Farang On Thai Television, Movies Etc

[naka]

hmmm,no... nope that is not what Ive seen at all. When I almost died in a motocycle accident, about 40 Thai people pointed and laughed AT me (including police officers standing nearby). When I sprained my foot in a muay thai fight girls would imitate my limp and laugh AT me...... I pretty much came to the conclusion that Thai people like to laugh at others misfortune as they either cannot feel compassion or do not have the ability to put themselves in others peoples shoes. You really believe this is not true?

Damian Mavis

That is not typical Thai, that's human. If you go to the bottom of it, you always laugh at someone's misfortune.

I beg to differ on the Thais' ability to feel compassion. I my opinion, the do have a lot of compassion, even more than the average farang. The difference is how they express it.

On the role of farangs in Thai TV, I noticed that a disproportionate amount of "loog krueng" (mixed Thai) are among the movie stars. Thai people consider them as more beautiful than the typical Thai.

Me, for myself, I prefer the "typical" Thai beauty. But that's only me, and I am not the average Thai TV watcher.

Absolutely agree with you there Damian! Why, oh why are the Thais so OBSESED with the

'Westen' look that they employ so many Eurasians to promote their products? It seems that the Thais have a love-affair with white skinned, tall, skinny female actresses, at the expense of their OWN dark-skinned Thai female counter-parts. I love Thai women just for themselves, and not a copy of some Western 'ideal'.

YangYai.

I've seen many posts over the years telling Thai people what Thai women SHOULD look like.

How strange !

Naka.

[tamsin]

No I meant more along the lines of a falang made to say his Thai line very badly to make people laugh because well... he's stupid! Just listen to him!

Damian Mavis

at the risk of being seen as a Thailand cheerleader or a thailand aplogist, I respectfully disagree.

The people will laugh because it sounds funny, not because the guy is stupid. In fact, it isn't meant to make the person sound stupid, it is only meant to make him sound 'funny' so people will laugh (if you understand my meaning). In my experience, few Thai's will openly try and make someone lose face in public. Same in this case. They are making him funny, not the butt of a joke.

It is a bit like Thai's who will laugh when you trip over or slip. They aren't laughing at you, only the comedy of the situation. In the west you'd think someone is having a go at you, here it is simply not the case.

You have to remove the person from the act. It is about the act, not the person. If you don't there are simply too many things that you can take offense to here, that Thai's don't see as offensive. Like when someone states "you've gotten fatter since I last saw you". They are not having a go, merely making a statment of fact. Back home, the tendency is to be insulted by such a statement. Not here.

Like the kids standing around laughing at a newly hit puppy in it's death throws on another thread a while back? Made my blood run cold that one.

[technocracy]

Let me guess all you folks posting who are so 'offended' by Thais laughing at someones misfortune are American?

I'm pretty sure I'll be right on that count!

But back to the OP as for Farang on Thai TV - I saw a few weeks ago a falang in the soap that the wife was watching and they actually put Thai subtitles on for when he spoke Thai! He sounded fluent enough to me and my wife understood him, well apart from the stoopid accent that so many westerns adapt when they speak Thai. You know the one where they sound like they are slightly retarded and are struggling to breath . . .

But I've never seen one where the falang has been a servant or similar.

[samran]

No I meant more along the lines of a falang made to say his Thai line very badly to make people laugh because well... he's stupid! Just listen to him!

Damian Mavis

at the risk of being seen as a Thailand cheerleader or a thailand aplogist, I respectfully disagree.

The people will laugh because it sounds funny, not because the guy is stupid. In fact, it isn't meant to make the person sound stupid, it is only meant to make him sound 'funny' so people will laugh (if you understand my meaning). In my experience, few Thai's will openly try and make someone lose face in public. Same in this case. They are making him funny, not the butt of a joke.

It is a bit like Thai's who will laugh when you trip over or slip. They aren't laughing at you, only the comedy of the situation. In the west you'd think someone is having a go at you, here it is simply not the case.

