STAYING IN TOUCH WITH OLD FRIENDS?
YES, it'd be good to reach out, every once-in-a-while and connect.
It's nostalgic to take a walk down memory lane.
It's great to rekindle old ties.
FRIENDSHIPS may end, or drift apart if you allow them to do so.
It's therapeutic to embrace old friendships, and to know how our buddies are faring,
Are they happy?
Are they successful in their careers?
So first stop - SINGAPORE.
This close chum of mine lamented that this beautiful island has no place for baby boomers as they are deemed to be "has- beens". (As though people don't grow old).
Particularly during this dreadful time of recession.
He's in his 40s, and has been jobless on and off, for some years, despite being a true blue professional.
He has an MBA degree, is highly qualified, and had even enjoyed a stint on a corporate consultancy project at the NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE before.
He has had a glorious career way back then in the 70s and 80s, and a boon of experience to give.
But no - what a shame .....
Now into his 40s, he has arrived at this age deemed "too old" by any standard in sunny SINGAPORE.
What is this, man? Come on, have a heart!
He has to compete, tooth and nail, with the "springies" (younger generation).
He had been offered rock-bottom salaries, (take it or leave it), to add insult to injury.
He feels unwanted and bruised and left hanging on a string.
He even contemplates now of working part time as a taxi driver to supplement his income. Arghhh .... a MBA degree holder driving a taxi?
Is this what organized SINGAPORE is all about?
Treasuring the young, shunning or "dumping" the old?
YOUNGIES ARE SPRINGIES?
OLDIES ARE PASSE?
Hey, time does not stand still and everyone grows old sooner or later (akan datang).
YOUR TIME WILL COME.
Just wait!
Good grief.
Respect, respect.
Mature professionals should be treated the way you'd want your parents to be treated, yah?
Sigh .....
Just take a look at the Singapore's STARMAKING SYSTEMS and their promotional formulae.
SINGAPORE has only one gigantic film factory that monopolizes the churning of prime time soaps or dramas.
The FOCUS is primarily on YOUTH and EYE CANDIES.
You can't deny that it's strictly 100% "YOUNGIES ARE SPRINGIES" policy here.
Support media such as the 8 DAYS and I-WEEKLY single out their hot favorites in terms of SPRINGIES to grace their weekly COVERS.
It's always either FELICIA CHIN, JOANNE PEH, JESSICA LIU, JEANETTE AW (Management knighted her as the new AH JIE recently) or FANN WONG over and over again, for goodness sake. We adore these gals, but we can't be eating sardines everyday, right?
We are not talking about pret-a-porter, avant garde or high fashion stuff.
We want to be grounded with doses of reality.
We PREFER to know more about ZHENG GE PING or CHEW CHOR MENG and not the myriad of stale pretensions about FANN WONG (too much is an overkill. She's laughing all the way to the bank, thanks to you).
These beautiful SPRINGIES smile ever so joyfully for a few more years, and who knows - MAYBE their MANAGEMENT might get tired of them when their endorsement deals are on the wane, and then they might be unceremoniously tossed aside to make way for NEW FRESHIES.
It's a results-oriented world and shit happens all the time.
That's life!
Reality bites, and one can't really see beyond the crystal ball.
I say, we are bored with an overflux of "prettiness". We want content.
Where are the thespians such as XIANG YUN, HUANG BIREN or HONG HUI FANG?
Too old to grace 8 DAYS covers?
Go take a cue from the ever successful HONG KONG weekly tabloid MING PAO where mature stars still shine and grace their covers most of the time.
MING PAO is NOT a fashion magazine by POSITIONING and hopefully, neither is 8 DAYS or I-Weekly, so there!
The paparazzi there respects veteran actresses such as LIZA WANG, LOUISE LEE SI-KEI, NANCY SIT and DO DO CHENG, to cite a few - and more often than not, have them gracing the covers.
And HONG KONG TVB are relentlessly aggressive in their GLOBAL MARKETING (kudos to them), and DVDs of their DRAMA SERIES are available in every corner of the CHINATOWNS, all over the world.
SINGAPORE DRAMA SERIES? Well, you'll be lucky if you can unearth a couple of noteworthy titles in Malaysia - if you search hard enough. Unless you are talking about the pirated stuff.
