Core Issues Still Unaddressed & Petition Letter to Ministers/MPs d.d. 28 Oct 2019
It has been 4 months since we emailed our concerns to the respective Ministers and Members of Parliament on 28 October, 2019.
We have yet to receive any form of acknowledgement or response from them nor from the Management of Our Tampines Hub.
However, we have noticed the following efforts:
1. Setting up of a collapsible partition system for cordoning off the area when PG13 movies are being screened.
2. Placing a single PG13 sign at the entrance to the cordoned-off space.
3. Providing film rating classifications on the main, if not only, physical listing of show screenings at the 2 big screens.
We note these efforts but we still remain deeply concerned over the following unaddressed issues:
1. MTVs containing questionable media content involving inappropriate sexual and sensual content are still being played on the many smaller TV screens proliferating the areas with heavy footfall of children and youth on Levels 1 and Basement.
2. Films being screened on the mega screen in the central atrium may carry the PG classification but may still have content not suitable for the general public. Media content in such a visible area targeted at the general public should be subject to a more rigorous and stringent criteria in terms of positive values and impact on the weakest and most impressionable of our community ie the children. We have made it clear from a community and research standpoint why this is important. ( You can read more on this in our letter to the Ministers and MPs below).
3. New reports of similar inappropriate media content being shown on screens in general public areas at other PA-managed hubs like Heartbeat @ Bedok.
As you have demonstrated courage in signing this petition, and placed your trust in us to submit it to the relevant authorities, we want to honour your trust by sharing the letter we sent to the authorities in full below.
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Minister S. Iswaran, Ministry for Communications and Information
Minister Grace Fu, Ministry for Culture, Community and Youth
Dear Ministers S. Iswaran and Grace Fu,
SCREENING OF INAPPROPRIATE MEDIA CONTENT AT COMMUNITY SPACES
We are writing as concerned parents with regards to the above issue, representing the views of other concerned members of the public.
2. As the issue pertains to the screening of movies and music television (MTV) with objectionable content (which comes under the purview of IMDA and ultimately MCI) in public spaces (which comes under the purview of PA and ultimately MCCY), we are writing to both Ministers concurrently.
3. Singapore has achieved astounding success in serving our multiracial and multireligious society through its effective and discerning management of our communal spaces through the decades. Community clubs and integrated community centres serve as inclusive, secular spaces for residents and visitors of different socio-economic backgrounds to interact and bond. The Ministries (MCCY and MCI) and its entities are primary gatekeepers of such socialisation and cohesion-forming spaces. In managing these spaces, all entities also ought to be cognizant of the most vulnerable members of society: the young.
Background
4. Since the opening of Our Tampines Hub (OTH) in 2017, the OTH has set a new benchmark for the quality of services and amenities offered to the community. As Singapore’s first and largest integrated community hub, it has been striving hard to provide dynamic and varied programming for all segments of the community to enjoy.
5. However, there has been one consistent issue with regards to OTH’s programming for the big screens at Festive and Central Plaza as well as the multiple small screens along walkways. Members of the public have been offering feedback to its management on the screening of sexualised and overly violent content on these screens. These have been met with a degree of responses – some were virtually ignored and received no reply from OTH management, some were told that OTH has to cater to all segments of the community and not only families, while others had their concerns simply dismissed with OTH’s representative claiming that obscenity is “subjective” and the space having to cater to "other segments of the community" .
6. Five days ago, Mrs Lee-Wong and her two young children walked past the big screen on their way home and were caught by surprise by a sexually-provocative scene of semi-nude women pole-dancing in an adult club. She tried the usual channels to contact the OTH Management about the inappropriate content - Public Service Centre counter, IMDA Hotline as well as OTH Facebook page but to no avail. Therefore, in order to ensure that issue gets addressed, she posted a petition on Change.org. (See Annex A)
7. To date, there are almost 1,800 signatories to the petition. Since her Facebook posts and petition, responses by other members of the public have only illuminated our shared concerns. Comments on the petition and other social media posts have revealed efforts by other individuals in bringing to OTH’s attention, their disagreement to the media content on OTH screens, as well as their recommendations for improvement (See Annex B) Nonetheless, when one Netizen shared that she had also caught a sexual scene being screened at Wisma Geylang Serai, we knew that this matter is not unique to OTH. We believe that many signatories to the petition are also not residents of Tampines but are equally anxious that they could face similar problems in their own neighbourhood hubs.