You have to remove the person from the act. It is about the act, not the person. If you don't there are simply too many things that you can take offense to here, that Thai's don't see as offensive. Like when someone states "you've gotten fatter since I last saw you". They are not having a go, merely making a statment of fact. Back home, the tendency is to be insulted by such a statement. Not here.

Like the kids standing around laughing at a newly hit puppy in it's death throws on another thread a while back? Made my blood run cold that one.

drawing a very long bow there. I mean, most people don't learn empathy till a little bit later on in life after they've been personally affected by these things.

Clearly remember as a kid sitting in a mates backyard in Melbourne shooting birds with an air gun, laughing out loud when as 12 year olds fishing the seagulls would take your bait and fly away with your line, only to get hooked on (and thus flying the seagul as a kite). How about going rabbit hunting and beating the rabbit and then throwing the carcass on the camp fire - we are taught rabbits are pests in Australia...

Kids are kids, anywhere in the world.

To see the same things now though, as you point out, would make my blood run cold as well.

[DamianMavis]

Let me guess all you folks posting who are so 'offended' by Thais laughing at someones misfortune are American?

I'm pretty sure I'll be right on that count!

But back to the OP as for Farang on Thai TV - I saw a few weeks ago a falang in the soap that the wife was watching and they actually put Thai subtitles on for when he spoke Thai! He sounded fluent enough to me and my wife understood him, well apart from the stoopid accent that so many westerns adapt when they speak Thai. You know the one where they sound like they are slightly retarded and are struggling to breath . . .

But I've never seen one where the falang has been a servant or similar.

Im not american but I have a strong sense of right and wrong, justice, goodness and compassion. So if Americans have these same traits these are of course funny and ridiculous traits to have? Are Europeans or Asians so much more evolved because they don't have these ridiculous constraints and concepts? <deleted>?!

Damian Mavis

[madjbs]

Different cultures show emotions in different ways. One isn’t better than another, if something seems inappropriate it is probably purely because it’s something you’re just not expecting. This doesn’t mean its wrong it just means it’s different to what you’re used to.

On another note, I don’t know why nobody actually helped you while laughing but I don’t think that is the normal reaction. When I have seen accidents or people in need etc.. most Thai people seem to want to help as much as they can.

[technocracy]

Let me guess all you folks posting who are so 'offended' by Thais laughing at someones misfortune are American?

I'm pretty sure I'll be right on that count!

But back to the OP as for Farang on Thai TV - I saw a few weeks ago a falang in the soap that the wife was watching and they actually put Thai subtitles on for when he spoke Thai! He sounded fluent enough to me and my wife understood him, well apart from the stoopid accent that so many westerns adapt when they speak Thai. You know the one where they sound like they are slightly retarded and are struggling to breath . . .

But I've never seen one where the falang has been a servant or similar.

Im not american but I have a strong sense of right and wrong, justice, goodness and compassion. So if Americans have these same traits these are of course funny and ridiculous traits to have? Are Europeans or Asians so much more evolved because they don't have these ridiculous constraints and concepts? <deleted>?!

Damian Mavis

No it's a case of most americans (canadians included) seem to be lacking a sense of humour that covers black humour and instead of having a bit of laugh a someones misfortunes or defects they always head for the moral high ground.

Much as I find it highly amusing that you insist and putting your full name/username on each and every post like it seems to make it more believeable or important!

[DamianMavis]

No jerkypants, I sign my name and use my real name on all the forums I visit because I HATE cowardly anon posters that say things they normally wouldn't have the courage to say face to face. I stand by everything I say like it was in person and when I insult someone they know exactly who is insulting them. Another one of those ridiculous moral and ethical thingys. God us North Amercians are just so full of pompous morality aren't we?!

Damian Mavis

[JetsetBkk]

As an aside, I noted that a few months ago a Malaysian MP, was complaining about the lack of, as he described them if I recall correctly, traditional Malaysian models, as opposed to the almost dipped in bleach humans we all see on screens. Given that when I used to get photo's printed I was amazed as to how pale my Caucasian skin was, and how gleaming white my Thai friends were, how much is done by 'image processing' I wonder?

Apparently a sun-tan is becoming a fashionable mark of an international traveller in China, so wonder if that fashion will make it over here in time.

