Rape for profit...or
if it's on TV it's not real, right mommy?
By Jon Fernquest |
Bangkok Post news editor Ploenpote Atthakor, writing in Today's commentary, zooms out from TV soap operas, pulls our eyes away from the TV screen, and takes a close look at just what is happening in these dramas.
(See photo on right of air hostesses explaining how a recent Thai soap opera distorts the truth)
The plot summaries are, well, just plain frightening:
"...the lead character is so angry and frustrated with the woman he wrongly takes to be "bad" and so rapes her in order to "punish" her.Only when he finds out that the victim is actually good and innocent (a virgin, too) does he fall in love with her and tries to win her heart through many travails. It's also typical that the female loves him back, disregarding the man's anger management problem. Then it's a happy ending."
Meanwhile, Thai censors are hiding cigarettes and whisky bottles from us on our TV screens with little fuzzy marks !?
Or three tourists in downtown Pattaya are beaten to death yesterday by a crowd with a steel pole and stabbed in the leg with a broken bottle and...it doesn't even make the daily newspaper !? (See story and photos)
Rape, rape, rape, and more rape:
Likhit Kamathep, which has just ended, enjoyed huge ratings. Popular actress Ann Thongprasom starred as the lead, who carries the child of her lawful husband's son after she is raped [by the son of her husband].The actress will appear again later this year in the remake of Sawan Biang, taking the role of a woman who becomes pregnant after being raped. This time it is by the son of her sister's wealthy husband.
...The producer of Chamloei Rak which is currently being aired, has decided to add a rape to the story, twisting the original work by renowned novelist Chuwong Chayachinda.
Rape apparently became popular in novels before TV:
Truth is, rape by the leading character is not so unusual in Thai novels. It has happened in classics like Dao Prasook, the all-time hit about a girl born out of wedlock who is dumped by her wealthy mother, grows up in a brothel but keeps her virginity - until she meets the hero and makes him angry...[and she is raped...]
The author concludes her critical piece with a question:
Why is rape, which is a criminal offence, being made tolerable in Thai society through literature and films?
Perhaps the Thai TV industry has more severe problems than a few scantily clad air hostesses fighting over a pilot in an airplane cockpit.
Hopefully, the new Thai public TV station TPBS will prove that there is a market for tasteful TV shows, perhaps even intellectually engaging TV shows.
(Source: Bangkok Post, general news, 23-01-08, temp-link)
Vocabulary:
rape - when one person forces another person to have sex, often using violence (See Wikipedia on rape)
soap operas - popular TV series about the everyday lives and problems of a group of people
distorts - represent in an untruthful way
just plain X - easy to recognize and understand that it is X
the lead character - the most important person in the drama
frustrated - unable to solve a problem that you have, unable to succeed ("sexual frustration" means "unsatisfied lust")
innocent - naive, lacking knowledge of the real way the world works (having no experience or knowledge of the more unpleasant and complex aspects of life)
virginity - when a woman or man has never had sex before
virgin - a woman or man has never had sex before
travails - problems difficult to solve, unpleasant hard work
disregarding - ignore, pretend something doesn't exist
anger management - techniques for controlling anger for people with excessive or uncontrollable anger (See Wikipedia)
censors - when government officials cut parts out of a movie, tv show, or book that they consider immoral and innappropriate
a remake - making a new movie or show from an old movie or tv program
twisting - changing the meaning from the original, distorting, misrepresenting
renowned - famous, well-known
born out of wedlock - the child's father and mother were not married when she was born
dumped - abandoned
a brothel - a place where people pay to have sex
a criminal offence - an action that is a crime according to the law
made tolerable - changing something of low quality or standard so that it is acceptable
scantily clad - wearing very little clothing
airplane cockpit - the small room in the front of the airplane where the pilot sits
tasteful - is not offensive and is appropriate for the situation
intellectually engaging - enoyable because it makes you think and use your brain
