Commentary

Commentary

Raffles Asia Programme Symposium Shows Audiences “Why Asia”
Reading Time: 11 minutes

By Joyce Lee (19S06O), Loh Lin (19A01D) and Alyssa Marie Loo (19A13A)
Photos courtesy of Ting Hou Yee (19S03S) and Jiang Jin Liang (19S06N) of Raffles Photographic Society

Twelve years since its first edition, this year’s Raffles Asia Programme Symposium involved over 100 invited students, 15 student research projects and speeches by professors from Yale-NUS College. One might consider the exclusive regional focus of the Raffles Asia Programme to be counter-intuitive: why limit research to Asia when humanities research can be broad and unbounded? Mr Gavin Swee, one of the teacher-mentors for the RAP, believes a regional scope is far from limiting: it can “help (students) develop sensitive understandings of the socio-cultural context in which they live”. Though most of us would not instinctively consider Asia a key region for research—perhaps due to a humanities curriculum often centred on the West—the RAP research projects proved this sentiment sorely misplaced. The projects showcased a variety of topics about Asia’s vibrant culture, politics, literature and more, demonstrating that Asia is just as rich as the West in its potential to be studied and explored.

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Commentary, What We Do

See Something, Say Something – Press Soapbox is Back!
Reading Time: 2 minutes

By Abigail Ang (18S06B)

Do you have something on your mind that you are bursting to share? A cause you are passionate about? A confidential tip? An observation about school life or a phenomenon you wish someone would investigate?

Well, you can stop holding your tongue, as Press Soapbox is back in its 3rd incarnation next week. Press Soapbox is a biannual initiative by Raffles Press which aims to tap the pulse of the school community and cover issues that Rafflesians care about. Continue reading “See Something, Say Something – Press Soapbox is Back!” →

Commentary, Movie Reviews

Imagining the World of Black Panther: Wakanda Life is That?
Reading Time: 8 minutes

By Keziah Lam (19A01B) and Alyssa Marie Loo (19A13A)

Even if you have yet to watch the film, it is difficult not to know about Black Panther given how its success has flooded mainstream media. You are probably familiar with headlines like “Black Panther brings Afrofuturism into the mainstream”; “Why ‘Black Panther’ became the hero the world needs now”; or “Why ‘Black Panther’ May Be Marvel’s Best Movie Yet”. The film’s impact stems not only from it being an objectively good superhero movie, but also from how its progressive, Afro-centric setting shows perspectives highly relevant to contemporary issues of racial discrimination. Amidst all the adoration of Black Panther’s fictional and reclusive country of Wakanda, here’s what we imagine life in the high-tech, prosperous and isolationist country would be like.

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Commentary

Film Society Screening: A Woman’s World
Reading Time: 9 minutes

By Phang Yeu Yeou (19A01A) and Loh Lin (19A01D)
Photos courtesy of Ms Joanna Ng

“What are the struggles of being a woman?”

That was the big question that Raffles Film Society’s film screening addressed in a small space on 8th March. That Thursday evening saw students gathering in the Hodge Lodge and being ushered into the movie room by enthusiastic Film Society members, where movies were screened in commemoration of International Women’s Day. Although initially beset by technical difficulties, the session soon got underway, with breaks for discussion interwoven with the screenings of the films themselves

Film society member facilitating discussions about the films

The overall tone of the session was nothing short of sombre, with a sharp focus on the struggles women face in realising their sexuality, autonomy, and identity through the ages, as showcased through a lineup of five films.

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Commentary

Raffles Foosball to Become a New CCA in RI
Reading Time: 3 minutes

By Zhu Xiuhua (18S06A)

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Find football cool but don’t want to train under the hot sun? Miss playing foosball during boarding in Y1-4? Already spending most of your breaks playing foosball at the Crib? If you answered yes to any of the above, then here’s some good news for you: Raffles Foosball will become a competitive CCA in RI (Y5-6)!

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