Min-Wei Lee
Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2)
Singapore
At the end of April, I received an email from John at TWC2 regarding a recent video created by the advertising agency, Ogilvy & Mather, for the organization’s new “I Give a Day Off” campaign. I had seen the video on Facebook a few days earlier and even shared it on my wall for friends and family to see.
The video’s concept is simple: a mother and domestic worker appear side by side on a split screen and are asked the same series of questions about the family’s child. The questions are short and personal, like “Who is her best friend?” and “What is his favorite subject at school?” At the end of the video it is revealed that 74% of the maids knew the answer while the mothers did not. The video closes with the title card: Shouldn’t we spend more time with our children? Let’s give domestic workers their legal days off.
The video was getting significant traction on Facebook. A lot of my friends had commented positively on it and shared the video with others—an encouraging sight, as most people, especially those of my generation, appear unaware and apathetic to the issues facing foreign domestic workers in Singapore. I myself had an emotional reaction when watching the video, which prompted me to share it and subsequently send an email to TWC2 congratulating them on a job well done.
It was only when the email from John arrived did I realize the subtle inconsistencies with the campaign video.
In his email, John informed me that he wanted my help during the course of my summer internship to create a new campaign video focused on the fundamental right to a day off. He then proceeded to list the two main issues with the Ogilvy video. Firstly, no fathers were featured. Secondly, the video plays on the guilt of parents for not spending time with their children, and turns that into the basis for giving their maids a day off—an emotional tactic which completely ignores the issue of labor rights.
As I read John’s email, I sat there thinking about my own reaction. I was excited by the amount of attention the issue was getting because of the video but also became troubled by the possibility that none of the people who watched it were conscious of the rights issues behind the campaign, and were feeling strongly about it for the wrong reasons.
Such a dilemma led me to think about the possible repercussions of my own documentary. Though I have barely begun the production process, I am conscious of the personal lens through which my story will be told, and this suddenly makes me wary about my approach. What if I lose sight of the real issues while focusing on an emotional narrative?
I’m glad that this concern has arisen before my departure to Singapore, for it will be something to keep at the back of my mind throughout the course of filming.