A note for the unemployed, media educated and anyone with a concern about Singapores employment practices. A long one, yes. Do spare 10 minutes to take a read. VIP- What a Silver Jubilee 25th movie for Dhanush! Definitely an all round entertainer heavily shouldered predominantly by Dhanushs performance and screen presence. The movie is very well-scripted, even if not the best in terms of the screenplay, very much in the dialogues. The first half had a great dose of comedy, notably without the presence of an assigned comedian. It was a good play of dialogues, delivery and the timing of the actors who delivered them. The casting was almost perfect with Dhanush as the impeccable jobless graduate, director Samuthrakani and Saranya fitting to the T as typical middle-class parents, a very apt new face as the goody-two shoes, IT professional, thayirsaadham younger brother and a very simple yet pleasant looking Amala Paul as literally the girl next door. Definitely a sure-fire hit of an entertainer this season. But more than the entertainment aspect, the movie struck a chord with me and maybe many others in similar shoes for reasons very close to home.It was a story that I could totally relate to, apart from Mayakkam Enna, which also happens to be another Dhanush flick. The pain and struggle behind the passion and the search for success in something that means everything in a youths life... Especially an unemployed one who is struggling for a fair and equal opportunity. In this case, an aspiring civil engineer who has spent his entire life preparing to dedicate himself to his calling- to build. It throws light on the current situation of the engineering industry where a major number of passionate graduates are unemployed or end up in other industries as compared to those who have the right contacts, money, influential family members or friends who can pull them into the industry and provide them with golden opportunities. Note: The following is in no way meant to offend the employed, unemployed or current media practitioners with any type of qualification. Its about our system, our supposed meritocratic stand and our local employment opportunities. VIP reminded me of the number of my fellow local media graduates who are unable to land their right opportunities in the field and have ended up in insurance, banking, customer service, civil service, F & B and what not. Many even having to run away overseas due to not getting what should be rightfully due to their academic qualifications. So much so, it has become a norm today. Everytime people broach the topic of my long periods of unemployment or not being able to secure a project, the immediate suggestion is, Why dont you try insurance/ property/ teaching/etc. Then why do people spend so much of their time, effort, money, sweat and tears going through years of education in a poly, then scrimping and saving to complete a degree in media education? To use as a mousepad? Some of us still fight on with the hope that we can do something that we are truly passionate for with our degree in our respective fields. Which is why alot of graduates are still VIPs. Something that touched a raw nerve when I was watching the movie was this dialogue between Saranya and Dhanush. Mother: Unakku dhaan ivvalavu thiramai irukkae, yaendaa unakku vaelai thara maatteengiraanga? Son: Ippa thiramai ellaam paathaadhu, ma... Mother: Appadi ellaam onnum illa... Thiramai mattum irundhaa podhum... It sounded like some conversations Ive had with my own mother. It just connected deeply that the similar feelings of such undying graduates were brought up and shown in the form of Dhanushs character in the movie. At least, to be an engineer, you must have an engineering degree/diploma. To be a doctor, you must have an MBBS. To be a lawyer, you must have studied law. Even to be a taxi driver, you must have a driving license, a taxi license and you must know your routes around the country. But why is it that a media practitioner does not have to be media educated? ( Not including artistes here) During my pre-polytechnic days, we had to attain a certain cut-off point to even apply for a media diploma in a government polytechnic due to the overwhelming number of applications. Afterwhich, we had to write an aptitude test to gauge our level of knowledge of current affairs, cinema and media. Provided that we passed the written test, we would advance to a face to face interview with the directors and senior lecturers in the faculty. After this rigorous selection procedure, only about 200 out of 2000-3000 hopefuls would make it to the School of Film & Media Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic. All of these, just to get a placement in the programme. What happens after is another long story. Days and nights of assignments, documentary-filming, producing radio capsules, rejected theses, spending hundreds of dollars on filming projects, begging parents for cash, working part-time to fund the expensive course, etc. Which is why there was always a certain pride in being known as a media student or a media graduate, especially from FMS, NP. I was never good with exams and always blanked out in the exam halls for the theory modules. But I knew the seat that I had was something that was denied to hundreds of other hopefuls... I