8. This is clearly an issue that needs to be addressed at a systemic level, with a clear framework being applied on all present and future neighbourhood hubs and communal spaces. We are therefore writing to you, hoping to offer some constructive thoughts on the matter.
Entertainment Media As Vehicles of Socialisation
9. Media and entertainment are popular mediums used to provide communal experiences. These experiences, in turn, shape one’s ideas of what is considered acceptable or even desirable. Hence, entertainment programming at public spaces effectively shapes the framework and lexicon of our societal values.
Screening PG / PG13 Rated Media Content in Communal Spaces
9. According to the Board of Censorship Classification Guidelines (See Annex C), films screened must be sensitive to community standards of morality and decency, as well as social norms acceptable to the general public. It also lists the “need to protect the young” as one of the principal considerations for the Board’s classification decisions. In particular, part 8B emphatically states that "for the lower ratings, particular attention will be paid to content that may be harmful to or unsuitable for the young." However, the IMDA also does not require any entity intending to publicly exhibit films classified as G, PG or PG13 to apply for any Film Exhibition Licence.
10. Critics of this initiative of ours have defended OTH’s screening policy on the basis that the films being screened are all rated as PG or PG 13. While OTH has not confirmed this, we assume this to be true in their favour. They therefore insist that the onus should fall on parents to steer their children away from content that they deem inappropriate. However, even if the OTH is clear from a licensing and permit standpoint, several issues arise.
11. Firstly, using film classifications as the sole criteria for media selections may be grossly inadequate when applied to public communal spaces. In the movie Kal Ho Naa Ho (PG), which Mrs Lee-Wong and her sons chanced upon, it contained inappropriate sexual content such as men at a strip club. The movie also touches on the theme of “homosexuality through innuendo and homosocial bonding” (see Wikipedia). We are therefore perturbed by the PG rating as, according to the Board of Censors Guidelines, “(f)ilms dealing with mature content (e.g. drug use, prostitution or homosexuality) would generally be classified as NC16, M18 or R21.” Therefore, if all films screened thus far were rated PG and PG13, then it seems that these lower ratings are still inadequate in protecting our impressionable young from being desensitized with sexualised content.
12. Secondly, the MTVs being screened do not seem to be subjected to any rating classification. Their sexually suggestive content are nonetheless inappropriate for viewing by young audiences.
Risking a Desensitization to Sex and Violence
13. Extensive research conducted has documented how exposure to sexual and violent content in media is positively correlated to negative impacts on youth (anyone 18 and under) (See Annex D). Children learn by observing, imitating, and adopting behaviors that are presented to them. Therefore, movies and MTVs have a great ability to leave strong impressions on children. Research outcomes clearly show that the longer and more frequent one is exposed to sexual and violent content in the media, the tolerance threshold for these decreases. The likelihood of the individual wanting to attempt the behaviours portrayed, and in riskier degree, also increases.
14. As adults and policymakers, it is imperative to ask ourselves what kinds of behaviour we want our youth to be socialised to. Be it sexual socialisation or desensitisation to violence, we have a duty and moral obligation to our young to be more sensitive, reflective and informed gatekeepers.
Sexuality Education and Socialization for the Young
15. The young today are constantly bombarded with conflicting messages about sexuality and their bodies. In this case, these sexualised media content presented in public spaces are in direct contradiction to the values espoused by schools and evidenced in MOE's sexuality education curricula (See Annex E). Several contradictions are worth mentioning here.
16. Firstly, MOE’s sexuality education curricula explicitly deems media portrayal of sexuality as highly problematic as they “contain a great deal of sexual content and little discussion of emotions, responsibilities, or risks associated with sexual activity (e.g. pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, responsible decision-making)." Yet, sexualised images are being screened freely and frequently at our neighbourhood hubs. With the government’s efforts in educating our young children on cyber wellness and media literacy, the constant bombardment of such media content and images in public spaces send a contradictory signal to the young - that such content can be consumed wholesale and uncritically.
17. Secondly, sexuality education only begins in the Upper Primary. Yet, communal spaces managed by the state are exposing children as young as toddlers to sexualised content under its current programming practices.
