A father's chronicle (I Not Stupid - A Film Review)

This is a follow up on my last blog (Celebrating Normalcy) since I've also watched a movie on TV over the weekends on parenting....

I should have watch the movie "I Not Stupid" about 4 years back.... I couldn't exactly recall why I missed that show... but I was glad that they showed it over the weekends and ... on TV! For a review, you can read it here.

For those who are parents with young kids and living in a society that placed (or over-placed) emphasis on academic excellence (not that being academic excellent is a bad thing... ah, forget about the explaination, watch the movie and you will understand the struggles of "normal" kids in Singapore), this show is a MUST. I intend to get the DVD. And to get the full ROI (Return-on-Investment), I intend to watch it over 5 times before putting it on the DVD shelf for future parenting-research-material.

It is really a very realistic show. In Singapore (and like many other countries in Asia, e.g. Japan), kids are falling off high-rise buildings... all because they have failed academically. While it is true that the underlying problem is due to "problems in interpersonal relations, especially with peers and parents. Fewer than half are related to school-work stress" (see this article), I find it is just a microscopic observation.

A child have interreaction with the society too and is subjected to the opinions and expectations of the society as well besides those of his/her parents. Perhaps, this is the narrow phrase "interpersonal relations... with peers". But peers are only a subset of the social circles of a child. You can see this social expectations in the life and experiences of Boon Hock (esp. in those scenes at the hawker center while helping out in his mother's hawker stall).

There is a follow up sequel to this movie (I Not Stupid 2). I am not sure whether I am ready to watch it now... I am still digesting the first part. There is a lot of material to think about... hopefully it won't be another 4 years of wait before I get to that movie. I think the second part is just as relevant to my parenting skills... perhaps even more?