had to get through the course to keep the dream alive. With a long service award of 4 years, I managed to graduate from the renowned FMS. But of course, a diploma cant get you too far in our paper qualification based country. I enrolled for my degree, a media degree that is, in SIM and would run up and down from my army camp to school to home during the tiring NS days. I did TV projects like my first Dhool, hosting private events, pushing flight cases and coiling cables in a sound/lighting company over the weekends to fund my higher education. Of course, many others in the cohort who were also from middle-income families didnt have the luxury of sitting home and studying at leisure. They were all balancing work and studies to empower themselves for the competitive market in Singapore. This time, I knew I couldnt afford to screw up again and put my all into the course. I actually graduated with decent degree with a few distinctions, to my own surprise. At our convocation, I could see 200 aspiring Bachelor of Communication graduates whom I would probably bump into or end up working with one day in the field. After all, its a small country with an even smaller industry. But reality was otherwise. Most of them went into various other sectors, citing that the renumeration offered was not worth the qualification that they worked so hard to earn. There must have been a few hard-headed, relentless exceptions like me who had no Plan B and the wages didnt really matter. The greatest incentive was thousands of people seeing our work on TV, radio, newspapers, social media and ads. I was lucky enough in that sense to have made it to a certain extent to have seen my ideas and content on ethnic television, thanks to the freelance opportunities I was given and an understanding mom who didnt mind me not nailing the right full-time job. Many others may not have been blessed with the same. In fact, I had first applied for a media job that asked for a university degree (preferably Mass Communication) and some other criteria, of which all I fulfilled. However, I was rejected after progressing to the last stage of interview and the job was given to an Olevel holder. I dont know how many others this could have happened to. In my desperation of being unemployed for 4 months after my NS, I settled for a job that paid me $1400 with my academic qualification and experience. I was told that my media degree didnt really matter in the working field. Though I am still very much grateful for that opportunity; my first opening to become the full-time media practitioner that I wanted to be. Something that not many media graduates were able to secure and are still not able to. The big question is why? We have been brought up in this country being told that ours is a meritocracy-based society. You need not be rich or famous or influential. As long as you have worked hard to equip yourself with the right paper qualifications, you will achieve in any workforce. In the media industry, relevant media education, knowledge of the industry, basic experience in field practices and an excellent grasp of the language that you are dealing with should be of utmost priority. When that doesnt happen, we end up with many who take on a job for the fun of it and leaving within a couple of years. A job that may have been a lifetime opportunity for an aspiring media graduate or language enthusiast. Even with a governing authority like MDA conjuring up various plans and policies all the time, why does this seem to be a prevailing silent issue? This trend has to change. Currently, you can become a media personnel with an engineering, medical, business or even accounting background. 5 or 10 years from now, media graduates shouldnt be leaving to foreign lands in search of decent jobs due to the lack of recognition here. They shouldnt be shortchanging themselves to be tutors, secretaries and guest relations officers. Or a VIP like me. Even i have currently ended up stepping into investment sales to supplement my dreams of one day making it big in the media. I just hope i dont end up as a full-time salesman or broker due to financial stability. I have big dreams and burning desires. So do many others and they shouldnt be doused out by the system. The relevantly educated should be head-hunted and fairly remunerated to ensure merit-based employment across the board. A request to media company owners or higher ranking authorities if you are reading this. Kindly give priority to passionate local graduates with relevant educational qualifications and language fluency if you have good job vacancies. If you are also a fellow media graduate with similar views or from any field with less-than-fair employment practices or simply a member of public who is concerned about whose hands you are giving your creative industries to, do let me know how we can help future media students as well as others to attain fair job opportunities. Fellow unemployed graduates, fret not. Lets work towards a brighter future with equal opportunities. Against all odds... Vishnu M. Anandh Bachelor of Communication (Mass Communication), RMIT/SIMDiploma in Mass Communication, School of Film & Media Studies, NP
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 09:04:42 +0000
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