Jack Neo’s latest movie ‘Ah Girls Go Army’ has stormed the cineplexes in Singapore and Malaysia, despite mixed reviews.
Considering the movie’s success, one might be tempted to declare Jack Neo a genius for his idea of making a movie based on ladies doing Basic Military Training (BMT).
However, some Singaporeans may not know that he’s not the first to produce a show about this.
The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) reminds us that they showed us the “real” women’s BMT years before—in their 2015 web series that gave us a peek into the journey of actual female enlistees.
In a Facebook post on Friday (4 Feb), MINDEF asked netizens whether they knew what women’s BMT was like.
They then urged us to watch “the real deal”: their web series titled ‘Into the Fray – The Making of a Female Soldier’.
The ministry stopped short of mentioning anything about “Ah Girls Go Army”, but the timing was just too uncannily coincidental.
For the uninitiated, “Into the Fray” is a 7-episode web series released by MINDEF in 2015—years before “Ah Girls Go Army”.
The show followed 5 women who were among the latest batch to have enlisted with the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).
Like men, they went through several rites of passage, including saying goodbye to their family members.
The ladies are also put through intense physical exercises.
For the doubters, these exercises cause pain and injury just like they do for men.
They also get to experience the adventure of going on route marches in the dark of night.
And dolling themselves up with camo paint.
All that adds to the experience of actual combat.
That includes manual labour like digging trenches.
Like the guys, sometimes they may wonder whether it’s all worth it.
However, when the Passing Out Parade (POP) day finally comes, the sense of achievement is immense.
Watch “Into The Fray” on YouTube here.
As for ‘Ah Girls Go Army’, it’s proven to be a runaway success.
Jack Neo posted on Facebook on Friday (4 Feb) that the movie had made $1.3 million in Singapore since it was released in theatres.
It opened on 1 Feb – the 1st day of Chinese New Year – in Singapore and Malaysia.
In Malaysia, the figures aren’t bad either, with Jack Neo posting on Sat (5 Feb) that the movie had crossed the $1 million mark.
Whatever your views on ‘Ah Girls Go Army’, it’s certain that a lot of people have watched the movie.
However, it’s obviously not pretending to be a real-life reflection of what our ladies go through in BMT. So those who prefer “the real deal” should watch “Into The Fray” instead.
Ultimately, there’s space for entertainment as well as true-to-life documentaries in Singapore, so let’s enjoy them both.
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Featured images adapted from MINDEF on Facebook and YouTube.
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