2005-02-22 10:35:36Richard Chua
Mother.Death - The Fun Stage Fringe 05
Parents have the responsibility to bring up a child, simply because he/she hasn't achieved independence. How about turtles? Baby turtles are usually left out in the cold to fight for their own survival upon leaving the comforts of their egg shells. Does mother turtle has a responsibility to cultivate a baby turtle's independence? How do baby turtles face up to the potential dangers in the sea, and yet grow into adulthood? Debating on a turtle's parenting responsibility seems banal, but the very existence of an "irresponsible" mother turtle undermines maternity. Similarly, if there are "irresponsible" mothers in our midst, do we, as sons and daughters, have a responsibility towards them? Turtles have no qualms about that, I might not know.
The Fun Stage's Mother.Death's timely arrival as a piece of admonishment could have provided insights into maternity, on being a mother and on being a woman, but it didn't. The mother in the play is a common archetype. The son, too, represents quite a number of boys in this country (or elsewhere) having to grow up in a family where homosexuality is non-existent, by choice and denial. As trite as the play was in its theme, it nonetheless served as a reminder to Singaporeans that there might be a gay son (or lesbian daughter) in the family that will potentially question a typical family value of having a "right kind of life" that involves heterosexual marriage.
That, in itself, has Benny and Roy's arms filled with many complex issues.
Mother.Death could be the mother's story, and also the son's. It came to me more as a mother's journey into accepting (or the rejection) of her son's homosexuality than a son's wish for his mother's acceptance of his sexuality. But, whether the mother or the son come to a fulfilment is not important. It is the psychological states the characters went through that matters.
Benny has set himself up with a 3-fold challenge with 3 different psychological cycles at play; the son's effort in trying to describe his mother (in the video clip), the self-delusional mother trying to find an answer for herself and the son who wants his mother's acceptance. Each psychological state is a vicious cycle on its own. At the end, Benny chose death as an avenue of escape for the mother, and the son in a state of perdition. Death seems to be a convenient way of getting one out of the cycle, but it definitely doesn't serve as a form of emancipation for both. The vicious cycles have the potential to be more poignant than what it is, given the family social construct. However, there wasn't clear indication of the society the family is set within, neither was the cultural history of the family - i.e. Asian, conservative, moral values etc. So far, the crucifix is the only object that makes up the family. Perhaps, if Benny would want to talk about religion, the crucifix in the video could be manipulated, or if the focus of the piece were on the characters' inner journey, more could be done to specific actions these characters would do to fill their own voids. Possibilities were laid out, but not explored. It was like a platter of critiques with no depth.
Death is too convenient for an ending. If I were to challenge the creators by putting death as not an option for freedom, would there be an alternative route the mother could take to get herself out of the situation? The mother might need to reflect on her existing values on family, religion and self identity. Family values vary among cultures. Homosexuality has its own history and politics. Every individual's perception on issues and matters varies according to one's own make-up, socialisation and understanding of life. These themes could be inter-woven into something larger than life, giving a critique on our status quo.
This critique could be a way to challenge the traditional Chinese mentality. (1)
Lets face it. Everything we do in life is meaningless in one way or another. but to find meaning in all these meaninglessness is itself a meaningful task. As what Nicole Kidman (as Virginia Woolf) said in The Hours; to live life is to look at life in the face. Accept it and put it away. That might be the real solution for the mother.
(1) I have problems with the traditional conservative Chinese mentality where raising a kid equates the kid looking after them in return when they are old. This mentality is usually tagged to money, the provision of 16 years of education in return for a stream of monetary support when the son/daughter gains economic independence, a "good life" as it seems. Sons and daughters marry with kids that signifies posterity and bliss for their fathers/mothers-in-law.
The Fun Stage's Mother.Death's timely arrival as a piece of admonishment could have provided insights into maternity, on being a mother and on being a woman, but it didn't. The mother in the play is a common archetype. The son, too, represents quite a number of boys in this country (or elsewhere) having to grow up in a family where homosexuality is non-existent, by choice and denial. As trite as the play was in its theme, it nonetheless served as a reminder to Singaporeans that there might be a gay son (or lesbian daughter) in the family that will potentially question a typical family value of having a "right kind of life" that involves heterosexual marriage.
That, in itself, has Benny and Roy's arms filled with many complex issues.
Mother.Death could be the mother's story, and also the son's. It came to me more as a mother's journey into accepting (or the rejection) of her son's homosexuality than a son's wish for his mother's acceptance of his sexuality. But, whether the mother or the son come to a fulfilment is not important. It is the psychological states the characters went through that matters.
Benny has set himself up with a 3-fold challenge with 3 different psychological cycles at play; the son's effort in trying to describe his mother (in the video clip), the self-delusional mother trying to find an answer for herself and the son who wants his mother's acceptance. Each psychological state is a vicious cycle on its own. At the end, Benny chose death as an avenue of escape for the mother, and the son in a state of perdition. Death seems to be a convenient way of getting one out of the cycle, but it definitely doesn't serve as a form of emancipation for both. The vicious cycles have the potential to be more poignant than what it is, given the family social construct. However, there wasn't clear indication of the society the family is set within, neither was the cultural history of the family - i.e. Asian, conservative, moral values etc. So far, the crucifix is the only object that makes up the family. Perhaps, if Benny would want to talk about religion, the crucifix in the video could be manipulated, or if the focus of the piece were on the characters' inner journey, more could be done to specific actions these characters would do to fill their own voids. Possibilities were laid out, but not explored. It was like a platter of critiques with no depth.
Death is too convenient for an ending. If I were to challenge the creators by putting death as not an option for freedom, would there be an alternative route the mother could take to get herself out of the situation? The mother might need to reflect on her existing values on family, religion and self identity. Family values vary among cultures. Homosexuality has its own history and politics. Every individual's perception on issues and matters varies according to one's own make-up, socialisation and understanding of life. These themes could be inter-woven into something larger than life, giving a critique on our status quo.
This critique could be a way to challenge the traditional Chinese mentality. (1)
Lets face it. Everything we do in life is meaningless in one way or another. but to find meaning in all these meaninglessness is itself a meaningful task. As what Nicole Kidman (as Virginia Woolf) said in The Hours; to live life is to look at life in the face. Accept it and put it away. That might be the real solution for the mother.
(1) I have problems with the traditional conservative Chinese mentality where raising a kid equates the kid looking after them in return when they are old. This mentality is usually tagged to money, the provision of 16 years of education in return for a stream of monetary support when the son/daughter gains economic independence, a "good life" as it seems. Sons and daughters marry with kids that signifies posterity and bliss for their fathers/mothers-in-law.