Crazy Horse troupe performingAnother one comes and goes just as quick as it came. Crazy horse, the cabaret show, so famous in Paris but a ho-hum to Singaporeans, closed its doors in January, just more than a year after its opening.
You are in school and your friend runs up to you and say, "I watched Crazy Horse yesterday night, there were long queues and the show was a sell-out, and it was fantastic to watch." There are 2 loopholes in this scenairo. Firstly your friend will not be able to watch the show as he is under 18, and secondly the show has never been a sell-out (except for once).
Social Perspective
But why don't the Singaporeans watch these shows where in Paris, the show has been running for many years and recieve a good amount of viewership every day? Firstly, compare our museums and heritage sites in Singapore to those in Paris. I think our museums have more wax figures that visitors in them, but in Paris, just look at the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, etc. which are bustling with visitors every day. Another comparism is their shows we watch to those the Parisians watch. We watch almost meaningless shows like Singapore Idol, the Dance Floor, Project Superstar and other comedy and competition shows. What the Parisians watch is soap operas in which they really appreciate. It just goes to show the type of culture we apprecite and what the Parisans appreciate. It's not surprising that the two crazy horse situations are so different. I mean, if Singaporeans want to watch half-clad women dancing, they can just watch it at home on their computers. Technology is so advanced now that people can do everything at home, on their computers, compared to 30 years ago. Other examples of falied cabaret shows now is Neptune, which also closed not long ago. It was very popular in the 1970, where people didn't have computers and wanted entertainment, so they watch these shows, but the situation is so different now and people don't like to watch these shows, and the Neptune's viewership has dipped since the 70s. Singaporeans' mindsets are sterotyped- if you watch these shows, you are not appreciating culture but you are a 'dirty old man'.
Political Perspective
You are in school and your friend runs up to you and say, "I watched Crazy Horse yesterday night, there were long queues and the show was a sell-out, and it was fantastic to watch." There are 2 loopholes in this scenairo. Firstly your friend will not be able to watch the show as he is under 18, and secondly the show has never been a sell-out (except for once).
Social Perspective
But why don't the Singaporeans watch these shows where in Paris, the show has been running for many years and recieve a good amount of viewership every day? Firstly, compare our museums and heritage sites in Singapore to those in Paris. I think our museums have more wax figures that visitors in them, but in Paris, just look at the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, etc. which are bustling with visitors every day. Another comparism is their shows we watch to those the Parisians watch. We watch almost meaningless shows like Singapore Idol, the Dance Floor, Project Superstar and other comedy and competition shows. What the Parisians watch is soap operas in which they really appreciate. It just goes to show the type of culture we apprecite and what the Parisans appreciate. It's not surprising that the two crazy horse situations are so different. I mean, if Singaporeans want to watch half-clad women dancing, they can just watch it at home on their computers. Technology is so advanced now that people can do everything at home, on their computers, compared to 30 years ago. Other examples of falied cabaret shows now is Neptune, which also closed not long ago. It was very popular in the 1970, where people didn't have computers and wanted entertainment, so they watch these shows, but the situation is so different now and people don't like to watch these shows, and the Neptune's viewership has dipped since the 70s. Singaporeans' mindsets are sterotyped- if you watch these shows, you are not appreciating culture but you are a 'dirty old man'.
Political Perspective
What the Singapore government is trying to do is to promote this show to both Singaporeans and tourists.But it isn't doing much to help improve viewership of these shows and expose Singaporeans to appreciate new cultures. Firstly, the government has too many restrictions on the shows, for example banning advertisments on the Crazy Horse shows on bus stops and on newspapers, beside the Movies section in Life. The government also ins't doing anyhing to promote these shows. Maybe they could have a minister watch Crazy Horse so he can 'endorse' the show. This might abolish the steryotype that make Singaporeans scared to watch the show. As for tourists, why would they want to come here to watch a second-rate show where they can go to Paris and watch the real and original performance. The atmosphere here is also not 'conducive' and the theater will be almost empty. Tourists go to different countries because they want to see the countries' specialities, which for Singapore is the food, warm weather, shopping and our 'kiasu-ness', and not to watch these shows. Perhaps when the 2 IRs are open more people from Batam and other parts of the world will come here to gamble, and convinently enjoy some form of entertainment through the cabaret shows. But not for now.
Source:
Source:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/070125/5/singapore254709.html
1 comment:
I like your analysis on closure of crazy horse, even though i think the political perspective could be extended to why singapore banned the promotion of the show? a conservative culture for the locals but a wild and crazy side for the tourists? can this even be possible?
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