Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

6-2022

Abstract

Using two recent films-Long Long Time Ago and Diam Diam Era-this article analyses how Jack Neo communicates a sanitized nostalgia for the "kampong spirit" through his films, which calibrates willing acceptance of the Singapore government's authoritarian rule. In supporting the state's presentist historiography, the films of Jack Neo induce a depoliticization of unpleasant memories arising from the ruling party's unpopular housing and language policies of the past. The nostalgia mediated in both films is aligned towards an imaginary geography and mental map of a First World nation, which exhorts Singaporeans to disavow "the tropics" by nostalgizing the state's modernization efforts. The cumulative thrust of an evidence-free and presentist nostalgia ostensible in both films, this work argues, satisfies the paternalistic state's obsession with the public legitimation of its ruling mandate.

Keywords

Singapore, nostalgia, kampong spirit, tropics, authoritarian governance, Chinese diaspora

Discipline

Asian Studies | Critical and Cultural Studies | Social Influence and Political Communication

Research Areas

Humanities

Publication

Chinese Journal of Communication

Volume

16

Issue

1

First Page

19

Last Page

34

ISSN

1754-4750

Identifier

10.1080/17544750.2022.2088586

Publisher

Taylor and Francis Group

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1080/17544750.2022.2088586

Share

COinS