Homosexuality In Singapore - Documentary / Video & Theatre / Art (Compiled)

[Browser]

19 February 2012, 8pm (Tickets Sold Out)

The Substation Theatre (M1 Finge Festival Highlight)

Cane: A re-creation of Josef Ng’s Brother Cane (Performed by Loo Zihan)

In 1993, Singaporean artist Josef Ng's performance Brother Cane resulted in a public debate over obscenity in performance art and a subsequent ten-year restriction of the licensing and funding of performance art in Singapore.

Re-enactment of a 1993 performance by Singaporean artist Josef Ng titled Brother Cane based on an eyewitness account by Ray Langenbach. Brother Cane was staged in protest to the entrapment of homosexuals by law enforcement officers in public cruising areas.

Cane by Loo Zihan consists of a re-enactment of Brother Cane based on an eyewitness account by artist Ray Langenbach, a performative lecture reconstructing incidents surrounding the event based on various oral accounts, and pre-filmed segments with individuals involved in Brother Cane and performance art in Singapore. The work seeks not only to commemorate and honour the memory of this performance, but also to explore the possibility of representing performance art, a form often perceived as ephemeral or transient.

Watch the performance that was staged in Chicago earlier on 19 March 2011 :

http://vimeo.com/21383755

[Guest Guest]

so chim...

[abang]

Yes, silent protest is sometimes not enough.

This performance is very intense.

The pauses must be deliberate as it allows us (me, especially) to reflect of the actions that happened in 1993.

Fort road was raided time and again but it did not stop me from going there.

I could have been a victim too if not for the reason that I was in Australia then.

My reflection and possibly advice

To all my fellow brothers, stop all risky acts like cruising in public toilets and parks.

We do have our own venues to release ourselves.

Dont put yourself in jeopardy.

[GachiMuchi]

Thanks for posting the video.

[lovehandle]

tks browswer for posting but on a theatre perspective(not on a reflection perspective)

the new "brother cane" is more of a regurgitation of what has created a big scene then, e.g A1+A2 = gives u something like A3

read more on today's straits times for critique too

I m glad that i didnt get to purchase the ticket (soldout as it only for 1 nite)

[Alfred]

Anyone watch? How was it?

[Guest guest]

according to the straits times' review, even though it was not deliberated, it was mentioned that he went all the way showing shaven crotch ... not sure if this was what really happened.

[Alfred]

Anyone can confirm?

[mango_juice]

Oh he show his penis????

[Browser]

Oh he show his penis????

[Guest guest]

Oh!my,what a view!more pics pls

[Guest tseuG]

A true naturist and liberated soul who is brave enough to defend for what he believes in. I respect him!

[Guest sim]

he is very daring for a singaporean.

is he gay?

[Browser]

Oh!my,what a view!more pics pls

[vvww]

A really good role

Model:)

[groyn88]

On Wednesday, 23 Feb 2005, at 8.30 pm, Singapore's second Chinese-language TV channel, Channel U, broadcast a 30-minute current affairs program on the local gay community.

 

It was part of a series officially entitled "Inside out" (非常透视眼; fei chang tou shi yan) by MediaCorp but which would be better translated as "Very penetrating insight" (literally, a very penetrating eye).

 

The topic of this particular episode was "Do homosexuals have space for their activities?". It dealt with Singapore's gay community, whether the latter felt that there was adequate space for their activities and the mainstream public's attitudes towards them.

 

It was the third documentary in Chinese to be aired on Singapore television and attempted to accurately portray the gay community, soliciting views from various segments of society. This was a departure from the first two Chinese documentaries shown earlier, the first of which was a homophobic one produced in collaboration with the ex-gay ministry and the second, a concertedly gay-friendly infotainment episode broadcast in the wake of the then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's announcement in Time magazine in 2003 that the civil service would henceforth employ openly gay individuals.

