Psyops: The Battle for Your Mind

Origins of Marshland to Metropolis It is unclear who actually made this claim and when. But it has been so oft repeated through the state-controlled media and the national education initiative that it has become gospel for the less questioning sectors of the population. Even foreign correspondents who failed to do due diligence have perpetuated this myth beyond the island’s shores.  Here we have the classic example of how propaganda works: “If you repeat an untruth often enough, people will come to believe it.” The truth about Marshland to Metropolis The truth is that Singapore was once a marshland but that was a long long time ago. Under the British who first colonised the island Singapore grew to be the premier city of its day, thanks to its strategic location in the middle of the South-east Asian archipelago and straddling the great sea lanes and air routes between east Asia and Europe. Singapore was the Far East HQ of the British Empire, hosting its naval and air ba

Midst the controversy surrounding state funding for artistic endeavours and the boycott by some recipients against the donor’s interference in the creative process, i.e. censorship, one cannot help imagining the reason could be the oft quoted “He who pays the piper calls the tunes.”  Throughout history artists have an uneasy relationship with their governments as their work have the power to move people and frustrate government intentions. This has not stopped governments from using artists, sometimes under duress, as tools of propaganda or for self-glorification in state-sponsored plays, opera, and monumental sculptures and buildings. From the ancient worlds of Greece and Rome to modern day dictatorships, the state has tried to bend the creative process to its will, but never achieving total success. This is because true artists (not the mercenary ones) owe allegiance to one and only one party – their muse. Governments must face this hard truth. They can never buy respect an