Renting videos and more recently, Digital Video Discs, or DVDs, has become increasingly more convenient for the average consumer. This week I managed to obtain a
DVD on Prisoner, a 1979 dramatisation of life in an all-women’s prison. While conditions in real life may not be as comfortable as portrayed on camera, it was the interaction among the various characters that piqued my interest. More than the harshness of the physical conditions, the harsh attitudes of both wardens and inmates towards one another convey clearly the intense struggle for survival, and the agony of having one’s liberty stripped away, layer by layer.
One enduring image is that of a rose bush in the prison garden. The camera zooms in on one yet unopened rose bud, drooping, clinging on to life, as the prison bully pummels the rose bush, and finally heartlessly plucks the bud off from its life source. The frailty of life, and the freedom it represents, is strangled amidst the cacophony of destruction, dissent, and despair amongst prison inmates. Another memorable scene is that of the reaction of the daughter of one of the inmates upon the latter’s release. To be rejected and viewed with utter disdain by one’s daughter is arguably one of the most painful experiences in life. This contrasts with how both inmates and wardens alike regarded her with respect, even affectionately addressing her as Mum.
Much of society fails to recognise the severity of incarcerating one of its members. While it is often said that one must pay of one’s mistakes, many of those convicted of wrongdoings in fact continue to pay their ‘debt’ to society even after completing their sentences. Would it be justifiable to steal from an elderly lady who is a day late in paying her rent if I have knowledge that she was previously convicted for a crime? In an island of zero tolerance of drug and human trafficking, terrorism, dissent, homosexuals, and whatever else conceivable, is there room for second chances and forgiveness? Or would the terrorising of such ‘undesirable elements’ be somehow more palatable?
It was not too long ago that bankrupts were viewed in Asian, and especially Singaporean society, as failures, felons, and somehow, sub-human. Yet creativity often stems from those who are willing to take risks, ridicule, and humiliation. It would be fair to assert that seeking public adulation is not the main motivation behind the actions of these precious few; that the public can be notoriously fickle is one of the values that those creating meaning in their lives often embody. Sim Wong Hoo, founder of Creative Technology, never relied on the support of government or his cynical countrymen in building his hi-tech empire, yet today he is lauded as one of Singapore’s successes.
Perhaps it would be appropriate at this juncture to mention the prisons of one’s mind; the limits we place upon ourselves as individuals, families, states and nations. This is not a call for people to set up businesses regardless of cost; rather it is one of liberty that begins with self. Indeed the genuine ‘holy war’ is not found in us against them arguments, but in the souls of each and every individual. What are the beliefs about others that limit us from growing in mutual understanding; and what are the beliefs about ourselves that limit us from increasing in self-acceptance? Perhaps total reconciliation of this planet that is at war with itself is unattainable for many generations to come, but is it no less worthwhile to emphasise the continued striving towards this goal to our children.
