I came across this article on another Singaporean blog while surfing around.Article: Ultraman Can Protest At Hong Lim: Superheroes Have Saved The Singapore Constitution
http://article14.blogspot.com/2008/08/approximately-year-ago-following.html
What is truly disappointing about this incident is the fact that the local press did not even bother to give this story any coverage. Sure, compared to the many wars, tragedies and murders that happen every day, this story is miniscue in scale. However, for many Singaporeans, the courage that it takes to raise one's voice in public protest is really something that is outside the national psyche. The typical Singaporean is law-abiding and fearful of making a squeek when they feel unhappy about public policy. It's in the local political culture. We grow up fearing that Big Brother will place a black mark next to our names in some "permanent record" or that we might be detained without trial if Big Brother catches us saying something negative against the powers that be.
Now whether the whole thing about the black mark is true or not, it is in the local mythos. So sure, geeky anime fans who place plastic figures in protest may look silly compared to the tragedies of War in Iraq, but to many locals who love anime and who have suffered from the recent Odex clampdown, it certainly strikes a very strong chord.
And really, if this particular protest was as silly as all that, why are the local police dignifying it with riot police and plainclothes policemen?
So why does this matter to me? I'm pretty apathetic when it comes to politics. Civilisations come and go and so ... in the very long run the petty grind of everyday politics doesn't really matter. But as a magician I am always on the lookout for phenomena of all kinds. And I find the notion that superheroes are needed to save our dignity and courage to say how we feel rather ironic and poignant.
It's a kind of magic. Magic often starts with the belief that there are forces that are great and epic moving about unseen in the vast stew of humanity and that somehow deep down inside each human is a super-being waiting to be born. I notice that anime fans and cosplayers have a tendency to adopt a few heroes or heroines as their ... how shall I put it - focus of their devotion ... and dress up as them.
Is the action of dressing up to imitate the focus of one's adoration or the buying of material images of that focus, a subconscious attempt to "take on" the attributes of that super-being? I honestly do not know as the few cosplayers I talk to mosly rave about their favourite characters and don't say much else about their rationale for the whole effort it takes to dress up. And believe me, they do spend hordes of time making the whole get up.
Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think cosplayers are silly. I do admire the skill and dedication it takes to make their costumes. Some of them even carry that dedication to the extent of staying in character when they are dressed up as er... Sailor Moon for instance. And really, I can't criticise their actions since I do spend as much effort on magical rituals and walk around town in my robes.
I just find this particular act of public protest quite a phenomenon and oddly magical in a very strange way. It's almost funny when I put the filter of myth over it...
Imagine this, local village youths are unable to fight the great ruler of their land because the ruler has soldiers to enforce his will. So, one day, they bring out all the little idols of their gods and line them up where the king can see them and have the little idols fight their battles on their behalf...
Only in Singapore can something like this happen. And people say this country is dead boring. :D
Posts
