Ever hear that new Beck song “Wow”? That’s how I’ve felt the past few days – “wow.” I keep having this thought that the first time I really became interested in Southeast Asia was this Fall, and here I am, less than a year later, able to conduct my own research on a topic related to history and culture in Singapore.
I feel so lucky to be here.
Okay, so a few research related updates:
I started working with microfilm a couple of days ago, and at first thought, “oh, this isn’t as annoying as people make it out to be,” and then, hours later, “oh, yes, it is.” For those who aren’t familiar, archives typically use(d) microfilm because it makes storing, and sometimes transporting, archival documents easier. They’re all on a film reel, so as opposed to storing stacks and stacks of official documents, they can be read and transported in one tiny package. Here’s what the microfilm reader/document looks like:
So you can see how that handwriting might be difficult to read in a printed document, let alone illuminated on a screen: it is, after all, a British Colonial Office document from 1926.
My aim is to uncover how typical Singaporeans perceived American film in the interwar period, because some scholars have argued that this perception 1) led Singaporean’s to view America as a place of modernity, adopt Western cultural practices, etc. (Foster). Other scholars indicate that 2) British resented and worried about Singaporean perception of American films, because the films represented the white race in unfavorable ways, i.e. with vice. As colonialism virtually hinged on the justification of white racial superiority over Asian civilization and culture, the British thought this to be a problem. This is the sort of stuff I’m uncovering in these documents – for example, “…to the vast mass of black, brown, and yellow people the inner life of the European, and especially that side of it which flourishes in centres of crime and infamy, was unknown until the American films showed them a travesty of it” (CO 273/534/23). Many of these communications are concerned with this exactly: an “unfavorable” representation of European populations which could undermine the validity of colonial rule. There is also a fair amount of concern with the potential communist influence, and how an undermined vision of Europeans may lead to communist uprising (especially with the large Chinese population in Singapore and a burgeoning CCP). Anyway, cool stuff I’m finding here, but it should be said that this is by no means the first time these docs have been viewed – other scholars, like Foster, Stevenson, etc. have interpreted these documents in various lights, I might just be looking at them with a different set of eyes, objectives, etc.
I also found a BA thesis at NUS today concerned with Press and Film Censorship in Colonial Singapore, finished (in typewriter fashion) in 1989. So, that was pretty cool – someone before me also undertook a BA thesis on a very similar topic, white-outs, scribbles, ad-ins and all.
Ok, last bit of research update, and then other fun stuff – I met with two professors on the NUS campus today (to remain unnamed, not sure if they want to be traced on the internet in some undergrad’s blog) who were exceedingly helpful. I’m always so grateful and delightedly surprised by how much professors are so willing (and even excited) to mentor students, which makes me want to join an academic community in some capacity in the future.
For fun stuff, here’s a quick photo dump…
Kent Ridge Park, part of the Southern Ridges with some pretty neat walks:
Explored Little India this evening with a good friend from NU who was so so so kind to take me to her favorite South Indian restaurant.
Anyways, thanks for enduring this long post – so much in only two days that I didn’t want to miss a beat. The next few days entail more tours from locals – neighborhoods, food stops, religious sites, shopping and all. Plus, a lot more reading on that Microform reader — more to come!