Content deleted Content added
Gabriel Yuji (talk | contribs) m splitting lead into two paragraphs |
|||
Line 32:
==Political satire==
''I Not Stupid'' criticises many aspects of modern [[Culture of Singapore|Singaporean culture]], including [[streaming (education)|streaming]] in the [[Education in Singapore|education system]], deference to authority, and sociocultural [[stereotypes]]. The film can be read as an allegory for Singaporean society — the pampered protagonist and [[narrator]], Terry, is an "[[everyman]];"<ref name="newstraits"/> deferent and coddled, with a domineering mother and affluent father.<ref name="review1"/> Terry's intellectual failings lead him to be placed in the inferior EM3 stream, which becomes the driving force behind the storyline. The subsequent [[social stigma|stigma]] placed upon the narrator illustrates how the Singaporean education system promotes [[academic elitism]], with students in lower streams looked down upon as inferior, making it harder for them to catch up and realise their potential (see [[
Terry's mother, Mrs. Khoo, is a "thinly veiled stand-in for the [Singapore] government", whose "mother-knows-best" mentality is well-meaning, but strips her children of their freedom.<ref name="review1"/> She demands total obedience, and her repeated lines "Do you know how lucky you are to have a good and responsible mother?" and "This is all for your own good" parody the [[Government of Singapore|Singapore government's]] efforts to convince Singaporeans that government policies and actions is in the best interests of the nation.<ref name="uhde">Ciecko, Anne Tereska; Uhde, Jan and Uhde, Yvnone Ng (2006). Contemporary Asian Cinema. New York: Berg. pp. "Singapore: Developments, Challenges and Projections", pp. 81–82. ISBN 1-84520-237-6.</ref><ref name="review1"/><ref name="review3"/><ref name="resist">Kenneth Paul Tan (2008), "Cinema and Television in Singapore", Brill Publishers, pg 164-168.</ref> Mrs. Khoo also uses her position of power to buy off rebellion in her charges with gifts and bribes, in a pointed criticism of the government's social policies.<ref name="review1"/><ref name="resist"/> Other characters in the film comment on this relationship — for instance, in one scene, Mr. Liu states that "it is difficult to catch fish in Singapore, because fish in Singapore are like Singaporeans; they'll never open their mouths", poking fun at the Singaporean trait of obedience and respect for authority.<ref name="review3"/>
| |||