The Singapore government should be afraid, very afraid. A video (below) has appeared on YouTube in which a woman with a strong Singaporean accent claims to be the "leader of the revolutionary army known as the Reapers" and vows to lead a violent campaign to overthrow the repressive government.
This militant revolutionary, called Bolo Santosi, says that the people must "break the chains of oppression and rise up as one". She threatens to use nerve gas against the government and its "thugs" who want to "subdue the people".
In case you've haven't realised by now, this is not a real video but a series of clips from a new computer game, Just Cause 2.
But Bolo Santosi's camp Singapore-style drawl is not the only aspect of the game that may seem remarkably familiar to residents of the Lion City.
The game is set on a fictional island in Southeast Asia called Panau, which is ruled by an oppressive dictator called Pandak Panay.
The game's official website mentions a fictitious newspaper called the Panau Tribune, which proclaims that it is "proudly supporting Pandak Panay, our beloved president" and carries the brilliant sub-title "News you will trust".
The website also links to a spoof blog that says it is written by a journalist who is traveling round Panau. The blog links to a Flickr page of photos taken from around Panau, which includes a picture of a wok full of Char Kway Teow, which is described as a "local specialty".
Back in the real world, Char Kway Teow is a well-known Singapore specialty.
I'm sure that Just Cause 2 is pure fiction and that any resemblance to real Southeast Asian island states is purely coincidental.
Hat-tips to The Online Citizen and Mr Brown.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment