5 times dialect drama Ho Seh Bo made us 'paiseh' to be Singaporeans
The cast of Ho Seh Bo at the media launch.
PHOTO: Facebook / Gov.sg
PUBLISHED ONMarch 05, 2019 8:07 PMByBryan Lim"Ho seh bo?"
The Hokkien greeting (equivalent to "how are you?"), is widely-used amongst elderly folk, but if you've noticed, it's also the title of Mediacorp's ongoing dialect drama that's catered to senior citizens in Singapore.
No surprise that it's chock full of information on government policies focused on the ageing population, since it's a collaboration between the station and the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI).
But beyond that, it's also a show that seeks to highlight some of the problems senior citizens face, even if it means unabashedly shining the spotlight on some of the abhorrent attitudes that locals have.
Better bubble wrap those fragile egos because here are five things that Ho Seh Bo gets right about Singaporeans.
WE STEREOTYPE OTHERS
Right off the bat, the drama gives us privileged folks a rude awakening in the form of a callous remark made by a woman.
Upon seeing her child donate money to wheelchair-bound Gong Jia Qiao (played by veteran actor Zhu Houren), the mother quickly pulls him away and said: "If you don't study hard, you'll be like him."
You may be hard-pressed to find someone who would explicitly disrespect persons with disabilities; but the message that Singaporeans have a certain definition of success rings true.
Though many have broken away from that mindset, it's still not uncommon to find the occasional "If you don't study, you'll end up like..." comment being made with reference to jobs or people that we find inferior.
WE ARE AN ENTITLED BUNCH
"I want... I want... I want..."
When it comes to the human condition, our desire is never in short supply.
This is illustrated very explicitly in the seemingly one-sided relationship between the lead character Ah Dai (Chen Li Ping) and her son Zhengxiong.
He demands for everything - from fast food to a new phone and even an e-scooter that costs hundreds - without any semblance of gratitude and Ah Dai accedes to it despite her meagre income as a cleaner.
Interestingly, this portrayal would be rather incredulous had it not been for this Singapore teen who complained about her first-world graduation trip problems.
WE ARE TOO 'BUSY' FOR OUR FAMILY
"Pa/Ma, I'm not free for dinner."
Six simple words and it absolves us of the obligation of a family dinner.
Singaporeans are workaholics and it's getting to a point where we have to be constantly reminded through (dare I say) slightly corny Chinese New Year advertisements to carve out more time for our parents.
Between our social appointments and regular overtime, it's understandably difficult to stick to a schedule.
But let's be real.
If we can spend hours working up a sweat in the gym and posing for #basic selfies, we can definitely set aside two hours to spend some time with the folks. Whether it's having a simple meal, watching soapy Chinese dramas or playing a round of mahjong, they'll certainly appreciate it.
We hear that the weekends are a really good time for that.
WE LACK THE 'KAMPUNG SPIRIT'
If there's something strange in the neighbourhood, who are you going to call?
We may live in a densely populated countries with families stacked on top of each other in public housing, yet, how many of us are know our neighbours well enough to call on them in an emergency?
With more of the elderly population being susceptible to social isolation, it's increasingly important to bring them back into the fold and establish a social network that looks out for them and each other.
After all, nobody deserves to die alone.
WE ARE TOO QUICK TO JUDGE
Ahh, a favourite pastime of Singaporeans - if it's not already apparent by the numerous keyboard warriors just waiting to bring the righteous hammer of justice down on social media.
In the show, Gan Dang (Romeo Tan) is quick to paint Qing Qing (Sheila Sim) as a scammer after a brief meeting while being on the receiving end of such judgments because of his past as an ex-convict.
From the ill commuter who occupied the priority seat to the elitism a cashier faced, there are plenty of real examples to show that perhaps, we might be a little too presumptuous when it comes to our perception of people.
But as a consolation, we are actually not that 'jialat' and we know it because many of us would give up our priority seats in a heartbeat - just that our little acts of kindness frequently go unnoticed.
However, the fact remains that there are ugly habits that we can and should improve on. Perhaps taking a good hard look in the mirror once in a while may not be a bad idea.
You may even learn some interesting trivia about government policies like I did (#notsponsored).
Ho Seh Bo airs every Friday on Channel 8 from 11.30am to 12.30pm.
bryanlim@asiaone.com