NTU Sociological Society ♥

Monday, 21 July 2008

"There are no slogans, just the word ‘family’ at the end of this commercial shot by critically acclaimed Malaysian film-maker Yasmin Ahmad.

What happened to the beaming two-parent families and winsome little tykes that laughed and frolicked their way through previous commercials produced by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS)?

Singaporeans nowadays have less appetite for such overt messages, much less the didactic ‘Girl or boy, two is enough’ slogans of the 1970s family-planning advertisements, said a veteran of such campaigns.

‘People are more sophisticated now through travel and the Internet and we thought we could take a leaf from how film-makers use storytelling to engage audiences,’ said Mr Richard Tan, the ministry’s director of communications and international relations.

So is the Government’s new tack - a more reality- based soft-sell of the importance of family - working?

Going by responses on the Internet and interviews done by Insight Special, it would seem to be. Many found the commercial moving and not overly cloying."
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An excerpt from: The Straits Times
Clarissa Oon
July 12, 2008 Saturday

Contrary to the report, I think the new approach along with other existing approaches are going to remain ineffective. The ad may be something new and it may indeed be moving. But there has been no real solutions being offered to address the concerns that is occupying Singaporeans' minds. These concerns I think, include economic and social values.

We have baby bonuses and what not to address economic concerns. And despite ongoing complaints that such shemes are inadequate, I think the current policies are already sufficient. Demands for more financial assitance are fundamentally the consequences of Singaporeans wanting to buy the best of everything - the best education AND the best (read: most expensive) holiday resorts in Europe during school holidays. With this being said, the other area of concern that has not yet been addressed is social values.

By social values, I mean the perception that Singaporeans are lacking moral values. I think a significant number of Singaporeans are indeed worried about raising children in a world that is not compassionate. This however, is a false worry. Singaporeans are in fact, in no shortage of ethical conduct and pleasant behaviour. I still hear Thank Yous and Please. We are still smiling and we still say "Excuse Me" when alighting the crowded bus/MRT. But due to the mass amount of negative news (formal and informal) that we are bombarded with, we hold the belief that Singaporeans are lacking good character. To add on to this, we are also exposed to the idea of the demise of social values on a global scale. We often hear of humans killing or abusing one another. We hear of corrupt politicians and we hear of countries forging wars with one another. And of course, we have global warming. "The world and its inhabitants are sick and humans are to be blamed" seems to be embedded in our minds to the extent that we do not want to raise a child in this cruel world.

But are people really cruel and do Singaporeans really lack moral values? These are some of the concerns that need to be addressed if the Government wants to see the local population grow.

Labels: social issues