Regards

/edit typo//

Go to the women's clothing section at Tesco or Big C and have a look at the giant pictures of women wearing bras, lingerie, etc. (I thought that would get your attention ). Nearly all of the models in those pictures are Caucasian or extremely white looking 'luuk khreungs' ลูกครึ่ง

Why don't they have pictures of normal brown skinned Thais? It quite weird looking at all the brown skinned people shopping in those departments underneath huge pictures of white skinned people.

[JetsetBkk]

No jerkypants, I sign my name and use my real name on all the forums I visit because I HATE cowardly anon posters that say things they normally wouldn't have the courage to say face to face. I stand by everything I say like it was in person and when I insult someone they know exactly who is insulting them. Another one of those ridiculous moral and ethical thingys. God us North Amercians are just so full of pompous morality aren't we?!

Damian Mavis

You are to be commended for that Damian . But you are in an extremely small minority. I certainly wouldn't use my real name. And I haven't been in a jet for years

[DamianMavis]

Ya I know, he inferred I am the way I am because I am North Amrican so I played it up. But almost everyone uses an anon name.

Damian Mavis

[technocracy]

No jerkypants, I sign my name and use my real name on all the forums I visit because I HATE cowardly anon posters that say things they normally wouldn't have the courage to say face to face. I stand by everything I say like it was in person and when I insult someone they know exactly who is insulting them. Another one of those ridiculous moral and ethical thingys. God us North Amercians are just so full of pompous morality aren't we?!

Damian Mavis

Yes.

[mikethevigoman]

Working in the industry I can tell you we are often portrayed as the villain. That is a given. We are also portrayed as stupid and goofy in lots of commercials meant to ammuse the Thai population at large.

Damian Mavis

Hmmm, now days, I'd like to imagine a TV commercial in the USA or Britain doing the same with a minority. Imagine a "dumb Jew" or a "clueless American Indian" being the butt of the joke in a commercial.

Yup, Jerry Lewis often played an idiot Asian in American movies, but that was 40 years ago. It'd be great if Thailand could join the rest of the developed world in the 21st century, in this regard.

Or a dumb gay ! get ready

[mikethevigoman]

hmmm,no... nope that is not what Ive seen at all. When I almost died in a motocycle accident, about 40 Thai people pointed and laughed AT me (including police officers standing nearby). When I sprained my foot in a muay thai fight girls would imitate my limp and laugh AT me...... I pretty much came to the conclusion that Thai people like to laugh at others misfortune as they either cannot feel compassion or do not have the ability to put themselves in others peoples shoes. You really believe this is not true?

Damian Mavis

That is not typical Thai, that's human. If you go to the bottom of it, you always laugh at someone's misfortune.

I beg to differ on the Thais' ability to feel compassion. I my opinion, the do have a lot of compassion, even more than the average farang. The difference is how they express it.

On the role of farangs in Thai TV, I noticed that a disproportionate amount of "loog krueng" (mixed Thai) are among the movie stars. Thai people consider them as more beautiful than the typical Thai.

Me, for myself, I prefer the "typical" Thai beauty. But that's only me, and I am not the average Thai TV watcher.

Absolutely agree with you there Damian! Why, oh why are the Thais so OBSESED with the

'Westen' look that they employ so many Eurasians to promote their products? It seems that the Thais have a love-affair with white skinned, tall, skinny female actresses, at the expense of their OWN dark-skinned Thai female counter-parts. I love Thai women just for themselves, and not a copy of some Western 'ideal'.

YangYai.

i think it s the vision thai women have of european women being superior,, if there was a pink race that was more prosperous that would be flavour ( color ) of the month i feel,.

[samran]

I'm confused. So which is it?

Thai's want to make farangs look stupid by making them say funny things and laughing at them when they fall off their bikes?

or

Thai's look up to farangs as superior beings and will do anything to emulate them, with trying to whiten their skin and marry a foreginer to have a luuk-krueng child who will become a TV star.

