1/ I'm working on an article abt SG, and I thought I'd think aloud abt a common sore point: "Free speech." We supposedly don't have it.
2/ It's complex, obviously. I think it's roughly as complex as gun control in America. (Aside: this is REALLY tough ground to navigate...)
3/ I'm oversimplifying, but: the reality of guns in the USA are to SGeans ROUGHLY what the reality of "censorship" is in SG to USians
4/ Super colloquially: West think it's crazy SGeans don't have freedom of speech. SGeans think it's mad that little US kids are shot+killed
5/ Different humans with different histories and different contexts have different ideas about what sort of freedoms is optimal for them.
6/ What I want to think abt is: What IS the state of censorship in SG? What can you not say? Does it matter? What do I think? How do I feel?
7/ PERSONALLY, I don't think I've ever felt censored. I've criticized the Government, etc multiple times. But my experience is limited, ofc.
8/ I think in general, "censorship" in SG is abt sensitivity towards ... the sensitive, impressionable, naive. The State-as-Daddy, sure.
9/ I do appreciate the frustrations of, say, LGBT filmmakers who have to deal with the cruel idea that "SG is not ready for gays".
10/ My POV: The idea that artists should have total freedom is idealistic + possibly even counter-productive. Censorship should inspire art!
11/ Art (IMHO) should be a function of both the artist's perspective and the context she's embedded in. Prosocial art, at least.