 

For those who don't understand Chinese, the complete translated transcript of the documentary can be read here:

 

http://sporelgbtpedia.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Transcript_of_Channel_U_documentary:_%22Do_homosexuals_have_space_for_their_activities%3F%22

 

This is Part 1:

 

 

 

[groyn88]

This is Part 2:

 

[groyn88]

This is Part 3:

 

[gongtang]

i feel that the society here in Singapore is very funny. when i asked people around me whether they accept homosexuality, most have very homophobic kind of respond. but when they really know of someone who is gay/lesbian, they will keep quiet about the sexuality part and continue everything else as per normal.

 

so what is this? are people accepting or not accepting?

Edited August 9, 2013 by gongtang

[zwei]

Most are older ppl who cant accept and as what gong tang said, many will say they are okay with it but their actions speak differently

Edited August 9, 2013 by zwei

[Guest Guest]

i feel that the society here in Singapore is very funny. when i asked people around me whether they accept homosexuality, most have very homophobic kind of respond. but when they really know of someone who is gay/lesbian, they will keep quiet about the sexuality part and continue everything else as per normal.

 

so what is this? are people accepting or not accepting?

 

they have that kind of reaction for that gay person cos he is prob nice or they were shocked so they keep quiet, you dunno whats going thru in their mind.

 

but if you are public enemy no.1, you will be in for hell

[jason]

one of the scene showing the parents always quarrelling is very similar to my situtation in my younger days....

[Guest guest]

MOST SIngaporeans are conservative on this issue compared with the Malaysians.  If you are exposed to both sides, you will notice that SIngaporeans, when they know you are gay will say, Oh, thats such a waste or why? can you change?  They will judge you and not accept you for who you are as a person.  You will also feel their attitude change towards you.  If you do not tell them you are gay, they will be damn KPO and ask your friends, is he? is he gay ah???

 

But when you speak with malaysians in general, they are very accepting of you and dont judge you.  Alot would infact once they know Im gay, simply ask me if I already have a partner and if I dont, quick find one and I have met several very nice malaysians who simply are cool about it!  They wont ask awkward questions like most Singaporeans would or make me feel embarrased or different!

 

This is my observation. 

[Guest Gas]

MOST SIngaporeans are conservative on this issue compared with the Malaysians.  If you are exposed to both sides, you will notice that SIngaporeans, when they know you are gay will say, Oh, thats such a waste or why? can you change?  They will judge you and not accept you for who you are as a person.  You will also feel their attitude change towards you.  If you do not tell them you are gay, they will be damn KPO and ask your friends, is he? is he gay ah???

 

But when you speak with malaysians in general, they are very accepting of you and dont judge you.  Alot would infact once they know Im gay, simply ask me if I already have a partner and if I dont, quick find one and I have met several very nice malaysians who simply are cool about it!  They wont ask awkward questions like most Singaporeans would or make me feel embarrased or different!

 

This is my observation. 

Well then do you know that majority of the Malaysian are not English educated and none Christian, maybe you can think deeply how this is related to the different behaviour between Malaysian and Singaporean on this issue,

The chinese educated people are the more compassion, humble and have a heart for others just like the buddhist teaching, and do you know how come many of the Buddhist are chinese educated people? as the buddhist books are mostly written in chinese and can easily reach out to the chinese educated people. Our present education is all English educated, this has indirectly killed Buddhism in this country, if you don't understand chinese, it is very difficult for you to understand Buddhism, and because Bible is written is English, therefore there is a rise in the Christian community in Singapore.

 

Our society has become so uncompassion and self centred, is partly bacause we lost the "Chinese values" and the "Buddhist values". This is my observation.

 

People also say that chinese education are conservative, yes they are conservative but they are also accepting as they are compassion, humble and have a heart for others and, if they are not able to assist you they will not judge you, As for the English educated people, you all know better than me.

[groyn88]

I videoed his follow-up exhibition 'Archiving Cane' last year:

[groyn88]

I have just completed the captioning of Singapore's first Malay documentary on homosexuality, broadcast on 30 July 2003.