18. Thirdly, it is noteworthy that MOE issues consent forms to all parents before their children and teenagers are enrolled into the sexuality education programmes for the year. Parents are given the right to opt out. Yet, children at neighbourhood hubs may be exposed to sexualised media content without their parents’ presence, or even when they are with their parents or guardians, they would encounter these images at the precise moments when they do not anticipate.
19. This last point concerns a missed opportunity that we hope MCCY particularly can address. MOE has determined that a holistic approach to sexuality education must be adopted by all schools. Its Growing Years Programme "addresses the subject of human sexuality from a holistic perspective, involving the physical, emotional, social, and ethical aspects of sexuality." From MCCY’s perspective, the Ministry might also consider adopting a holistic approach towards strengthening community bonds. In developing its media programming to fulfil its mission, MCCY and its entities need to heed that communal experiences in a melting pot like our Singapore have to be respectful of the values held by various social groups. With OTH's close proximity to schools, two churches and a mosque, it is even more imperative to be respectful of religious and cultural sensitivities and be more mindful in protecting the young.
Moving Forward Together
20. Since the petition, we have observed some changes to the media content on OTH screens. All PG-13 movies being screened are labelled in its screening programme (See Annex F). However, because OTH has not publicly responded to our collective concerns, committed to make changes or even attribute these changes to such an objective, we would like to make sure that these positive developments continue and are sustained and replicated in all communal spaces.
21. Therefore, we would like to call upon you as the Ministers of MCCY and MCI to help us in our bid to provide our children and youth with a more healthy and wholesome entertainment at communal spaces such as OTH and Wisma Geylang Serai. The following are some of our recommendations and common suggestions we have extracted from Netizens through the petition (Annex B(iii)).
22. In essence, we are not insisting on a total ban or censorship. Instead, we are requesting that MCI, MCCY and its entities apply a framework to protect our young from premature sexualization and desensitization to violence. These can be used as a reference by other institutions. This framework should include, among other things, the following elements.
23. Firstly, screening policies for communal spaces should go beyond ensuring a mere compliance to legal requirements.
(i) For media content screened or aired in public spaces frequented by families and the young, especially in neighbourhood community spaces, is a PG and PG-13 adequate enough to protect the most vulnerable of minds? Or should a G rating be more appropriate?
(ii) The revised policy should also take into consideration research and recommendations by child development and mental health councils on appropriate media content and exposure guidelines, as well as adopt international and local best practices.
24. Secondly, programming of media content being screened at public places should be subjected to a more rigorous selection criteria.
(i) Content for public screening should steer clear of sexualised and violent imagery.
(ii) Reference should be made to readily available curated lists of media content. Common Sense Media, for example, have plenty of resources for parents, educators and advocates.
(iii) Entertainment programming should reflect the purpose of the community space, and should reinforce or transmit positive values and messages for community building.
25. Lastly, administrative measures should be put in place to mitigate exposure of inappropriate content to the young.
(i) A listing of all movies to be screened, as well as their ratings, need to be made more readily available online and at respective venues.
(ii) To ensure that an unsuspecting children or youth are not predisposed to inappropriate content, such media should not be screened during the hours where they are likely to frequent the venues. Special screening times for more mature content can be done to cater to other segments of the community. Parents also have the right to decide if they are prepared to guide their children through exposure to PG and PG13 movies with sexualised or violent materials. We just want to uphold the right of those who choose not to, so that they are not unwittingly subjected to the content that they deem to be objectionable.
(iii) Signages can be put up in the vicinity of the big screens to inform pedestrians when such content is being screened.
27. Securing a strong future for Singapore begins today through providing our youth with safe and wholesome communal spaces for their physical, mental and emotional health. Great communal spaces help all members of society develop healthy habits, positive concepts of self and others, as well as cultivate inclusive and respectful attitudes toward others of different racial, religious, economic backgrounds and those with special needs.
28. We look forward to hearing a positive response from your respective Ministries.
Should you have any questions or require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us. We would be more than happy to help you and your team ina ny way possible.
In support of a strong, healthy and wholesome Singapore,
Kalsum Harun and Sarah Lee-Wong
C.C. Members of Parliament, Tampines GRC and Tampines Town Council Advisors:
Minister Heng Swee Keat
Minister Masagos Zulkifli
Mr Baey Yam Keng
Mr Desmond Choo
Ms Cheng Li Hui