[baboon]

No jerkypants, I sign my name and use my real name on all the forums I visit because I HATE cowardly anon posters that say things they normally wouldn't have the courage to say face to face. I stand by everything I say like it was in person and when I insult someone they know exactly who is insulting them. Another one of those ridiculous moral and ethical thingys. God us North Amercians are just so full of pompous morality aren't we?!

Damian Mavis

I for one take my hat off to you.

[katana]

Working in the industry I can tell you we are often portrayed as the villain. That is a given. We are also portrayed as stupid and goofy in lots of commercials meant to ammuse the Thai population at large.

Damian Mavis

That's the impression I got from the small selection of Thai films I've seen. A couple spring to mind, where the token farang role was a short scene as some muscly but gormless hoodlum who got beaten in a fight by the wilier and more skilful Thais lol

[asiaworld]

Well this thai attitude has nothing to do with asia . It is an example ; NO other place on earth would repeatedly refer to all foreigners(including 'permanent residents'), as aliens, lack of english language knowledge, or what.. Now just flying back i saw a thai movie that made me cringe, which should be a must for all foreigners , who decide to settle here .

i can't remember the title properly(was too tired) but it is something like (Thai renessance), about a thai gal going 100 years into the past .. Absolute must, for all thai residents ! Also will help you to understand the attitudes, they laugh at you, because you are alien, and thus deserve different treatment, not that they'd laugh if something would happen to their relatives, or friends ..

[Neeranam]

Most the posters here haven't a bloody clue about Thai culture. Do you really think they're laughing AT you? If so, you're paranoid.

[DamianMavis]

Most the posters here haven't a bloody clue about Thai culture. Do you really think they're laughing AT you? If so, you're paranoid.

Right, and nothing bad ever happens here and Thai people are always just great. Bloody hel_l.

Damian Mavis

[WAERTH]

Ermmmm I do not understand where people get it from that we farangs only play token parts.

Let me see, I played ....

The headteacher of the rich school in: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0975688/

Quite a nice part.

Played in Mae Narok Muay Yok Lor .....

Played in 5 sitcoms this year. In all of which I was the gueststar of the episode. The latest one I just finished shooting Thursday. And it will air on November 25th 1800 on Channel 9 (Baannie mie Rak). Most part of the episode is about my visit to the family in this sitcom and yes I play the stupid farang, but so what. I have played the smartass farang as well in other series.

Apart from that I play comedy with a Thai comedygroup.

Non of all this is token. All parts involve script. Otherwise I would refuse them. I do this as a hobby (I am not handsome enough to get cast as THE main character) but I get some divergent parts. I do speak a bit of Thai though.

Before people start judging on this subject, please get informed.

Waerth

[matter]

Most the posters here haven't a bloody clue about Thai culture. Do you really think they're laughing AT you? If so, you're paranoid.

Right, and nothing bad ever happens here and Thai people are always just great. Bloody hel_l.

Damian Mavis

In England we laugh at the Scots.... because they're Scottish, the Irish cos they're Irish, the Welsh cos they're Welsh, the Stupid cos they're stupid.

I wont even get into the immigrant discussion.

[DamianMavis]

Working in the industry I can tell you we are often portrayed as the villain. That is a given. We are also portrayed as stupid and goofy in lots of commercials meant to ammuse the Thai population at large.

Damian Mavis

That's the impression I got from the small selection of Thai films I've seen. A couple spring to mind, where the token farang role was a short scene as some muscly but gormless hoodlum who got beaten in a fight by the wilier and more skilful Thais lol

Actually, in all fairness things ARE changing... slowly but surely. Falangs are getting more and more "Bigger" if not better roles. I myself will forever be grateful to Phanakorn films that gave me a relatively large role in one of their movies, I did alot of horrible bad things in the movie (and rightly so, I'm falang!) but was definately a big character and that is something you didn't see too often in the past. Me and my gang of evil falangs even best alot of Thais until the end when the hero kills us all justly heh.