It's a pity as some of the SINGAPORE drama series are wonderfully written - and can give HONG KONG TVB a run for their money, anytime.
It's obvious that the Station is trying to emulate HONG KONG TVB but still has to work harder at it.
Now, which star is bankable outside of SINGAPORE?
Except for making an advent into MALAYSIA collaborating with NTV 7, not everybody is appreciative of the SINGAPORE drama fare, or the attractive bevy of stars, except for Miss FANN WONG who garnered fame ironically through JACK NEO's movies, and not from the Station's dramas.
Hey, we don't buy magazines just for the pretty covers.
CONTENT is the name of the day.
To understand, take a look at the prime time slot- CHANNEL 5 and 8, during commercial breaks.
We took time to sit through some prime time soaps in SINGAPORE, but as compared to MALAYSIA, THAILAND and even CHINA, it's hard to espy any noteworthy brands of TVCs on air, during these breaks - but mostly, a juggernaut of the Station's own TRAILERS promoting forthcoming programs or dramas. Not enough advertisers?
Wonder what the Station is going to do to raise AD REVENUE during this troubled time?
The AD AGENCIES generally have LOWER budgets in the LION CITY for TVC productions, as compared to the allocated budgets in MALAYSIA and THAILAND.
Consumer spending? YES.
Of course, it has also to do with the SIZE of the respective MARKETS.
It is a case of chained reaction. You don't give me what I want, then there's no point to advertise in that particular channel.
Besides, it's a move to DIGITAL MARKETING these days!
What else would you expect?
The PRIMARY audience who watches the family drama series are mostly the aunties, uncles, mothers and grannies.
Would they appreciate watching TVCS targetted at the young audience?
Maybe so, maybe not.
And the talents?
Well, it would not be hard to guess that it is "spring chickens all the way"!
NO OFFENSE HERE, but we are treated to the same alluring faces all the time on prime time soaps and it is a darned case of "over-exposure", not that we do not appreciate eye candies.
Night after night, month after month, year after year, it is the same nubile dames or the next-big-thing dudes (DAI YANG TIAN for one) who preside over the goggle box, so much so that the viewer will not hesitate to switch over to the satellite channels for want of "fresh air".
The recently concluded LITTLE NONYA, a blockbuster which we all love, claimed to have broken all grounds and records in SINGAPORE (where else?}, bestowed heaps of compliments on their YOUNG LEADS but faintly ignored the thespians without which the show would not have made it to the top of the ranks.
Where are the REAL stars in that series such as LIN MEI JIAO, DARREN LIM, LI YIN ZHU, NG HUI, YAO WENG LONG, CYNTHIA KOH or XIANG YUN?
Don't they feel a tad left out in the publicity blitz directed at the SPRINGIES?
Wouldn't blame them for their "grief" to justify this act of insane ignorance.
While ignorance is bliss, it's a sensitive issue of RESPECT here, this one.
A case in point would be, as the CORE group of writers and producers/directors of the station are getting younger by demographics, it makes sound sense that these youngies are generally more comfortable working with actors of their age group.
My marketing guru used to teach me, before we embark on any project, to repeat this REMINDER over and over again in my mind -
WHERE IS THE MONEY COMING FROM?
Sound advice, lah.
Let us learn from this comely poem:
MAKE NEW FRIENDS, (newbie actors)
Keep the old, (established ones)
Those are silver,
THESE ARE GOLD.
New-made friendships
Like new wine,
AGE WILL MELLOW AND REFINE,
Friendships that have stood the test of time
TIME AND CHANGE - are surely best,
Brow may wrinkle,
Hair grow gray,
Friendship never knows decay.
For amongst old friends,
Tried and true,
Once more we our youth renew.
But old friends, alas, may die,
New friends must their place supply.
Cherish friendship in your breast,
New is good
but old is best,
MAKE NEW FRIENDS,
KEEP THE OLD,
Those are silver,
THESE ARE GOLD.
So actors, actresses, clerks, salesmen, professionals out there, you have a right to despair.
The world is always UNFAIR.
We've to learn to be solid and sordid.
BLAME IT ON THE BOSSA NOVA.
Listen to the 1963 upbeat song by EYDIE GORME and let your hair down.
Come on, de-stress yourself.
Move to the RHYTHM, dance to the BEAT!
Cheers, cheers, CHEERS!
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