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
Citation
LOWE, John, & WONG, George.(2022). Legitimizing viewing publics through nostalgia: The mediated tropicality of Singapore's 'kampong spirit'. Chinese Journal of Communication, 16(1), 19-34.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/4080
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1080/17544750.2022.2088586
Included in
Asian Studies Commons, Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons