Abstract
The flow of domestic workers from one place to another has highlighted the uneven economic development in Asia. Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan have shared an influx of migrants from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam, creating complex cultural interactions between peoples and communities. Although the conditions of each host society vary, Anthony Chen’s acclaimed film Ilo Ilo (2013) presents a critical case study of how Singapore, a nation of immigrants with four official languages, finds itself grappling with an ethical quandary: when middle-class families outsource their childcare to live-in maids from faraway, how do working mothers negotiate with their feelings of guilt and reprieve? In this paper, I examine the visible motherhood of Hwee Leng, who is pregnant with a second child, and the invisible motherhood of Terry, a Filipina leaving behind her child to come to work in Singapore during the Asian financial crisis in 1997. The encounter between the two underscores their co-dependency: they both need work to stay afloat. Life is full of disappointments for Hwee Leng, who has a delinquent son, an unemployed husband, a draining job, and a crushed hope for self-redemption. Despite its grim portrait of overburdened mothers, Ilo Ilo explores the bond between peoples that goes beyond the value exchange in a transactional economy. Before going home, Terry gifts the Chens a Walkman with her favorite song, “Kahapon at Pag-ibig” (“Yesterday and Love”), a lingua franca reminder of how love and labor empower people to see beyond money and vanity.
Presenters
Hc DeppmanProfessor of Chinese and Cinema Studies, East Asian Studies, Oberlin College, Ohio, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
ANTHONY CHEN, MIGRANT WORKERS, ETHICS, AESTHETICS, MOTHERHOOD
