Lately, the local movies that have been coming up have been pretty good. Movies like "12 Stories", "Singapore Dreaming", et al, all reflect the normal lives and problems of an average heartlander. And the latest flick "Money No Enough 2", by the famous clan of average comedians.
A friend and I went to catch that show on Saturday afternoon. After having watched the prequel when it was re-shown a few months back, I was wondering how the sequel will be like. Turns out it is not exactly a sequel. Again, it is another show that jibes at the government policies and the problems faced by normal people.
But this show is pretty touching, pretty thought-provoking. It tells of three brothers, one an average blue-collar with three daughters and staying in a three-room flat with his mother, one a property investor who drives a big car and stays in a big house with his wife and daughter, and one a main distributor for some MLM product with an Accountant wife and stays in a condominium.
Brother No. 1, after having worked for thirty years in the company, got so frustrated that all the company did was to offer him vouchers and discounts as appreciation, instead of real hard cash, so he left the firm and joined his youngest brother's MLM business as a manager (or "MANYZER" like how he spelt it). He was making money at first for half a year, and managed to upgrade to a car from a scooter, giving his family a better life.
Unfortunately, something went wrong with the products after that and those who took the products ended up with severe food poisoning in the hospital. One of the top salespersons swore the products were able to cure everything from diabetes to cancer to liver problems, so when people took them, they ended up more sick. In the end, the products were banned and the business flopped. Sounds familiar?
So Brother No. 1 had to sell away the car, went back to a simpler life, and took whatever job that came, including cleaning tables in hawker centres. His dream of being an actual manager dashed, but he emerged "wealthier" as his mother and family stuck by him. It was very touching the scene where he asked his mother, "If I am no longer a manger, will you look down on me?" and she replied, "Manager or not, you are my son." Then he asked his wife, "What about you? Will you look down on me if I am no longer a manager?" and she said, "Manager or not, you are still my husband." And they ended up hugging and crying.
Brother No. 3, after his failed business, got saddled with all the debts. Before that, whenever he had any problems, he would blame everyone else except himself. Like when he got his driving points deducted, his wife took the rap for him, and after she had to go with the police, he went and had a good time without even caring if she was alright. When he was unable to clear his debts, his wife misappropriated company funds to help him out, and when he found out, he cared for his "face" more than her feelings.
But in the end, he realised his folly and waited for his wife while she was serving a one-year jail sentence. He sold off his car and became a cab driver, and upon looking back, he realised that wealth is not material; it is when one is down and out and all your loved ones are with you then you are truly wealthy.
Brother No. 2, in a bid to get more investment, borrowed heavily from the banks to finance his mortgages and investments. He could have made a killing, but his lawyer absconded with all his money. Hmmm.... sounds familiar too? In the end, his family had to downgrade to a flat, he had to start looking for jobs, and his wife and daughter had to sing for the seventh month in order to make ends meet.
The next half of the show is on the treatment of the old. Their mother was always taken care of by the eldest brother. When the brothers ran into financial difficulties, the mother was the first to help them out using her life savings. Then she started having Alzheimer's, and her bodily functions started malfunctioning. None of the brothers wanted to take full responsibility, so they rotated and shuttled the mother here and there. Until in the end when she kept dirtying the place and waking them up at night, they could stand it no more and decided to send her to a nursing home.
When the mother realised she was put into a nursing home, she fainted from shock and ended up in the hospital. As it was a private hospital and she was in intensive care, the daily bills came up to be S$8,000.00 per night. The brothers already had no money, so they argued with the doctor why the hospital is supposed to be a place to heal the sick, yet they seem more concerned with making profit and earning money. Yes, sounds really familiar and well-said!
The mother needed blood and none of them were willing to donate blood to help the mother. Then when the daughter of the second son was involved in an accident and she needed blood, they could even give up their lives just to save her, including taking away the blood meant for the mother for the girl. The mother may be unconscious but apparently she heard every word they said, so she deliberately killed herself by plugging away the life support.
That scene really touched me, as in why were they, as parents, willing to save the child at all costs, yet bounced their own mother around like a ball and not give her the priority to be saved? And despite all these, the mother still helped them through their difficulties, and gave up her life for her granddaughter. The thing is, we do whatever we can for our own children, but we have not considered our parents probably did the same things for us, yet when they are old and incapable, we treat them as a burden. What if when we ourselves are old and incapable, how would we feel if our own children start treating us as burdens and bouncing us around?
Which is why I had mixed feelings after the show, as the issues are really real. Not to mention the love between parents and children, husbands and wives, and the message that no matter what happens, the couple will stick together, go through everything together. That is what a family is about.
So anyway back to my own issues - think I need to sit down with my mum this week and tell her everything. Hopefully she can help me out. She had helped me out before I even asked, when she suspected what I was up to a few years back. Even though I knew she was really hurt, but still she helped me out and never uttered a reprimand. This time round hopefully she will help me without chewing me out. I know parents will do everything for the kids, but hopefully the kids will pay back the parents twofold as well.
