志异 Draft by Drama box december 2013 (english) | Page 17

this asingly miliar ape, it is only sible to ce the d of past tions — ur own hood is pearing ckly. the power of imagination, how the mind is capable of filling up with details when only given an outline. So we can never be sure how much accuracy is retained when someone describes his/her memory. When we are relating our memories, we are inevitably constructing and reconstructing our experiences. Let me put it this way: When a person decides to narrate his or her memories, the narration is by nature literary. Memory, as a record of an event from a person's perspective, is always subjective; a different participant in the same event might experience it differently. The term ‘collective memory’ is misleading, it is simply a story or narrative that a group of people agree upon. History is never objective, simply because of the subjective nature of memory. Ah, I have digressed… My dear S, when I was in Macau earlier this year for a theatre festival, I saw a lot of beautiful colonial buildings in that small city. It is one of the most prominent characteristics of the city. I remember as I walked along the streets, I was wondering, ‘What is it like to grow up in a city full of history and memories? Would the people here be indifferent to these historical buildings, like how we in Singapore are numb to the ever-changing city landscape? If these buildings had to be torn down for whatever reasons, how many people would support it, and how many would oppose?’ My dear S, the question of identity is a pressing one for this generation of Singaporeans with such shallow memories. In order to find our answers, we can only try to retain any carrier of our memories, and sometimes we even go to the extent of creating and reshaping our memories. My dear S, I think there is a reason for our impatience — for no one likes living like a homeless vagabond …