I have come to realize that it’s quite odd to be living in a place for three and half weeks, both trying to accomplish a task and be tourist. I’m not here long enough to really know where I’m going; since moving to the YMCA, I still have to use my offline map to figure out how to get to dinner or home from the library at night when the street signs are obscured. I’m not here long enough to feel comfortable “skipping” a museum day on a Sunday – I am, after all, only here for 3 and half weeks, and there is still so much to see.
At the same time, I have to accomplish the typical tasks that come with long-term living, like shopping for groceries, doing laundry, and, most importantly, research. There is a very real contrast there – in some ways, I feel guilty in the library all day, realizing that even on this small island there is so much I won’t have seen in a month’s time. In other ways, I feel guilty leaving the library, because the sources I need are not available through ILL, and I’m on a bit of a clock. Anyway, it’s all a little bittersweet, and something I imagine people who have to travel for research experience often. It’s unreal that I only have a few days left here.
In terms of research “findings,” there isn’t exactly much to report. But believe me, that’s a good thing! The Malaya Tribune was taking me forever to go through on microfilm, if you recall. Before, I was using a strategy of note-taking on my computer when a relevant editorial, letter to the editor, or article came up. This slowed me down by 5-10 minutes every time I came across something relevant, which is why it took me about 4 days just to survey through 1932. Fortunately, I realized that was not going to work given how much time I have here. I have shifted to noting citations (title, author, date, etc.) and photographing all relevant articles for later note taking and analysis once I’m back in the states. That way, I can maximize my time here. I’ve gotten through 5 years total, I have about 500 images, there are about 4 years available in the states, and I suspect I can finish another 3-4 years in the few days I have left here. So, although I don’t have much to report, I’m feeling more confident with my research strategy.
There was one research moment this week that stands out. So far, I’ve been essentially reconstructing a scholar’s bibliography who wrote on a very similar topic to mine, scrutinizing and noting the sources she used to have a baseline for my study and also see if I find anything new. While searching the library’s catalogue for a book this scholar had used, I came across another autobiography from a Chinese woman in Singapore who was in her 20s during the 1930s. I flipped through it, mostly out of curiosity, not expecting to find anything particularly relevant. But I came across this passage:
“After dinner we went to a show. It was at the Capitol Cinema and though we went to the early show we were quite late reaching home. I will never forget the film and the title – “Damaged Lives”, as when I was sent home, I was confronted by father who had a stern look on his face. Kim Wah did not wait and left me to face the music. Father asked where we had been and upon being told that we went to a show demanded to know what type of show it was. I told him the title and said it was a documentary film. He asked me what it was about and when I told him it was about some sort of sickness and marriage and that I could not understand most of it because of the medical terms. He seemed to be more pleased than angry at my ignorance.” Lim San Neo, My Life My Memories My Story (Singapore: Epic Management Services Pte Ltd 1997), 38.
As it turns out, Damaged Lives was a 1933 Columbia Picture, Canadian/American Pre-Code film about an extramarital affair that leads to the violent end of a marriage. I won’t go into a full analysis of this quote because I haven’t analyzed or even collected all of my evidence (and I would probably bore you), but to me, this demonstrates that while Singaporean women and children were seen as especially vulnerable to the influences of film, they also often used the films as a means of negotiating their own agency within a system that typically oppressed them. The discussion of lascivious American films in the Boys’ Corner, Girls’ Corner, and Women’s Corner, as I posted about a couple of weeks ago, yielded a self-conscious negotiation of morals within these groups about modernity and patriarchy. Similarly, in feigning ignorance to her father, Lim San Neo (the author above), negotiates the typical media exposure she was allowed to receive by viewing this seemingly unforgettable film, and getting away with it. Anyway, these are just musings. I’m not certain that this is the take away, or that this will figure into my whole argument, but it’s an interesting angle to consider nonetheless.
It must be noted that my thesis advisor at Northwestern and his wife were visiting Singapore this week, and I got to get dinner with them and vent about my research, ask for advice, ask questions about Singapore, etc. How unbelievably lucky is that? It was so reassuring to see a familiar face and get to talk about how things are going. We ate off of banana leaves at a secluded (for Singapore) restaurant called Samy’s – an undergrad career moment I won’t forget.
And, a typical photo-dump. Here’s what I’ve been doing when I haven’t been in the library:
Exploring Disney-esque Chinatown. I went to the “50 cents fest” where you can try any number of Chinese dishes for just 50c each at food stalls.
Trying dragon fruit for the first time. Yum. I prefer it to durian, the national fruit, the stench you can spot from outside any supermarket.
Went to the Asian Civilizations Museum (the photos captured below), National Museum, National Gallery, Singapore Art Museum, and Peranakan Museum (whew). I think the National Museum and National Gallery were my favorite, but I unfortunately didn’t capture very many photos there.
Saw the famous Raffles Hotel….from the outside at least.
And explored new neighborhoods gearing up for National Day.
National Day commemorates Singapore’s independence from Malaysia on August 9, 1965. Tomorrow, I am going to the junior college that my professor once taught at to see their National Day celebrations – think 4th of July, but more…extravagant. Will report back with details. That’s all for now!