Citizen Historian publishes the last proposal for a fictional documentary – part of an academic exercise for NUS’ Singapore Studies History Class. Undergraduates taking the course are posed this question:
The aim of this assignment is to think about the possibilities of how the history of Singapore can be told, and decide on a storyline for Singapore’s history which you think is most appropriate.
You are a student of Singapore history. A foreign television producer from The History Channel contacts you and says that she is making a documentary
on Singapore’s history, and would like your advice on how to approach the subject in a meaningful and interesting way.
Write an essay of 800-1000 words, explaining your proposal for the documentary. What would be the main plot of the script? Which time periods, events, individuals, themes, issues etc. would you choose to highlight? Explain the reasoning behind your choices.
This is Andrew Cai’s proposal:
My proposed documentary would be entitled “Reminiscing the Singaporean Identity”. As suggested by the title, it aims to challenge Singaporeans to consider whether the Singapore’s identity is really constant and unchanging. The onslaught of globalization has led to the creation of an increasingly borderless world and foot-loose “global citizens”. Hence we need to re-interpret our past and set our identity from one that is inward-looking to one which welcomes change.
Singaporeans need to be open to the new wave of immigrants in order to harness their creativity and remain economically competitive in a global knowledge-economy. The current inward-looking history breeds nativism and acts as a barrier for the latter’s integration into society. Singaporeans moreover are increasingly travelling overseas and are exposed to foreign cultures. The traditional top-down and inward-looking history is also unable to help this group retain their identity as Singaporeans since their way of life overseas would be different from home Singaporeans.
Read the whole proposal at Citizen Historian.
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