Damian Mavis

[WAERTH]

Actually, in all fairness things ARE changing... slowly but surely. Falangs are getting more and more "Bigger" if not better roles. I myself will forever be grateful to Phanakorn films that gave me a relatively large role in one of their movies, I did alot of horrible bad things in the movie (and rightly so, I'm falang!) but was definately a big character and that is something you didn't see too often in the past. Me and my gang of evil falangs even best alot of Thais until the end when the hero kills us all justly heh.

Damian Mavis

Ahhhhhhhh so you got that part! ###### ...... went to casting for that one also. When is it coming out?

Waerth

[kat]

What, THIS haircut? I'll admit it's a little gay..... but don't think it would bring people to laughter.

Damian Mavis

What, THIS haircut? I'll admit it's a little gay..... but don't think it would bring people to laughter.

Damian Mavis

Sorry Damian , I could'nt resist .

Resist what? Not only is he totally hot, but he's an incredibly honest and down-to-earth person. I guess that's hard for a lot to accept on this forum, but not me - haha.

Let me guess all you folks posting who are so 'offended' by Thais laughing at someones misfortune are American?

I'm pretty sure I'll be right on that count!

But back to the OP as for Farang on Thai TV - I saw a few weeks ago a falang in the soap that the wife was watching and they actually put Thai subtitles on for when he spoke Thai! He sounded fluent enough to me and my wife understood him, well apart from the stoopid accent that so many westerns adapt when they speak Thai. You know the one where they sound like they are slightly retarded and are struggling to breath . . .

But I've never seen one where the falang has been a servant or similar.

Im not american but I have a strong sense of right and wrong, justice, goodness and compassion. So if Americans have these same traits these are of course funny and ridiculous traits to have? Are Europeans or Asians so much more evolved because they don't have these ridiculous constraints and concepts? <deleted>?!

Damian Mavis

No it's a case of most americans (canadians included) seem to be lacking a sense of humour that covers black humour and instead of having a bit of laugh a someones misfortunes or defects they always head for the moral high ground.

Much as I find it highly amusing that you insist and putting your full name/username on each and every post like it seems to make it more believeable or important!

Right, so the fact that we don't laugh at dying puppies now puts us in the moral, high ground caricature mode. I'm sure all I need to do is watch more Benny Hill, Monty Python, and Mr. Bean and I'll be infinitely more interesting.

[chinthee]

Kat, why are you still wasting your time on this forum?

[kat]

Because good folks like you and Damian are here, sweet pea. Where's Bendix?

*btw - gotta go!

Edited October 20, 2007 by kat

[chinthee]

Because good folks like you and Damian are here, sweet pea. Where's Bendix?

Long gone my love, never to return.

[garro]

Working in the industry I can tell you we are often portrayed as the villain. That is a given. We are also portrayed as stupid and goofy in lots of commercials meant to ammuse the Thai population at large.

Damian Mavis

Dear Damian Mavis, you seem to have two main gripes. The first is that farangs are not offered the TV roles in Thailand they would like. Boo Hoo. So what you are saying is some farang actors, who wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in hel_l of gettng acting work in there home country, think it unfair that they are not given leading roles here. It is sort of like the Arab actor who goes to Hollywood and complains that he keeps on being offered the role of a terrorist instead of the cowboy hero role he wants to play.

Your second gripe is the fact that Thai people don't make a sufficient fuss over you when you hurt yourself. Well, didums. I think that there is a misconception in the west that equates fuss with compassion. I worked as a nurse for many years and learnt quickly that laughter can be the most helpful thing sometimes. It is also should be noted that members of the public are encouraged not to physically help victims of accidents if there is any chance of a spinal injury.

I know whrere I grew up people would laugh when somebody hurt themselves. It didn't mean they didn't care. Just a way of easing the tension. I have seen Thai people to be very compassionate. I have literally had my life saved because of it.

BTW, the fact that you use your real name is nice. The fact that need to have it posted twice seems like overkill.

Edited October 21, 2007 by garro

[Neeranam]

Thai people to be very compassionate. I have literally had my life saved because of it.

Me too, on several occassions.

Before people start judging on this subject, please get informed

Indeed

BTW, the fact that you use your real name is nice. The fact that need to have it posted twice seems like overkill.

Neeranam thinks that is funny. Neeranam.