Article-ception: 93′ to 24′
The Article Within the Article and Why I Write?
J. K. Tang
THE SMELLS OF GREEN BY THE HAWKER STANDS awakened the words, Vitai Lampada Tradunt, into my life. It was Old Boys’ Day. As I heard the thunderous roar from the stands, my infant hands held the bacon n’ egg roll tighter. Dad raised me above his shoulders to watch a game of GPS rugby for the first time. By three o’clock in the afternoon, the Blue and White Army filled every seat in every row, chanting together and as one. At ten past three, a silence broke the blue of the cloudless sky. All the Shore boys, no matter how small or how tall, lined a tunnel from the lockers to the A-ground. Arms locked. Drum beating. I knew something was special here.
When I finally got a boater on my head, I began to recognise what was special there, could be found beyond the pitch. Music. Drama. Debating. Talent everywhere! Shore was not only the place but was also the people. People that uplift boys’ boundless dreams into reality. A community that pushes the weight of every tackle on the field and the stride of every pen on the page. What Shore provides isn’t a compass or map to high school. It is a flame that ignites passions and illuminates possibilities. After the 2:50 bell, I remember finding that flame printed on the cover of “A SHORE HARD LOOK” (SWR T1 W3 2019). The Culture Section unravelled the ethical dilemma of criticism. The Science Section exposed the ecological problems found in Australian waters. The Politics Section informed us of France’s outrage with their government. From this paper on, my flame for writing burns.
However, I must not forget what fuels my flame… My great-uncle Peter enrolled Dad to Shore for the Summer of 1992. From the coastal towns of Malaysia to a harbour-side boarding school in Sydney, this flame warmed my family into the Blue and White Army and burned memories that Dad holds onto long after he finished in 93’. Since his 30th reunion at Old Boys’ Day 2023, the embers of his memories sparked into a retrospective inferno. With Shore burning back into his mind, I asked Dad about the SWR of his day. He remembered it being printed and handed out as it is today. He remembered the font-play on its covers and fun quizzes posted between each issue. My intrigue took me to the archives, where I found the first film review of “Critic’s Column” 1993.
Movie Review: SINGLES was a perfect reflection of the time. The aesthetics of alternative America were revered. Distaste of the zeitgeist. Distaste of relationships. Distaste of cookie-cutter lives. 90s Hollywood was big on the corny rom-com genre, where our experiences with love are subverted, twisted and redefined. This critique embraces the satirical insight of Crowe’s 1992 film and emphasises comradery and struggles for love, thus, projecting onto the worldview of high school boys.
“Life for singles in the ‘90s is shown in all its gruesome detail; gruesome because the details seem all too familiar…”
As a demonstration of our excellent English department, the article maintains an ongoing discursive-essayist expression and creates a satisfying balance of opinion and fact. What the SWR has taught me is that journalism is a simultaneous exchange of thought. You express as much thought as you invite. It is amazing to see the writer’s ethos endure thirty years later.
Definitively, this film review does what all good SWR articles do, which is to bring the wonders of the world and its media to the boys. With its sustained textual integrity (note for Mod B English Adv) and comedic undertones, the SWR speaks as the powerful product of the flame.
“It’s not often that you go from the cinema feeling like you are leaving behind a bunch of good friends…”
The film within the article within this article is what the school means to me. A flame of memories warming the reminder that we were all in this together. Although high school is a cold time, let this flame ignite your passions and illuminate the possibilities. Do not let it burn out.