Happy Journey?
SMRT has always been sparing no effort in promoting gracious behaviour. Let others get out before you get in. Give up your seat to someone who needs it more (so we don’t have to provide more seats). Move away from the doors (we don’t care if you’re alighting soon, just let us pack as many people as we can).
And to get their message across this time, they’ve employed Gurmit Singh, the funny man who tickled local viewers from Channel 5 to Channel 8 with iconic characters like Phua Chu Kang. And if we look at the comments on YouTube, we realise that many people enjoyed this educational video.
“Don’t pray pray, let me out first”.
Huh? A foreigner may ask what on earth that means. Sure, Phua Chu Kang is funny and meaningful in front of a local audience. What about foreigners? Well, I saw an ang moh lady carrying a backpack dancing to the beat, but that’s not really the point. This is not part of the Arts Festival. There is a serious message behind Phua Chu Kang’s performance. If that message doesn’t get across, money would have been wasted.
This video has been played many times over in the MRT stations since it was first launched. Has it or will it ever make MRT users more gracious and considerate? To answer that question, we must first look at the people who need to be educated most.
The other day, as I was trying to get into the train at Dhoby Ghaut, a woman who was entering the train and talking loudly into her mobile phone suddenly made a U-turn at the door and walked out, pushing against the flow of boarding passengers. She was trying to catch a glimpse of the number of the station (NE6) to inform the person she was talking to.
Phu Chu Kang didn’t tell us not to do that. In fact, he didn’t even sing/rap in a language that this woman can understand. I think before we even try to produce a video that serves any educational purpose, we must first find out the language spoken by the majority of those who don’t behave in a considerate manner.
Do we have the appropriate talent for an effective educational video that targets the rapidly growing segment of our population that needs to be educated on considerate behaviour? You bet.
From our newsPAPers:
Phua Chu Kang pitch hits home better
WHAT do sitcom character Phua Chu Kang, Bloody Mary - a blood-spattered girl, and a germ-infested hand have in common?
They are the faces of recent media campaigns which have evoked strong reactions from the public.
In particular, Singaporeans pointed to posters on the flu-awareness campaign launched by the Health Promotion Board and the graciousness campaign started by the Public Transport Council (PTC).
Most Singaporeans felt that those with a light touch, such as the PTC campaign, are more effective in driving home the message.
Assistant Professor Yeoh Kok Cheow from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information said: “The message is straightforward and attention-grabbing.
“Through the effective use of bold black text on yellow in the speech bubble, commuters are naturally drawn to the decals of a character that has become very popular in Singapore.”
As for the Anti-Drink Drive Campaign, many felt that its message about the deadly consequences of drink-driving is clear, but the scare tactics used are unnecessary.
One poster shows a girl after a car accident, with blood flowing from the cuts on her face and staining her clothes. Mr S. H. Kwa, 26, a marketing executive, said: “After watching all kinds of violent movies, we’re already desensitised to images of people getting hurt.”
The PTC campaign featuring Gurmit Singh as Phua Chu Kang is more successful in comparison, according to commuters.
Ms Ivy Chan, 34, an accounts manager, said: “Compared to the hand with the germs, or the Bloody Mary in the drink-driving posters, the PTC campaign is less in-your-face.
“Whether it will prove to be successful in getting commuters to become more gracious is a different story but, at least, people who see it would not be turned off immediately.”
Another commuter, Mr Christian Eber, 30, a systems field manager in a pharmaceutical company, said that he has seen more acts of graciousness after the campaign was launched.
He said: “I see more people being more forthcoming in giving up their seats to those who really need them.”
Like That Also Can Ah?
So the latest background noise at our MRT stations is more tolerable than drink driving and germ-infested hand posters? So what? It still sucks and it still doesn’t target the alamak people.
What a desperate attempt at self-consolation. Our poor assistant professor.