Main Characters:

Terry Khoo - he’s the narrator of the film and a rich, spoiled kid. Out of the three main characters, he is the only one with an English first name and is the most vulnerable to being whitewashed. He is obedient (because of his mother) and doesn’t stick up for himself and his friends. He is the “model minority“.

Liu Kok Pin - he comes from a middle-class family who wants to be an artist but his mom doesn’t see his talent and wants him to take a safe career and do well in school. He also suffers from psychological problems and attempts suicide, but fails.

Ang Boon Hock - the “badass” of the three and also represents the lower class that beats the odds. His mom wants him to do well in school so he doesn’t end up like her but he never gets forced in a career path. He sticks up for his friends when they get bullied by the smarter kids. His family doesn’t have money to get private tutors but at the end, he gets the highest exam grade due to hard work.

The Parents/Relations:

Terry’s mom - controls Terry and tells him to keep his head down and mind his own business.

Terry’s dad - a businessman who thinks that Caucasians are superior to locals.

Terry’s sister - Also has an English name, Selena. She doesn’t listen to her mother and is the opposite of Terry in many ways. She is still whitewashed and there’s a scene in Chinese class where she said that she wanted to become a scientist so she can create a formula that would transform her into a Westerner.

Kok Pin’s mom - beats Kok Pin when he does bad on his exams. She is not whitewashed but she most likely feels pressure when her friends’ children are more school-smart than her own son. In the end, she finally lets her son pursue his dreams.

Kok Pin’s dad - he’s not aware of the family issues because he is always at work. He works for Terry’s dad and had a lot of stress because he thinks the Caucasian creative director was superior to him. He plays by the rules until one of his buddies influences him to take another approach.

Boon Hock’s mom - think of the uneducated Asian parent who works their butt off in a low-wage job to make ends meet for their family.

Others:

John - the Caucasian creative director. Terry’s dad and other superiors in the marketing department favor him over Kok Pin’s dad because he is white.

Ben - a buddy of Kok Pin’s dad who challenges the idea that Western people are superior to Chinese and influences others around him to do the same.

Subplot:

Kidnapping scene - Terry’s dad fires a Chinese worker and as a result, the worker didn’t have a stable job anymore so with a help of a friend, he resorted to kidnapping so that he could go back to China. The scene illustrates that model minority is a myth.

Hopefully I gave you enough reasons to give the movie (and maybe, Singaporean cinema) a try. Their media is very underrated and ignored by most people who claim to like Asian stuff. There’s also a television series based off the movie which also has a more relevant female student suffering from academic pressure. If you want a film that shows the struggles of the older generation, check out Long Long Time Ago.