志异 Draft by Drama box July 2014 (english) | Page 28

with the shameless militarism on
display in Ah Boys to Men, I was
infinitely more saddened by the
Singaporeans in the cinema who
enthusiastically agreed with the
militarism to which each male
citizen in the state is subjected.
It made me sick that the fears of
the people, which Neo grasped so
acutely in his early films, could be
so easily exploited and perverted
into a form of self-oppression. What
is it in us that crave and actively
seek out our own oppression? Why
do we perversely take comfort
in and enjoy our suffering? The
answer to me is not some form
of masochism. All I could hear in
the laughter and applause of the
audience was its insecurity and
self-loathing.

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