Open AccessSingapore ‘A Land Imagined’: Rising Seas, Land Reclamation and the Tropical Film-Noir City
Author(s) -
Anita Lundberg,
Jasmin Thamima Peer
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
etropic
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.184
H-Index - 3
ISSN - 1448-2940
DOI - 10.25120/etropic.19.2.2020.3739
Subject(s) - land reclamation , dream , southeast asia , geography , global south , reputation , the imaginary , sociology , ethnology , economic geography , social science , archaeology , psychology , neuroscience , psychotherapist , biology
Sea level rise due to climate change is predicted to be higher in the Tropics. As a low-lying, highly urbanised island near the equator, Singapore is taking an active response to this problem, including through large land reclamation projects. Incorporating both environmental and aesthetic elements, these projects also serve to bolster Singapore’s reputation as a shining example of a global city, a leading arts centre in Southeast Asia, and an economic hub to the world. This paper draws attention to urban development through an ethnographic reading of Yeo Siew Hua’s film A Land Imagined. A Singaporean tropical-noir mystery thriller, the film follows the rhizomatic path of a police investigator and his partner as they attempt to solve the disappearance of two foreign labourers. Interwoven within the film is a critique of Singapore’s treatment of migrant workers as it constructs the imaginary of the ‘Singapore Dream’.