The fact that a film is merely an image projected onto a screen sharpens the distant feeling. We only view what the producers want us to see, everything edited to near perfection. Scenes that we view have been cut and edited many times over in a typical movie, with special effects added and whatnot. The present, in contrast to “postcards from Chinatown”, is described as a hazy, bleak blur filled with emptiness.įilms are much more detached and distant than stage performances. “An Empty Cinema” focuses more on the reminiscing of the past, which he likens to a cinematic film, “after the movie” “a paradise of images was last seen”. This can be interpreted as bitter mockery on the poet’s part, as the present might as well be a “dead” picture instead of an elaborate stage performance which is nothing but a sham, as represented in the lines “postcards of nothing that we really do” and “This is Singapore, although you don’t see the locals anywhere”. The authenticity of the past, consisting of some disarray which gave Chinatown some of its unique flavour, has no place in postcards which would naturally shoot the eye-catching present where scenes are shiny, polished and “picture perfect”, for the sole purpose of looking nice for its audience. Oftentimes, pictures on these postcards are “perfect” in the way that they only show what people want to see, and not the whole picture. Postcards show scenes of attraction, and typically, tourists purchase them as mementos. The title of the poem, “Postcards from Chinatown”, relates to how the place is fake, and in place merely as an attraction. The fact that this stage performance is a parallel to real life, shows that the unique heritage and culture of our past has been consumed by the performance of the present, and only hints of it are left in the shadows, practically nonexistent if one does not observe closely. This is similar to how the “spotlight” meaning our attention, is always focused on the attractions of Chinatown, while backstage and in the background, the past is hidden. Interestingly, in theatre, downstage centre is always well-lit, with spotlights focused on it, while in the background the lighting is dim and unspectacular. Of course, in a performance, the focus is always only on what is in the foreground, while items in the background are blended into the scene, out of the limelight. The emphasis on “background” insinuates that the past has not quite completely vanished yet, but it has just been pushed into the background and backstage, while the present takes centre stage. In the second stanza, “background” is repeated so many times while the poet is relating the past, “Background of the closed down emporium, background of the foreign worker outside an unopened shophouse”. The idea of dimensions on stage allows the poet to toy with the idea that the past is still lurking in the shadows of the present’s folly. Umbrellas for holding water” scoffs at this charlatan modern-day Chinatown, which is now nothing but a huge stage putting up a performance for tourists. The line in the third stanza, “Souvenir shops selling Chinese hats and fake pigtails stapled to the end. The poet using this metaphor to relate the present to a stage performance is making a mockery of the present, which has pulled people into its deception which is nothing more thana tourist attraction. This draws the audience into the show, momentarily allowing them to imbibe in the performance. The performance is acted out live in front of the audience, with the characters in close proximity to us and the actors’ stage presence being palpable and tactile. We Will Write a Custom Case Study Specificallyīut what can we draw from the poet assimilating the past to a stage performance? Firstly, stage performances provide the audience with a sense of intimacy as well as reality.
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