Sense of Home
The newest show on Mediacorp Channel 5 aims to provide insights into the thoughts of Singaporeans living overseas and the reasons why they choose to do so.
Filmed entirely outside Singapore, the new anthology will be screened on Channel 5 starting this Sunday. Locations for filming include Budapest, London, Christchurch etc. A peek into the lives and feelings of Singaporeans living in these countries will be captured in this new anthology.
Hold on…Is there an Agenda? Is this Propoganda? How unbiased will the show be?
Afterall, mediacorp which is a Singapore based company will be under pressure from the relavent government authorities not to publish/film a program which encourages people to migrate overseas. It is called the ‘Brain Drain’. The main agenda of the show would be to pull on Singaporeans’ heartstrings, trying to develop an emotional bond between viewers and Singapore. The demographics are not encouraging. Every year, an increasing number of Singaporeans are relinquishing their citizenship. Many young Singaporean have dreams to live overseas and have no plans to return. Families are also being started overseas, putting more strain on the domestic decreasing birthrate. How balanced will the show be? Will the pros and cons of living in Singapore be adequately covered? Judging by the current advertisements however, my fears and reservations seem to be overrated. Advetisements for ‘Sense of Home’ already openly depict the ‘ugly side’ of Singpaore and Singaporeans in general. This includes a middle aged man criticising Singapore as being a ‘consumerist society’ and muttering other unflattering remarks about Singapore.
Is the show non-fiction or fiction? Do the people the actors and actresses are portraying in the show really exist in real life? Do the comments of the actors accurately reflect the consensus of people living in these countries? Or is the majority of the show just scripted and make belief, a desperate attempt by the government to rekindle the bond shared between Singapore and her children. Firstly, celebrities (Hady Mirza, Fiona Xie…) were used to depict Singporeans living overseas. Would not it be better to have people really living in these countries to share their views and experiences so a genuine view (even if it would be biased against Singapore) could be portrayed?
Does this program have global reach? Currently only people in Singapore would be able to watch the program, it is not telecast over free-to-air channels in other countries. Will Singaporeans living in those countries have the opportunity to watch the program? After all, I suppose a main agenda of the show would be to connect overseas Singaporeans with their home country. Not letting these overseas Singaporeans watch this show would be a real letdown.
Is the grass really greener on the other side?
I suppose this program would be an eye-opener for many. I really hope alternative viewpoints would be shown. Questions regarding the quality of life, governmental restriction, 2 years of mandatory National Service, including the criticisms I brought up will hopefully be addressed. MY judgement for this series is still fairly reserved and I will wait for the series to progress before I give my final comments. Till then, sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
September 12th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Saw the adverts too. Looks interesting though! I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Oh yes, I think most likely it will be made available via their online TV service too.
September 29th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
I have not watched this show but got to know it from my brother who said that one of the scene is in Budapest, which is where i am now.
Hmm…i wish i can watch this show but where….
September 29th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Hi Fathir,
You can catch it on http://www.mobtv.sg/
I’ve a promotional code here, which you can use it to watch their shows for free (sense of home included) for a limited time.
Promo Code: MOBTV-NTUC08
(I hope it’s still working)
Oh yes, you have to register first.
Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by our blog!
September 30th, 2008 at 12:41 am
Hey iridium,
Thanks for the info. I tried the promo code but it didn’t activate it, somehow, although i have register with an account.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
I hope some later the show will be available on the YOUTUBE, too. I am Hungarian living with my Singaporean wife in Budapest and we discuss a lot if better to live in Budapest or shall we move to Singapore. I am curious how the film sees this.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Zsolt, the show ARE already in youtube, courtesy of some users who have kindly posted there.
I am still living in Hungary, and i must admit that how much you hate your own country, it will still be your home no matter what. I’m sure you will agree with me on this Zsolt, one way or another.
Having said that, i have magyar friends here who would LOVE to get out of Hungary (you definitely know why) and migrate to Singapore as they just love the culture, environment, accessibility, peacefulness, modernity.
So what i’m trying to say is, if you are more comfortable living there and you are satisfied with where you are now, then why not?
Hope this helps.
PEACE.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
thanks for the quick answer:) I do not hate my country, actually I love to live in Budapest. But I know the phenomena and when I was in Singapore it was funny to me to see that how many people wanna leave Singapore. Just like in Budapest a lot of people wanna leave Hungary. I guess this is the “grass really greener on the other side” effect.
When we talk about living in Budapest or living in Singapore it doesnt touch our emotion toward our own country. We are rather more practical considering the climate, the job opportunities, future of our (future) children:), security, social life, costs of living etc.
Thats why I want to see the show..can you give me a link or keyword how to search for it on the YOUTUBE?
August 10th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Your welcome. It just pop out in my email that’s why. Hehe..
Yes you are right about locals leaving their own country. And it goes to all my other international friends in Budapest. It’s all down to the same reason.
But i beg to differ about living in another country. I agree about the practicality of the foreign country but since after living in Hungary for quite some time, i somehow generate emotions towards my country, vis-a-vis being patriotic and wanting to know all the latest happenings back home, and that i think is more than being practical. Just yesterday is our National Day and i was so engross and eager to catch the live webcast and i must say, i was feeling the love there.
I can give you the link but i’m not sure which series of Sense of Home you would like to watch. I think you could just search for “Sense of Home” and it immediately give you few right choices.
Good luck and enjoy the show!