Monday, April 9, 2012

Not kiasu enough

Today (or tonight to be exact), I blog about Mr Kiasu again. Why? How often to we get locally produced comics that are culturally relevant? Chew On It!, Sir Fong Adventures, Resident Tourist etc. Quite a number. But how many of these comics directly poke fun at our local culture?

And that is what Mr Kiasu is truly about, thematically. It is about the quirks of our culture. Lee Kiasu, the title character (Mr Lee, not Mr Kiasu), is the average Singaporean, in a much more simpler and less stressful time in Singapore. He has his flaws, his ugliness, as well as his positive traits.

Given how stressful society is today, Mr Kiasu presents a more innocent time, where locals do not have to worry about "foreign invasions", or make such a big fuss over every little mistake our politicians make. A time when The Straits Times brand has not been sullied by STOMP, and citizens could go about with more privacy.

You know, when you see the things going on at STOMP, what do you think? I question: Who made Singapore more hostile to live in? Some unruly foreigners? No doubt. Some ugly Singaporeans? What a shame. What a shame indeed.

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