I leapt for joy and now my ankle hurts.

So! The other day, i was dog sitting and happened to turn on the TV. And what i saw made my blood boil. Save for one show about detectives (and that was only because Huili and Jing Xian highly recommended it), i have not watched a Channel 8 show since the start of JC. After viewing the current show for ten minutes, i realised that i have not missed much at all.

What i saw made me feel sick to my stomach. In the show, the mother in law told her daughter-in-law that the reason for her interference in the daughter-in-law's sex life was because she wanted a grandson (the daughter-in-law had a daughter). I can't remember the exact wording of the whole conversation but here's the essence of it.

daughter-in-law : What's wrong with having only daughters? My father never had sons and he's perfectly okay.

Mother-in-law: If your father had any sons, he wouldn't need his married daughter to come home to celebrate his birthday with him.

daughter-in-law: what's wrong with daughters going back to celebrate their father's birthday?

Mother-in-law: A married daughter is like "splashed water"... (and i turned off the tv at this point)

I couldn't bear to watch it any longer. So what the drama is essentially telling the public is that sons are always preferred and that married daughters should never go back to their own family?

what kind of bullshit is this? Yes, i do understand that some people still feel this way and sons are good (better if more good lookin guys are produced. heeheehee!) but if there is always so much talk about how the media tries to educate the public, isn't such a conversation going against the goal of influencing the public's opinion for better? And i do not accept the excuse that this is just entertainment.

I remember why i stopped watching was because the dramas would insert government ideals into their shows like "we should try for a baby cause of the baby bonus!" If such ridiculous lines can be inserted into the show, why can't they stop promoting the ideals of "carrying on the family lines" and "married daughters should not go back to their families"? Please lah. I personally feel that the whole "carryin on the family line" is a whole bunch of crap. There are so many "Tan"s, "Tay"s, "Chan"s, "Li"s, "Lim"s in the whole world. There is no risk of the name dying out liao. And what's wrong with married daughters going back to celebrate their parents' birthdays? It is after all their parents who raised them, who gave them their love, money and support.

A woman marries the man. She does not owe her life to her in-laws. Her in-laws did not invest in her education, did not bring her to the doctor when she was sick, did not dry her tears, did not share her joys... All they did was produce their son who she married for being himself. Yes, she would respect them, be nice to them and try to love them. But, the son should also do the same to his own in-laws. I don't see any shit being given to the sons about not treating his in-laws properly.

Media has an important role in influencing the public. Should such ideals continue to be promoted in local shows, this horrid mentality will be passed on to the next generation. When will this stupid cycle stop? If our media has the power to stop it, why aren't they?

Perhaps in the past, the woman would be dependent on the man's family but that is no longer the case so why can't local media embrace this change in mentality?? Woman are already being given loads of shit in the world today.

This is part of the reason why not many are proud to be Singaporeans. Why be proud when ur local media sprouts such ridiculous ideals? I'm very very sure (and i really really really hope that i'm wrong) that in the end, the daughter-in-law will bear a son. sigh.

We do not need this whole "Married woman" and "carrying on the family line" to add to our worries.

ah wells. back to boycotting channel 8 dramas and turning to other countries' entertainment products for my dose of escapism.