This is part 1:

This is part 2:

This is the wiki article containing both the translation and original Malay transcript:

http://sporelgbtpedia.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Translation_of_%22Detik%22_episode_on_homosexuality,_30_July_2003

Edited January 28, 2014 by groyn88

[groyn88]

This episode of the public, live current affairs programme 'OK, No Problem' shown on Channel U at 7pm on 30 July 2003 was a watershed in Singapore's television and LGBT history. It was the first time that gay people were portrayed positively, in the wake of the then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's statement in Time (Asia) magazine earlier in July that openly gay Singaporeans would be employed in the civil service.
In this first segment, presenter Chuan Yi Fong (Quan Yifeng) announced in a hawker centre in Ang Mo Kio that the programme was about homosexuality. She then asked random diners about their opinions on homosexuality. A range of positive and negative views were offered.

This second segment is a sitcom featuring a stereotypically effeminate man who worked as a performance artist failing in all his job interviews.
In one of the job interviews, the employer (who also looked gay) said he would not employ this person because he was gay. The interviewee complained, saying he wasn’t even sure he was gay. The conversation went on to say that although Prime Minister Goh said gays could be employed by the civil service, that did not mean acceptance by society at large.

Edited February 3, 2014 by groyn88

[groyn88]

In this third segment, we are brought back to the food court and the presenter invited viewers to phone in. The presenter, Yi Fong, first interviewed a man in his 40s or 50s. He said gays were either sick mentally (needing psychiatric treatment) or physically, such as having a hormone problem (needing medical treatment).
A caller said he disliked gays and thanked Channel U for giving him this opportunity to speak against gay people. He recalled how he went to a party and was almost molested by a fat gay man.
Then came the first poll by SMS. The question was "Do you despise homosexuals?" A few minutes later, the results were announced. 56% said they did and 44 % voted no, they didn't.
Meanwhile the presenter asked for more opinions. Another guy in the food court audience said gay men were those who wore one ear ring and tight T shirts, and were often effeminate. But there were also very 'man' gay men.
There was also a call-in from a woman who made some gay-friendly remarks.
The presenter then got the food court audience to participate in a game. 3 men were introduced by the presenter, who asked the live audience in the food court to guess which of the 3 was the gay one.
One of the 3 was Malay, around 30 years old with a short-sleeved shirt. He got quite a lot of votes (meaning that quite a lot of people thought he was the gay one).
The second guy was Chinese, about late twenties, quite tall and built. He had 2 earrings and wore a tight T-shirt. He didn’t get many votes.
The third guy was smaller-built, fair and looked a little "soft". He too wore a tight T-shirt, and he got a lot of votes too, about the same number as the Malay guy.
A live telephone interview with Dr. Tan Chong Kee, who was introduced as having written a thesis on homosexuality in Taiwan, was interpolated during the voting session by onlookers.
Finally, the presenter revealed that all three were straight. The Malay guy said though he was single but he is available for girl friends. The bigger Chinese guy said he had a girlfriend, and she came forward on his signal. The fair Chinese guy also said he was not gay. In fact he was married, and then his wife came forward with their 3-month-old baby.

 

 

The highlight of the episode was the appearance of an actual gay man named Anthony who was initially hidden behind a black curtain. After a suspenseful emergence to face a wall of curious onlookers, he spoke emotionally about his own struggles as a homosexual and how he hoped society would accept them. He also publicly thanked Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong for his recent announcement that openly homosexual individuals would now be employed in the Civil Service. Anthony choked back his tears as he spoke, causing the presenter's eyes to also redden, and members of the audience to listen sympathetically. For his courage, Anthony was presented with a bouquet of flowers and received a huge round of applause.

 

[Cube3]

Thank you for remembering this watershed event. Makes me wonder, where are all the Gay-friendly, Singapore TV programmes now? There should be an LGBT initiative not to support any non-gay-friendly TV-programming or ads...!

[groyn88]

I've uploaded this docu-drama on the life of Paddy Chew to my YouTube account.

This programme was broadcast on Channel 5 in October 2007. It portrays the life of Paddy Chew, the first Singapore living with HIV/AIDS to come out to the general public. He made the announcement on 12 December 1998 during the First National AIDS Conference in Singapore held at the Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre, 4 years after he was diagnosed with HIV.
Links:
http://sporelgbtpedia.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Paddy_Chew
http://video.xin.msn.com/watch/video/episode-9/1dkyt26r6