And to end this blog, am posting a pict that has nothing to do with what I have just written. It's another photoshop attempt.