SINGAPORE’S FUNNIEST CLASS: CLASS AND NATIONAL IDENTITY IN LOCAL ENGLISH SITCOMS, 1994-2000

Abstract

The 1990s were the heydays of local English sitcoms in Singapore, with the two major sitcoms at the time being Under One Roof (1995-2003) and Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd (1997-2007). This thesis explores the reasons why such sitcoms resonated with English-speaking Singaporean viewers as well as what narratives were being propagated or interrogated by these shows. By analysing the sitcom episodes aired between 1994 to 2000, this thesis argues that in the nascency of local English sitcom production, both sitcoms attempted to portray the aspirations and struggles of the growing English-speaking middle-class in Singapore. Under One Roof was Singapore’s first local sitcom that portrayed the economic and social aspirations of the Singaporean middle-class in the context of growing affluence and a society built upon ‘Shared Values’. Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd, on the other hand, functioned more as a socio-economic commentary on the Singaporean nouveau riche, critiquing those who flaunted their enjoyment of ‘Western’ culture as ‘upper-class’ and superior to the working class mannerisms of the ‘New Rich’, especially during a time where many within the Singaporean middle-class were realising the aspirations portrayed in Under One Roof. As different as these sitcoms were, the shift to a knowledge-based economy led the government to see the characters in these sitcoms as ‘Heartlanders’, Singaporeans who espoused the core traditional values of Singapore and focused on their own local interests, as opposed to ‘Cosmopolitans’, Singaporeans who had a more global vision in mind. In response to this, both these sitcoms demonstrated that amidst a shift towards a knowledge-based economy, ‘Heartlanders’ and ‘Cosmopolitans’ could work together to navigate an increasingly globalised Singapore.