A friend and I went to catch that show on Saturday afternoon. After having watched the prequel when it was re-shown a few months back, I was wondering how the sequel will be like. Turns out it is not exactly a sequel. Again, it is another show that jibes at the government policies and the problems faced by normal people.
But this show is pretty touching, pretty thought-provoking. It tells of three brothers, one an average blue-collar with three daughters and staying in a three-room flat with his mother, one a property investor who drives a big car and stays in a big house with his wife and daughter, and one a main distributor for some MLM product with an Accountant wife and stays in a condominium.
Brother No. 1, after having worked for thirty years in the company, got so frustrated that all the company did was to offer him vouchers and discounts as appreciation, instead of real hard cash, so he left the firm and joined his youngest brother's MLM business as a manager (or "MANYZER" like how he spelt it). He was making money at first for half a year, and managed to upgrade to a car from a scooter, giving his family a better life.
Unfortunately, something went wrong with the products after that and those who took the products ended up with severe food poisoning in the hospital. One of the top salespersons swore the products were able to cure everything from diabetes to cancer to liver problems, so when people took them, they ended up more sick. In the end, the products were banned and the business flopped. Sounds familiar?
So Brother No. 1 had to sell away the car, went back to a simpler life, and took whatever job that came, including cleaning tables in hawker centres. His dream of being an actual manager dashed, but he emerged "wealthier" as his mother and family stuck by him. It was very touching the scene where he asked his mother, "If I am no longer a manger, will you look down on me?" and she replied, "Manager or not, you are my son." Then he asked his wife, "What about you? Will you look down on me if I am no longer a manager?" and she said, "Manager or not, you are still my husband." And they ended up hugging and crying.
Brother No. 3, after his failed business, got saddled with all the debts. Before that, whenever he had any problems, he would blame everyone else except himself. Like when he got his driving points deducted, his wife took the rap for him, and after she had to go with the police, he went and had a good time without even caring if she was alright. When he was unable to clear his debts, his wife misappropriated company funds to help him out, and when he found out, he cared for his "face" more than her feelings.
But in the end, he realised his folly and waited for his wife while she was serving a one-year jail sentence. He sold off his car and became a cab driver, and upon looking back, he realised that wealth is not material; it is when one is down and out and all your loved ones are with you then you are truly wealthy.
Brother No. 2, in a bid to get more investment, borrowed heavily from the banks to finance his mortgages and investments. He could have made a killing, but his lawyer absconded with all his money. Hmmm.... sounds familiar too? In the end, his family had to downgrade to a flat, he had to start looking for jobs, and his wife and daughter had to sing for the seventh month in order to make ends meet.
The next half of the show is on the treatment of the old. Their mother was always taken care of by the eldest brother. When the brothers ran into financial difficulties, the mother was the first to help them out using her life savings. Then she started having Alzheimer's, and her bodily functions started malfunctioning. None of the brothers wanted to take full responsibility, so they rotated and shuttled the mother here and there. Until in the end when she kept dirtying the place and waking them up at night, they could stand it no more and decided to send her to a nursing home.
When the mother realised she was put into a nursing home, she fainted from shock and ended up in the hospital. As it was a private hospital and she was in intensive care, the daily bills came up to be S$8,000.00 per night. The brothers already had no money, so they argued with the doctor why the hospital is supposed to be a place to heal the sick, yet they seem more concerned with making profit and earning money. Yes, sounds really familiar and well-said!
The mother needed blood and none of them were willing to donate blood to help the mother. Then when the daughter of the second son was involved in an accident and she needed blood, they could even give up their lives just to save her, including taking away the blood meant for the mother for the girl. The mother may be unconscious but apparently she heard every word they said, so she deliberately killed herself by plugging away the life support.
That scene really touched me, as in why were they, as parents, willing to save the child at all costs, yet bounced their own mother around like a ball and not give her the priority to be saved? And despite all these, the mother still helped them through their difficulties, and gave up her life for her granddaughter. The thing is, we do whatever we can for our own children, but we have not considered our parents probably did the same things for us, yet when they are old and incapable, we treat them as a burden. What if when we ourselves are old and incapable, how would we feel if our own children start treating us as burdens and bouncing us around?
Which is why I had mixed feelings after the show, as the issues are really real. Not to mention the love between parents and children, husbands and wives, and the message that no matter what happens, the couple will stick together, go through everything together. That is what a family is about.
So anyway back to my own issues - think I need to sit down with my mum this week and tell her everything. Hopefully she can help me out. She had helped me out before I even asked, when she suspected what I was up to a few years back. Even though I knew she was really hurt, but still she helped me out and never uttered a reprimand. This time round hopefully she will help me without chewing me out. I know parents will do everything for the kids, but hopefully the kids will pay back the parents twofold as well.
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