ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the representation of girls and success in three Singaporean films directed by popular director Jack Neo: I Not Stupid (2002), I Not Stupid Too (2006), and We Not Naughty (2012). It argues that gender is presented in a single-dimensional way and that unlike the boy protagonists who are offered alternative pathways to success, girls in the films are considered successful if they follow a narrowly defined gender role by learning to be like their mothers. Thus, young viewers are encouraged to reproduce existing gender relations that sustain Singapore’s development.
