陳子謙發行於2003年的長片處女作《15》，可以置於始於九○年代初一波新加坡電影復興的脈絡。與邱金海、梁志強相隔將近一個世代之後出現的陳子謙，其電影製作可說既立足又背離於此傳統。一方面，《15》可被視為延續此傳統的社會批判的電影論述；另一方面，他的電影不同之處在於對社會的批判性反思如何被再現於銀幕上的風格手法。美學上而言，陳子謙明明白白的出自為後現代拼貼與戲仿而非社會寫實主義所主導的MTV世代。弔詭的是，正如我在本文討論的，《15》並不完全摒棄社會寫實主義，反而將之推向一種極端的紀實寫實主義。然而，與其將被邊緣化的黯淡現實呈現為一條線性的敘事以便進行社會批判，《15》以歌舞穿插、街頭電玩擬像和動漫的拼貼雜匯方式打碎了敘事，頑皮地抵銷了寫實主義的感知方式。其結果是一部不能僅僅被解讀為社會寫實批判的電影；反之，矛盾與曖昧充斥其效果和感知。

Released in 2003, Royston Tan's debut feature film 15 can be situated in the context of a revival in Singaporean filmmaking since the early 1990s. Appearing almost a decade after those of Eric Khoo and Jack Neo, Tan's filmmaking can be located in this tradition yet departs from it. On the one hand, 15 can be seen as following this tradition as a cinematic discourse of social critique; on the other hand, what distinguishes Tan's films is the manner in which this critical reflection on society is represented on screen. Aesthetically, Tan is unmistakably of the MTV generation for whom postmodern pastiche and parody, rather than social realism, reigns. What is paradoxical, as I suggest in this article, is that 15 does not totally eschew social realism but rather pushes it to an extreme documentary realism. Nevertheless, rather than present a linear narrative in which the bleak reality of the marginalised is played out for social critique, 15 fragments the narrative with a pastiche of musical interludes, arcade game simulation and animation that playfully puts any sense of realism into relief. The result is a film that cannot be read merely as social realist critique, but rather is full of contradiction and ambivalence in its effect and affect.