I enjoy Xinyao (新谣) songs like 细水长流 and 小人物的心声, but I did not know much about the history of the Xinyao movement. So when I heard about the movie 我们唱着的歌 The Songs We Sang, I decided to go.
Ho Ching and I watched the movie yesterday. It told the story of Xinyao, how it began with student groups in the old Nantah composing 诗乐 (poems to music) in the late 1970s, then became popular with JC students who were bilingual, and now has caught on with a new generation, and even beyond our shores in Taiwan.
Xinyao's history is tied up with the changes in our society and education system, and the difficult time which that generation of Chinese-speaking Singaporeans had, in schools and at work, adjusting to the new economy using English as the working language.
I found the movie moving and powerful. And I got a surprise bonus — in one scene I found my old Chinese teacher 黄伟光老师 teaching a class in Catholic High School!
Afterwards, I chatted with director Eva Tang and part of her team who made the movie, to congratulate them and tell them how much we enjoyed it.
The movie is still on at Golden Village, Plaza Singapura. Watch it soon if you can!
– LHL
昨天我和何晶看了《我们唱着的歌》，才知道原来“新谣”是“新加坡年轻人自创歌谣”的简称。虽然常听到“细水长流”和“小人物的心声”，但是对新谣的历史和时代背景不是很熟悉。邓宝翠导演把新谣的点点滴滴整理成一部富有感情，很有意义的记录片。
看了之后，深受感动，也感受到到新谣和新加坡创作忠实支持者的热忱和爱心。相信跟新谣一起成长的人看了都会回想当年，回味无穷。宝翠和她的工作团队花了两年的时间制作这部片子。如果你想多认识新谣，请不要错过! - 李显龙
[L-R: Timothy Chen (cameraman); Mavis Liao (co-researcher); Eva Tang (Director & Producer); Amelia Su (Editor & camerawoman); Pauline Tan (still photographer) / Photo courtesy of Eva Tang]
#TheSongsWeSang
