2 Mar 2005
A Singaporean Star?
The link below contains language of a sexual nature yet no images. A recent article in the telegraph asked if anyone could name a famous Singaporean star. I believe I have found one. However I am not so sure that all Singaporeans would agree or like to be associated with such activity. Or that the population of planet earth would relate to pornography as art. The link itself is clean of pornographic images and refers to a documantary made about Annabel Chong. Are Singaporeans outraged by her transgression of Singapore's Elizabethan value system?
The reason I am not linking to the site is that I am aware that some teachers have and do use this site for GP discussion. I also do not want a deluge of surfers looking for naughty images.
ReplyDeleteLink to wikipedia then. How many Singaporeans do you know have a wikipedia page with their name on it?
ReplyDeleteAnnabel Chong is old hat already...
ReplyDeleteI second bunnybear. That particular piece of news is at least five years old by now. You can do better than that!
ReplyDeleteThat Jesus story is over 2005 years old, I for one wish people would stop going on about him to. I mean get over it.
ReplyDeleteOk then do Singaporean's have Elizabethan values? Or is Annabel just a big embarrassment then in a society that has legalised prostitution? Or is it that it's ok for non-Singaporeans to work in the sex trade but not Singaporeans?
So Bunnybear & AcidFlask name one other Famous Singaporean star. Go on name one? Or should I say name Him?
ReplyDeleteVictorian, more like. Victorian morality was hypocritical while being puritan.
ReplyDeletehaha....Fann Wong famous in the West...hope you were tongue in cheek then....but seriously, I would say the most famous person from Singapore would be of course Lee 'Harry' Kuan Yew and most unfortunately next would be Annabel.
ReplyDeleteWhile AC indeed is abusing herself, she could be considered a martyr of sorts, a rebel against conventions of a society which pushed her to do such a thing (rather than for money or coercion like most others in the trade), although I seriously don't think hers is the type of martydom one should emulate...if we have to compare her to the doctrine of Christianity I think we should compare her with Mary Magdalene or St Theresa rather than Jesus.
The UK is Victorian? Perhaps some members of the Moral Minority rail still, but if nothing else, the law is not hypocritical (re: porn and prostitution).
ReplyDeleteAbusing herself? She retired from porn long ago.
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ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of popular culture so I can't answer your question to any degree of satisfaction. But it may interest you that Royston Tan's 15 is currently showing in major US cities (and I believe in the UK as well). Who knows what the future may bring?
ReplyDeletePerhaps you forget that Annabel's claim to fame was not so much that she became active in the sex industry, but that she broke some record for having some ridiculous number of men serviced in twenty-four hour period. It is not so much the fact that Annabel became a prostitute but that she made a big fuss over establishing a world record for something that even regular customers of prostitutes may find vulgar and obscene.
To investigate the alternative hypothesis that she is famous for merely being a porn star, rather I *will* let you know, though, if during my study break three weeks from now, I visit the local porn store and see Annabel Chong videos for rent. If she can be found in a porn shop in East Central Illinois, then I suppose she can be found pretty much anywhere.
As for Jesus... well, are you trying to imply that J. H. Christ has been screwing people over since before 1 BC? That's kind of hard to believe, since most historians would reckon that he was only three years old or so then. And he certainly did not make videos of himself doing it and sell his life story to a news network for a not inconsiderable sum. But I will let other more knowledgable persons evangelize his story. After all, one has to be careful in these matters. Racy and religion are touchy topics in Singapore. Or was that race and religion? Oh well, it's just one letter's difference.
Kit Chan?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kitchan.com/
As for Annabel Chong, Japan is the self-proclaimed number one nation in porn so let me find out how famous she really is. Over here in Sendai there's a video rental shop that claims to have the largest collection of AV (Adult Video) in the entire northeastern region of Honshu.
It reminds me of a night of comedy I attended in Singapore. A group of Canadians were doing stand-up improvised routines. It was a packed house, full of Singaporean couples and a few angmoh.
ReplyDeleteThe idea was that the comedians would call out for the audience to give them a name or an idea and then the comedian would somehow build it into their routine.
It was going really well until, a male comedian asked for the name of someone famous. With an audience full of Singaporeans, a local stars name was called out.
I won't use the name because of what was said next.
The stage went dead, silent and the comedians looked at one other for a while until the male comedian who had put out the request replied. "Who the f**k is that?"
My Singaporean friend and I were on the floor with laughter.
knights,
ReplyDeleteI think I did hear of Chao Tzee Cheng before I arrived in Singapore.
The person I thought you might mention would be PCK after his appearance on the "Amazing Race" a few years ago.
Well, Singaporean celebrities are hardly known worldwide. Hell, even American B grade movie actors might not be famous worldwide.
ReplyDeleteThere is a reason why Annabel is more famous than the other names put forward, and that is because her 'work' provoked worldwide (read: western) morbid interest. I do not doubt that there are Singaporeans who are 'more deserving' to be famous, but ultimately she succeeded in grabbing the attention with her infamous world's 1st GB.
ReplyDeleteAsk any general populace to name who won an Oscar and who won a Nobel Price and more people will have the answer to the former than the latter. Why are actors/actresses more famous than more deserving politicians/academics?
Artistes such as KitChan or Fann Wong may be 'great' to us but they are just 'another foreign singer', ditto to Walter Woon and Prof Chao.
Unfortunately, pornography definitely arouses* more interest than specific topics such as politics..
*Pun not intended
It is strange how people especially Singaporeans are so harsh towards Annabel Chong.
ReplyDeleteWhile she might be a porn star that broke a world record and made everyone stood up and realized what a stud she was, she was also condemned by the establishment and Singaporeans for something which we do not think we want to be associated with. I guess that speaks volumes about the hypocritical double standards that some Singaporeans apply. It's ok for Singaporeans to surf porn and wank off to smut produced by other countries so long as they are not girls from our own motherland.
Yes, she might have been yesterday news but at least she managed to do what she wanted to do and believed in. That's more than what some Singaporeans can say truthfully about their lives.
Ironically, all the abusive Singaporeans who actually dissed her (I would dare guess) never ever watched her documentary on what she went through to become the person she was. I admit her courage, antics and guts for doing what she believes in and saying "f***" you to the system and to those who judged her.
Now that she is American (last I heard) I wish her the very best. She does not need to be judged by high falutin Singaporeans who sees the world in the well.
From "A Proud Annabel Closet Fan"