Why being a film fan in singapore kinda sucks...
I’ve been living in Singapore since 2008 and it’s a great place. The public transport and infrastructure are really good. The people for the most part are great, the streets are clean and safe and life here is pretty great; however, it kinda sucks if you’re a film fan in Singapore. One reason why it sucks to be a film fan here is due to the IMDA a.k.a. Info-communications Media Development Authority. The IMDA decide what films are released here and they basically decide who can see it. This means tons of great films don’t get a release here, get released really late in cinemas, only get released on video on demand or they get little to no distribution and get slapped with an R21 rating for no reason.
For example the heist thriller American Animals got released in June of last year two weeks after the American wide release. It was released in three cinemas in Singapore at irregular timings and was given the age rating of M18 for the stupidest of reasons - “Coarse Language”. Yeah, you heard correctly, a film was given the age rating of M18 because of swear words. In England, this film is a 15+ in Australia it's a 13+. This means 13 year olds are allowed to see a film in New Zealand that a 17 year old in Singapore can’t. Let that sink in for a second. Films such as The Favourite (15+ in England), Love Simon (pg-13 everywhere but Singapore) and many more have been given an R21 age rating due to LGBT characters showing up in the films. This is frustrating as there are some great films I missed due to this very dated age rating system.
Furthermore Love Simon, a rom-com that got a PG-13 pretty much everywhere but over here in Singapore, is R21, rated higher than The Shape of Water, Overlord , both Deadpool films, The House That Jack Built, Hereditary... I could literally go on forever. Films like Love Simon and The Favourite have the same age rating as the new Suspira remake, Gaspar Noe’s Climax, Antichrist and A Clockwork Orange. In Singapore if you are a permanent resident or a citizen you must join the army at 18. This means you can fire a gun, drive tanks, literally learn to kill and potentially fight a war before you can see The Favourite in cinemas. In addition to this, tons of great films are M18 for no reason even though they are NC16 in other places, films like Widows, A Private War, Deadpool and such. The reason this in particular infuriates me is because I turned 16 in May of 2018 and was very excited as that meant I could see tons more films in cinemas but sadly not because most of the films that are actually good are 18. In addition to this, it's very rare we get a small indie film or an art house film or movie that tackles somewhat tough topics released in cinemas. It's even rarer that it’s released in a big chain cinema like Golden Village or Shaw Cinemas and it's even rarer if that film is not an 18 and even rarer still if it’s released on time. For example Blackkklansman was released in the US August 14, it came out in Singapore October 18th, with an NC16 rating in one cinema (The Projector) being shown at a bunch of odd timings. 2 weeks before its itunes release. Yep.
Most big film fans enjoy collecting films via iTunes and buying blu-rays and dvds. Sadly, this is pretty difficult here. The iTunes selection here is very limited and films come out almost five months after the cinema release which is three months later than the American iTunes store. If you want to own a physical copy - well that's gonna cost you. In Singapore, the average Blu-ray in store will cost you twice as much as buying it the US. The average price of a blu-ray in America is $20 here it's around $40. A 4K blu ray is $40 in america but would cost you around $60 her in good old Singapore. To add some more pain to the punch there is only one shop that sells blu-Rays, a chain brand called Poh-Kim Videos. Who not only get their products late, but also charge high prices and order the extra pricy versions of films to make sure they milk every single dollar out of their already struggling customers.
So in conclusion being a film fan in Singapore kinda sucks because even though we have plenty of cinemas, the awful age rating system and a lack of interest in smaller films from the general public as well as government restriction makes it hard to keep accessing the very best of film that is out there.
For example the heist thriller American Animals got released in June of last year two weeks after the American wide release. It was released in three cinemas in Singapore at irregular timings and was given the age rating of M18 for the stupidest of reasons - “Coarse Language”. Yeah, you heard correctly, a film was given the age rating of M18 because of swear words. In England, this film is a 15+ in Australia it's a 13+. This means 13 year olds are allowed to see a film in New Zealand that a 17 year old in Singapore can’t. Let that sink in for a second. Films such as The Favourite (15+ in England), Love Simon (pg-13 everywhere but Singapore) and many more have been given an R21 age rating due to LGBT characters showing up in the films. This is frustrating as there are some great films I missed due to this very dated age rating system.
Furthermore Love Simon, a rom-com that got a PG-13 pretty much everywhere but over here in Singapore, is R21, rated higher than The Shape of Water, Overlord , both Deadpool films, The House That Jack Built, Hereditary... I could literally go on forever. Films like Love Simon and The Favourite have the same age rating as the new Suspira remake, Gaspar Noe’s Climax, Antichrist and A Clockwork Orange. In Singapore if you are a permanent resident or a citizen you must join the army at 18. This means you can fire a gun, drive tanks, literally learn to kill and potentially fight a war before you can see The Favourite in cinemas. In addition to this, tons of great films are M18 for no reason even though they are NC16 in other places, films like Widows, A Private War, Deadpool and such. The reason this in particular infuriates me is because I turned 16 in May of 2018 and was very excited as that meant I could see tons more films in cinemas but sadly not because most of the films that are actually good are 18. In addition to this, it's very rare we get a small indie film or an art house film or movie that tackles somewhat tough topics released in cinemas. It's even rarer that it’s released in a big chain cinema like Golden Village or Shaw Cinemas and it's even rarer if that film is not an 18 and even rarer still if it’s released on time. For example Blackkklansman was released in the US August 14, it came out in Singapore October 18th, with an NC16 rating in one cinema (The Projector) being shown at a bunch of odd timings. 2 weeks before its itunes release. Yep.
Most big film fans enjoy collecting films via iTunes and buying blu-rays and dvds. Sadly, this is pretty difficult here. The iTunes selection here is very limited and films come out almost five months after the cinema release which is three months later than the American iTunes store. If you want to own a physical copy - well that's gonna cost you. In Singapore, the average Blu-ray in store will cost you twice as much as buying it the US. The average price of a blu-ray in America is $20 here it's around $40. A 4K blu ray is $40 in america but would cost you around $60 her in good old Singapore. To add some more pain to the punch there is only one shop that sells blu-Rays, a chain brand called Poh-Kim Videos. Who not only get their products late, but also charge high prices and order the extra pricy versions of films to make sure they milk every single dollar out of their already struggling customers.
So in conclusion being a film fan in Singapore kinda sucks because even though we have plenty of cinemas, the awful age rating system and a lack of interest in smaller films from the general public as well as government restriction makes it hard to keep accessing the very best of film that is out there.