President’s Star Charity Show - is there a need for artistes to perform stunts to milk the public’s compassion for more generous donations?

The President's Star Charity Show is an annual performance, broadcasted on the television, where various artistes and popular stars carry out stunts in the attempt to raise more funds for the needy through public donations. These stunts include life-threatening ones such as walking on a tight-rope and being immersed into an ice-filled container. Artistes have put in much effort in rehearsing these dangerous acts, and the result of their hard work is apparent when the show’s viewership is increased and hundreds of thousands of donation calls come flooding in, bringing the total sum up to over a million dollars. However, are these figures truly evident of the compassion the public has for the needy? Or are these people just paying a small tip for the entertainment by the stunt performers? In my opinion, I feel that performing spectacular acts is unnecessary to milk the public’s compassion for more generous donations.

Undoubtedly, we Singaporeans are very stingy people. Due to our ‘kiasu’ (afraid-to-lose) nature, we usually think for ourselves before others and often, we are unwilling to donate generously. Perhaps this is the main reason why most charity shows include stunt performances. However, do people make the donation calls truly with the intention of helping the deprived, or do they treat those calls as payment for the entertainment? I am afraid that the latter occurs most of the time. Yes, stunt performances may help to increase viewership and raise more funds, but think about the actual purpose of the charity show. It is neither to provide entertainment to the public nor to showcase the courage and talents of the artistes. In fact, it is to tell the unfortunate stories of the needy and to spread the message that these people are in need of help so as to raise funds for them, funds which are donated solely for the sake of compassion.

We, as members of the public, know that there are many people out there who need our help; we do not need charity shows to tell us that. We know that we can help them by donating money but we are just reluctant to do so. If we are compassionate enough, we do not even need stunt performances to make us reach for the phone. On the contrary, these performances mislead us into thinking that we are donating because we have compassion, but instead they are actually convincing us to donate for the sake of donating. Furthermore, performing stunts has no relevance at all in helping the needy. Ask yourself, how often does one think about the needy while watching a stunt performance? Not even once, perhaps. He would be so engrossed in the show that he might even forget his name!

One thing the artistes and performers cannot deny is the large amount of time and effort involved in the countless rehearsals. Instead of doing something which does not help in gaining the public’s sympathy, these performers should attempt something more meaningful and relevant, or even play their part in the donation drive too. These artistes are just like any other ordinary member of the public, but the difference here is their fame. Being the idols of many, if these popular artistes are sincere enough to donate, I am sure the public would follow suit too.

To sum up, I disagree with the need for artistes to perform stunts to milk the public’s compassion for more generous donations. How is the public going to sympathise with the needy after watching the show when stunt performances have no relevance to helping them at all? In fact, the inclusion of stunt performances distorts the actual rationale behind organising a charity show. Often, it results in the viewers making the donation calls not for the sake of wanting to help the disadvantaged, but for the sake of acknowledging the effort of the stunt performers.