STAYING ‘WOKE’: INDEPENDENT CINEMA AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

In Singapore’s cultural hegemony, social inequalities can be invisible, and marginalized communities are relegated to a position of subalternity. Independent cinema, as a counterhegemonic tool, can challenge the status quo and give voices to social groups facing oppression by hegemonic norms. However, with Singapore’s cultural policies, cinema faces strict regulation and censorship and are thus stifled. While globalization has led to a liberalism in Singapore’s stance on culture, cinema, however, remains as one domain of culture that continues to be repressed. In today’s digital era, the spread of ‘woke’ culture online has brought about a new peak in social awareness. The growing receptivity of society to alternate narratives coupled with the advent of digital medias has seen a shift in the forms of independent cinema. Using a qualitative-inductive study, this thesis explores how local independent filmmakers navigate hegemonic structures in a contemporary digital era, and posits that independent cinema is one of the strongest mechanisms to overcome cultural hegemony in Singapore and to achieve social justice today.