ASIA MEDIA STAFF WRITES –The small island city-state of Singapore celebrates its 50th birthday as a nation this August 9th. As we covered in a previous article, there are many commemorative events being arranged for the momentous occasion. It seems Singaporeans are getting into the celebratory mood in their own way and have spawned a hashtag that mixes the Island’s upcoming jubilee celebrations with the recent release of the movie Fifty Shades of Grey.
The hashtag #SG50ShadesofGrey began when a local poet, Alvin Pang, simply posted on his Facebook that people should go see the raunchy movie. From there, the hashtag took on a life of its own on various social media platforms where Singaporeans have mixed sultry text with local humor. The funny tweets mix erotica with local issues that range from public transport and the haze that affects Singapore to vigorous examination culture in schools.
With the island nation hard at work in preparation for SG50, it is good to see that Singaporeans are able to find some humor in an event that has thus far been planned in a somewhat dreary, if not somber, climate. Singapore has long taken pride in its various thriving industries, and it can now lay claim to starting a social media trend as well.
The hashtag has become so popular, in fact, that it has spawned other variants within the immediate region including Hong Kong and the Philippines. Leave it to a somewhat sexually conservative nation to come up with a hashtag that teases erotica but delivers humor inspired by everyday Singaporean life. Here’s hoping that Singaporeans can come up with a social media trend that will take not only the region, but also the world by storm.