Utopian Singapore : A Progression Through Time
An exploration on transitional spaces based on the ideas of utopia and dystopia. In this short film we explore the idea of utopia and dystopia, these contrasting concepts represents imaginary societies in which people live their lives in a perfect society or under the governance of an oppressive society.
By focusing on these three ideas; development, leisure and harmony, we sought to create a representation of these ideas in our short film. Development focuses on the idea of utopia and dystopia. Through time, there is an advancement from the old Singapore and into the new Singapore which encourages further development for the future Singapore, into a utopia. However, Singapore is also a dystopia because the reality of Singapore is that Singaporeans face a lot of stress and are constantly working with no breaks.
Leisure focuses on the idea that people are constantly rushing about their lives but there still exist spaces in which people still maintain a carefree and relaxing lifestyle. For example, Sentosa is a place where people take time off to relax by the beach. These people, including foreigners and tourists who travel here to experience the many sights and sounds of Singapore.
Harmony takes note of the togetherness that people share, Hong Lim Park is a place where people who share similar opinions gather together and express themselves as one. Hong Lim Park hosts a myriad of events such as Pink Dot and the Green Dot Climate Action Rally. Hong Lim Park is the only place in Singapore where people are allowed to ‘protest’.
We sought to recreate our ideas in scenes that consists of these areas, these areas being locations such as Marina Bay Sands, Esplanade, The Float at Marina Bay, the Central Business District, Marina Barrage, Gardens by the Bay, Sentosa, Siloso Beach, Universal Studios, Casino, neighbourhood playgrounds and Hong Lim Park.
For the first scene, our main focus is on the students of future generations developing better and brighter ideas for the future of the built environment of Singapore, in the idea that we as students of Interior Design, we are contributing towards the betterment of Singapore’s built environment. For the second scene, we are focusing on a playground setting to represent the idea of leisure, with particular attention towards kids playing in the playground and old people exercising. For the third scene, we are paying attention to the harmony between races; Vietnamese, Malaysians and Singaporeans. As Singapore strives to have harmony between races and religion in Singapore, we want to represent that in our short film.