The authenticity of the past, consisting of some disarray which gave Chinatown some of its unique flavour, has no place in postcards which would naturally shoot the eye-catching present where scenes are shiny, polished and “picture perfect”, for the sole purpose of looking nice for its audience. Oftentimes, pictures on these postcards are “perfect” in the way that they only show what people want to see, and not the whole picture. Postcards show scenes of attraction, and typically, tourists purchase them as mementos. The title of the poem, “Postcards from Chinatown”, relates to how the place is fake, and in place merely as an attraction. The fact that this stage performance is a parallel to real life, shows that the unique heritage and culture of our past has been consumed by the performance of the present, and only hints of it are left in the shadows, practically nonexistent if one does not observe closely. This is similar to how the “spotlight” meaning our attention, is always focused on the attractions of Chinatown, while backstage and in the background, the past is hidden. Interestingly, in theatre, downstage centre is always well-lit, with spotlights focused on it, while in the background the lighting is dim and unspectacular. Of course, in a performance, the focus is always only on what is in the foreground, while items in the background are blended into the scene, out of the limelight. The emphasis on “background” insinuates that the past has not quite completely vanished yet, but it has just been pushed into the background and backstage, while the present takes centre stage. In the second stanza, “background” is repeated so many times while the poet is relating the past, “Background of the closed down emporium, background of the foreign worker outside an unopened shophouse”. The idea of dimensions on stage allows the poet to toy with the idea that the past is still lurking in the shadows of the present’s folly. Umbrellas for holding water” scoffs at this charlatan modern-day Chinatown, which is now nothing but a huge stage putting up a performance for tourists. The line in the third stanza, “Souvenir shops selling Chinese hats and fake pigtails stapled to the end. The poet using this metaphor to relate the present to a stage performance is making a mockery of the present, which has pulled people into its deception which is nothing more thana tourist attraction. This draws the audience into the show, momentarily allowing them to imbibe in the performance. The performance is acted out live in front of the audience, with the characters in close proximity to us and the actors’ stage presence being palpable and tactile. The series went through a hiatus between November 2008 and February 2012.We Will Write a Custom Case Study Specificallyīut what can we draw from the poet assimilating the past to a stage performance? Firstly, stage performances provide the audience with a sense of intimacy as well as reality. Buster's parents are divorced in this series, Buster is seen with his father, Bo Baxter.Īrthur Read and many other characters from the PBS Kids Go! animated television series Arthur make cameo appearances in this series, and most episodes have an Arthur character playing a minor role. He also believes that extraterrestrials are real. Buster's personality is that of a fairly intelligent and curious child. Buster's interests include eating anything, reading comic books, and playing video games. It first aired October 11, 2004, on PBS Kids Go!. Inspired by a 2003 episode of Arthur entitled "Postcards from Buster", the television series was produced by Cinar and Marc Brown Studios. The show stars Arthur's best friend, 8-year-old rabbit Buster Baxter. It is a spin-off of the Arthur cartoon series. Postcards from Buster is a children's television series for children aged 6–12, containing both animation and live-action that originally aired on Public Broadcasting Service.
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