Singapore Dreaming - The 5C's

Singapore Dreaming (2006)

This film takes place in the city-state of Singapore in modern, Southeast Asia. It’s a story about a man’s life that is drastically changed when he wins S$2 million in the lottery. He works as a repo-man and is in a nicer house than his assessing what needs to be repossessed, and the next day he is deciding what top-dollar condominium to buy. Winning the lottery was his dream and he showed a great deal of excitement when his son picked numbers for the upcoming jackpot. He also had newspaper clippings of the lottery drawings and ads for new condos and sports cars that he would buy if he ever won. Ironically he passes away a few days after winning, before an interview at a prestigious country club.

The local culture is portrayed well with a mixture of dialect that includes Singlish, English, Mandarin, Hokkien. The official languages for the country are English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. English is used the most in the country, is taught in the schools, and it acts as a cultural bridge. Singlish is the combination of English and other dialects and is a common throughout this film. The level of diversity is not rivaled by many other places and is due mainly in part to unrestricted immigration during the 1800’s. There are many different races of people with language becoming the last thread that connects the current population with their heritage. Although English is becoming the most widely used and accepted of all the languages, it is customary for children to learn native dialects from their mothers.

Singapore has been a strong economic force in the world today and for the last several decades. It is included as one of the four Asian Tigers along with Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan. These four countries had the most impressive development rates since WWII and influenced trade routes significantly. Singapore is known for having the busiest port in the world with 1.15 Billion tons shipped from in 2005 alone. This amount increased the prior year’s amount and previous world record by 10%. The country has maintained this lead since 1986.

It’s not by coincidence that this city-state has become a known for their port and trading. In 1819, a man by the name of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, landed in Singapore and realized the potential as a possible trading location. He quickly signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah to enable British trade. The British would soon take over the island thanks to John Crawfurd who got the sultan to sign another treaty giving the island over to the British. Stamford is remembered and embraced today with a statue at the location of his arrival on the island.

The country is one of the four remaining sovereign city-states in the world. The others include the Vatican City, San Marino, and Monaco. London, Washington D.C., and Hong Kong are the current non-sovereign city-states that exist today. These cities are all unique and represent major influence not only to their countries that they reside in, but also world-wide. Respectively, Singapore and the non-sovereign cities are more known for their roles in a global sense.

The island is located along the southern coast of Malaysia with two man-made connections between each other. There are several small islands around a mainland that is Singapore. This main island is small at approximately 20 x 10 miles and mainly urban. There is a small woodland area near the center with three man-made lakes. The land area has grown, due to conservation efforts made in the 60’s and will continue to grow from its current size of about 250sq miles for years to come. Other than the small section in the center and along the west coast, the island is the textbook definition of a concrete jungle. The city is dense and the coast is littered with shipyards.

The climate is moderate, and temperatures range from 70-90 degrees annually due to the location along the equator. The only real distinct season occurs in November and December when monsoons ravish the area. The annual rainfall is just less than one hundred inches with the majority being received during monsoon season. South East Asia as a whole is the leader in annual rainfall as illustrated in the following map.

There is definitely a superficial trend towards materialism that shows through in this movie. The son nearly attacks the lawyer when he finds out he won’t be receiving any money and the father acted with pride as though he was someone who earned, rather than won, the money. The mother had forgotten who she was after getting married due to ignoring her own needs while being constantly devoted to her family. Her character is the core of the story and symbolizes traditions that are being lost in the fast paced Singaporean lifestyle race, to attain the 5C’s.