11:58 p.m. - 2003-02-25
A textual analysis of Forever Fever
ok this is my part of my group essay on Forever Fever, that singapore movie.
Maybe post more when my friends are finished with their parts. i just love academia and their fixation with abstraction, generalisation and bombastic words!
here goes:
Theme:
The emergence of western culture and values in a conservative Asian society (SG 1970s),
Taking into consideration the conventional narrative structure of Forever Fever, this paper attempts the use of Todorov�s (1977) narrative transitivity patterns to analyse the text.
According to The Media Book (2002), the pattern would be as follows:
� An initial state of equilibrium.
� Arrival of an opposing or disruptive force.
� A situation of disruption and disequilibrium.
� A unifying and equalizing force emerges.
� A quest follows.
� The opposing and unifying force meet.
� A state of disequilibrium as the battle takes place.
� Finally, a new equilibrium is established.
Initial state of equilibrium
Forever Fever starts off cheerfully with the opening scene in the local Emporium supermarket where the main character of the film, Ah Hock (played by Adrian Pang) works. In the first few minutes of the film, we are introduced to the period 1970s setting of the film, the character of Ah Hock and his life.
Thus, the initial state of equilibrium, a general atmosphere of �Asianness�, is emphasised:
Mrs. Chan (played by Koh Cheng Mun) dressed in a retro-fashioned blouse printed with flowery patterns, struds into the supermarket, under a retro-disco soundtrack.
Then, a sequence of shots proceeds, showing Ah Hock arranging stock items and goofing off alternately. Reminiscent of the 1970s era of the idolatry of Bruce Lee movies, Ah Hock is seen executing some martial arts stunts and screaming, in a direct reference to Bruce Lee. Later, Mrs. Chan attempts to matchmake him with her two daughters. Interestingly, this comical scene seems to reflect the old traditional trait of matchmaking daughters with the eligible bachelors one meets in one�s social circles.
The equilibrium state of �Asianness� and tradition is emphasised further by the scene in Ah Hock�s Chinatown home where he is reprimanded by his parents for being late for dinner. In this scene, the motif of the dinner table as a formal family gathering place is clearly shown, by the concentration of light on the table full of dishes and the various family members seated around it. As depicted in the film, Ah Hock�s parents insisted that he should be punctual as the whole family had to wait for him before they could begin the meal. They were also angry that he had detoured to the motorcycle shop to look at the motorcycles. As the tension during dinner escalates, Ah Hock leaves the dinner table and escapes to his room, where he admires a picture of a Harley Davidson motorcycle. This scene, taken as a whole, reflects a certain traditional and collectivistic attitude of the Asian family, culminating with Ah Hock�s fascination with the motorcycle, a product of the industrial West; perhaps a sign of his inner yearning to escape from a daily fixed-routine life.
In another scene near the start of the film, Ah Hock and his friends were walking towards the cinema theatre when they chanced upon some transvestites. In an ironical twist to the subplot of Leslie (Ah Hock�s brother) later, Ah Hock and his friends made rude jokes about the transvestites. It seems that there is a certain derogatory attitude that they have towards transvestites which is symptomatic of the xenophobic views toward alternative sexual identities, during that period.
Arrival of Opposing Forces
The arrival of opposing forces in Forever Fever is quite subtly the Triumph Harley Davidson motorcycle which Ah Hock desires, and the cinema film, �Forever Fever�, which he was dragged to watch by his friends.
The Harley Davidson motorcycle is a well-recognised icon of American freedom and individuality, quite an anti-thesis to traditional asian values like group-before-self, the hardworking ethic, etc.
While others might think that the brand of the motorcycle is just coincidental, it would be interesting to note that the effect in the film would be different, had the brand been some other, like Yamaha or Suzuki.
As shown in the film, owning the motorcycle becomes Ah Hock�s dream, and it is the primary motivating �force� driving (pun not intended) him to master dancing and win the dance competition held at Galaxy discotheque.
The film �Forever Fever�, that Ah Hock was dragged to watch, is a direct reference to the classic disco film, Saturday Night Fever, starring John Travolta. Clearly, the character in �Forever Fever�, a slick dancer, is modelled after Travolta�s character in Saturday Night Fever.
As depicted in the film, Ah Hock is initially repulsed and bored to sleep by the film about dancing, but ironically later, he begins to be impressed by the dance moves, the throbbing disco music, the spinning and morphing lights, such that he fantasises himself as a character in the cinema screen, strutting coolly to a disco soundtrack down the streets.
The film has clearly made a very big impression on him.
Looking out of our text and considering the social impact of the film, Saturday Night Fever, during the 70s era, we could draw parallels between the social influence of the film that glorified disco, and the influence of �Forever Fever� on Ah Hock. (His change in dressing, hairstyle, slang, etc�)
In terms of character opposition, the introduction of Richard (Pierre Png) and Julie (Anna-Belle Francis) could represent binary oppositions to the characters of Ah Hock and Mei (Madeline Tan).
In examining the characters, it is shown that the character of Richard, as an arrogant, snobby, rich man�s son, playboy type, contrasts with that of Ah Hock�s, which is hardworking, sensible, working-class and relatively more faithful.
Similarly, Julie�s character contrasts with Mei�s. Julie is a more sophisticated, higher class (rich), eurasian-looking character, whereas Mei belongs to the working class and she speaks more Singlish.
Situation of disruption
The situation of disruption is when Ah Hock decides to learn dancing and he proceeds to ask Mei to sign up for some dance lessons with him.
Previously, Ah Hock had commented that dancing is an �ah-gua activity�, meaning that he had regarded dancing as a dent on his masculinity. However, after watching �Forever Fever�, his attitude changed. And we see him undergo an image transformation, changing his clothes, his hairstyle, his shoes, and even his name (from Ah Hock to Tony, when he was asked his name by Julie in the dance studio).
The name Tony is significant, as this is the name of the John Travolta character in Saturday Night Fever. In addition, ironically, Ah Hock, who used to deride Leslie because he had changed his name (originally Ah Beng), now takes on the new name of Tony, and perhaps a new persona, the king of the dance floor.
This change in the name of Ah Hock could be a parallel to the adoption of English names by Singaporeans during and since that period, when people were receiving english education and western cultural products.
During this period of disruption, Ah Hock also developed a crush on Julie and his blossoming relationship with Mei was nipped.
Richard, by pulling strings with the supermarket management, caused Ah Hock to lose his job at the supermarket.
Alternative theme : Emancipation of Self
(and alternative ideology)
An alternative theme in the film Forever Fever could be that of the individual�s pursuit of emancipation and self-actualisation.
Considering the characters of Ah Hock and Leslie, we could view Ah Hock�s desire and course of journey (in terms of learning dancing and joining the competition) to get the motorcycle as his wish to get away from his drab life and to pursue his dreams; similarly, Leslie�s wish to become a woman is an act of self-actualisation.
However, as Ah Hock in the end manages to reach a positive closure but Leslie�s subplot on the other hand remains unresolved, we could speculate upon the underlying ideology of the film.
That is, our societal norms and taboos, the limits of testing the boundaries.
Leslie�s character, his ultimate wish to become a woman, is perhaps a position too extreme for the mainstream of society to take. Hence, in the end, there is some unresolved tension in the subplot of Leslie.
Perhaps, if the director of Forever Fever (Glen Gooi), were to create a positive closure for Leslie, the audience would not believe that such a situation is possible in Singapore.
