Singapore as non-place: National cinema through the lens of temporal heterogeneity

Abstract

This article suggests that Singapore and Singapore cinema serve as a good site to return to debates surrounding the national. First, I investigate the disconnect between the present and the past in contemporary Singapore and argue that contemporary Singapore cinema is microcosmic of the nation’s uncomfortable relationship with the past. Drawing from Marc Augé’s work in order to understand this temporal disconnect, I propose to think of the nation as a non-place, where the nation is thought of as a liminal entity. Ultimately, I call for a reconsideration of Singapore cinema through the lens of temporal heterogeneity, suggesting that the notion of the nation as a non-place allows us to not only understand the evolving present of the nation(al) but also cinema’s role in helping access the past.