Rebel & Heroism (A Review of Singapore Rebel)

Much like Convex Set, I have also watched the documentary Singapore Rebel. While I highly respect Mr. See (not to mention being deeply concerned about his affairs), and though I believe this film deserves the right to be screened for the public to watch, I would like to criticize, even if only they are only slight perturbations, and postulate what are certain shortcomings in the film. I don't pretend to think I can make a "better" film, and I think Singaporeans at least should hear the words of Dr. Chee, however I am uncertain as to how the movie was represented and framed. In other words, my review is simply a judgment on asethetics and production of the documentary. As I believe Mr. See will read this, I would like to establish again that I congratulate him for making the film and I enjoyed watching it.

Overall, my general skepticism lies with the homology the documentary shares with a "Michael Moore" film, only in this case, the political bias is blatantly represented and portrayed. My contention is not that Dr. Chee doesn't deserve to speak, but that an entire piece devoted to him could be counterproductive, when others could construe the piece as deliberately sympathizing with a member of opposition. The legitimacy of this piece of work was, in my opinion, unintentionally broken down by what was initially a professional voice-over narrator degenerating into a "comedic goth-rock" type of satire. Perhaps the most dramatic piece of footage was the May Day rally Dr. Chee tried to hold, where he and his colleague was quickly subdued and arrested. However, certain statements by Dr. Chee in the piece, particularly the one where he asserted Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong pointed to his pocket when asked about the loan to Soeharto regime, was antithetical to the recognition of the treatment Dr. Chee shouldn't have received in his public protest rallies.

In other words, I will not be coy and say this blankly. If you are hoping to, as sociologist Weber might posit, construct a "charismatic authority" figure, Dr. Chee was not the right man, though the film certainly came close to building that persona. Embellishing Dr. Chee as a family man was, in my opinion, low-brow, not to say that he deserves the penalties (in fact, I think it was grossly undeserved and over-punitive), but that served very little purpose in this documentary piece. Painting Dr. Chee as a human person is crucial, no doubt but I think more important than that, the ideas Dr. Chee has of Singapore society and governmental polices should be the focus.

Contrary to my unsatisfaction with certain portions of the documentary piece, I don't condemn it but rather insist that viewers should remember Dr. Chee isn't the only rebel in Singapore. I thought Jeyarethnam should have been included, and perhaps many others who not necessarily belonging to a political group, have resisted and dissected the ruling elite's ideology. Dr. Chee is a remarkable individual, though I disagree in his final point that "those who choose to leave Singapore are performing a cowardly act", but I concede that he has demonstrated acts of courage and bravery for his actions.

Finally, I like to relate Convex Set's blog entry regarding heroism in Singapore. This is also where I re-establish my ambiguous feelings for the blogging community. I think the concept of heroism should be overthrown, in the first place, individuals should freely decide what they choose to do or forsake in their lives, despite the differing opinions and judgments on their actions. However, just like Dr. Chee's assertion, some actions are calculated to have unimaginable risks and prove to result in dangerous consequences. Right now, blogging about our subjective experiences is not enough to make a dent in the political process, and only real demonstrable actions will perform such a job. Do not assume that there will be "heroes" who will arise to lead us away from darkness, it wouldn't be any different from how people thought of Lee Kuan Yew and it shouldn't be the case with others. That's not to say we live without "heroes", all of us to some extent have a role model to live up to, but in the real world, we should place it upon ourselves to support our ideals and values with real effort. To sit and rant is too easy, and leaving it up to someone else to do the "dirty work" is irresponsible.

That's perhaps the one important lesson the documentary should preach.