I'll list out some problems a cast of regular Singaporeans like you and me can potentially face as well:

1. Mother expecting you to be a lawyer instead of letting you pursue a career you like.

2. High parental expectations, and a fear of letting them down.

3. Wanting to move out to get your own space

Not to mention Sukki's fear of not being accepted by her friends when she was confronted by Vinny and Christina, and Nicole's "practical" relationship with her boyfriend and business partner Alson.

Relatable right?

Those are some themes that run through the eight episodes of Singapore Social.

But here are the reactions to the reality show on Twitter.

Singapore Social is such a great show, lots of relatable moments like going prawning with an Hermes bag, my mother buying me jewellery because I decided to go to school and that time when I had to fly all the way to LA to tell a guy I "like like" him hahas luvs it!!!!!!!!

— Delfina Utomo (@anniefled) November 23, 2019

https://twitter.com/joannasuyin/status/1197860610400116736

"singapore social" with born rich family and an american accent? am i living in the same god damn country or am i living in poverty? wine as a norm and not kopi o? how did this even get approved? pretentious, privileged and honestly, an embarrassment.

— doda (@dodziiee) November 25, 2019

So many issues with Singapore Social but my main one is this: Why isn't anyone talking with a Singaporean accent ???

— Darcel (@DarcelAnastasia) November 22, 2019

Ye gods. There's something on Netflix called #SingaporeSocial . 5 mins and I had enough of the most vacuous self-absorbed individuals ever to grace the screen. It's a collection of cliches.

— mirax (@miraxpath) November 23, 2019

https://twitter.com/soma1201/status/1198225832298213376

Mainly the reactions revolve around the show being unrecognisable to the viewers who actually live here.

So, if some of the themes are relevant to the Singaporean psyche, why do so many think the show is so woefully out of touch?

"We actually met at, and I'm not name dropping, Elton John's Oscar party"

The problem is that while some themes might be relatable in silo, the visuals and sounds seem almost jarringly foreign.

It is in essence a world that rich people experience, something that mere plebs like us who work a nine-to-five for others can't even begin to fathom (perhaps this is the reason why most of us can't relate to the show?)

So basically there are five to six-ish main characters, who are in the stage of life where love, career and parents are weighing heavy on their mind.

This leads to anxiety, tears, and a lot of talking head moments where they wear the exact same clothes through all eight episodes.

While there are rather Singaporean scenes like when Mae, who is reportedly Jackie Chan's goddaughter, and Vinny goes prawning, those feel somewhat tacked on.

And for any of the reviewers who have taken aim at the poor representation of Singapore life, honestly what did you expect?

Here's the trailer.

Cool.

And the production house behind Singapore Social, Love Productions USA, has a track record of these type of vapid, demographically tone-deaf content.

Feels almost cut and paste actually.

Which is ironic considering the motif of their shows appear to be breaking free from tradition and being unique and individualistic.

Here are some of the criticisms.

Sounds familiar. As are the IMDB scores.

Also here's a sample of an IMDB review for the Singapore reality show.

So if you think this show is vapid, amplifies problems by cutting to shocked faces taken completely out of context, and switches music at rather inopportune times to trick viewers into feeling stakes that aren't there, yeah that's pretty much what reality television is.

And honestly, if the lack of Singaporean accents, or ostentatious wealth makes you feel like giving up on the show before it starts, go right ahead.

This is not must-see TV. It's just some dumb entertainment.

But if you like some brainless television, which people are entitled to, wha not bad ah this one.

Positives and negatives based on what the show is

Here are some positives or just flat out enjoyable moments of the show, keeping in mind that it is a reality show.

Spoilers ahead.

1. This scene that kicks off the whole show

This is a real sink or swim moment, this one line lets you know, "Hey, this where we gonna be at, if this is too much for you, please feel free to browse Netflix's extensive video library".

2. One of the most relatable squabbles of all time

One of the most surreal fights came when Sukki and Christina, Vinny's close friend, had a passive-aggressive chat on the aptitude of Sukki as a burlesque dancer.

And the reaction.

Hahahahahah.

Which was so detached from what we personally know of life in Singapore that it circles back from feelings of bored detachment to just pure guttural entertainment.

3. Anytime the song Mustafa comes on

Yeah cherish those moments, quite a few number of times actually.

4. Vinny on the set while Tabitha films her music video.

This particular payoff is in some ways the culmination of both Vinny and Tabitha's arc.

Vinny had initially offered to direct Tabitha's music video but, due to questions of experience and time constraints, was ultimately not chosen.

The constant cuts to Vinny almost scoffing at the art direction of the music video, and Christina hyping him up while the actual music video is being filmed was real funny to me.

He also admits his poor time management skills might get in the way of shoots like this. Which is quite a candid assessment of weakness.

5. Still beef at the end

So with any narrative arc, one might expect some closure at the end. Not for Singapore Social.

Two recurring issues stem from Nara, Nicole's best friend, disapproving of her boyfriend Alson, and Christina's beef with Sukki's artistic merit.

Here is Nara talking shit about Nicole's boyfriend in episode two.

Here is Nara still disapproving of Alson in the last episode, nine minutes from the end of the episode.

Also Nara has a tattoo of Nicole on her arm.

After the aforementioned burlesque dancer fight in episode five, one might expect the two to reconcile at the end, with perhaps Christina acknowledging Sukki's dancing aptitude, but nope! Here's what she had to say.

Oh no.

Here are the negatives within the constraints of the genre

So while we have touched on genuine cultural issues, and quality issues compared to general works, here are some problems within the reality show sphere.

Go faster, go father.

Haha father.

Terrible audio at times

While reality shows are often not the best indicator of quality, the audio at times bordered on unwatchable/ listenable.

Here's an example.

From the, "Did he ever give an explanation..." onwards, the audio does a complete 180.

Damn bad.

Here's another one. Pay attention to when Vinny says "enough".

It's bad.

Text messaging looks cheesy and forced

Damn.

Better works ahead

All in all, issues like representation, or the use of the word Singapore in a show that doesn't appear to reflect anything close to the life of normal Singaporeans are valid concerns.

Perhaps the next reality show, if there were to be one, can take these considerations during casting or even conceptualisation.

To view this as a failure for Singapore-based productions is hyperbolic, and gives too much credit to a show that doesn't appear to have mastered sound mixing, let alone possess lofty goals of cultural representation.

So the hope is this leads to a better showing from another reality show next time.

Or you can just watch the original Singapore Social.

The OG Singapore Social. pic.twitter.com/NVFsLsBaIQ

— Pravin Nayar (@PVintageftw) November 26, 2019

Image from Netflix/ Imdb

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