Behaviour Programmed By Soap Operas

[thaigene2]

They also are shown that the standard for physical beauty is having light skin and Sinitic features and those with darker skin and Tai features are relegated to servant roles.

You mean like in real life?

Hi Heng,

Just curoius of your opinion of the soaps?

I don't watch much of the main free to air channels, but IMO the soaps are just like any other product, they are made by folks who want to make money. They don't care whether it changes your beliefs or not, just as long as you keep watching so that they can continue to sell ad time.

Not true Heng - there's lots of published evidence to the contrary. Read up on "critical political-economy theory" and "mass communications" and "Frankfurt School" and "Brazilian telenovelas" as keywords and you'll come across it.

Edited August 25, 2008 by thaigene2

[plachon]

I find this theory very interesting. Can you elaborate on how you see this happening and give examples ? What about men -- are they affected, too ? (I think they are less likely to watch soaps ?). At what age do girls/boys begin to watch soaps here ?

One might indeed argue that the Thai soaps are a sinister plot by the Bangkok elite to infantilize the Thai female population and reset the culture using the power of a modern media. You see in traditional Tai culture, women had quite a bit to say around the house. Although the men tended to represent the family in public, it was the women who controlled the politics and money inside the house. Remember that Tai culture was matrilocal, that is land was inherited by the women and a newly married man moved onto the land of the new bride's family. In the rural areas you can still see quite a few groups of sisters in any one village. Also note that throughout Southeast Asia, it is women working in the traditional marketplace, not men. Compare all of the above with East Asian culture and note that the Bangkok elite tends to be of East Asian origin. One might also note that a very small section of the traditional ruling Thai elite was also male dominated. So the current eliteis a marriage made (mandated?) in heaven at the expense of the Thais.

The soaps help break up all this traditional Thai female power. They portray women as being, well pathetic people with no ability to think with anything other than emotion. Countless women in Thailand watch this drivel and are inculcated with the thought that this is the appropriate behavior pattern for women. They also are shown that the standard for physical beauty is having light skin and Sinitic features and those with darker skin and Tai features are relegated to servant roles. Just as television has slowly dumbed down generations of Americans, the negative impact of the soaps on Thai culture has had perhaps an even greater negative consequences.

Flame on!

Some interesting theories and observations here Johpa, as per normal with your posts. If your conspiracy theory of subverting the traditional role and position of women in Thai society is correct, it's almost like the efforts of the early Catholic church to deinigrate the role and prominence of women in the church and society, especially by portraying Mary Magdalene as a fallen whore rather than a fully fledged disciple of Jesus and possible lover / mother of his child.

Do you have any more evidence for this Sino-Thai elitist conspiracy theory, or is it just an inevitable product of a rich and powerful minority being able to control the production of most mass consumption TV shows in a single nation? I've always tended to agree with many of Jerry Mander's conclusions in 10 Arguments for the Elimination of television, that the media itself inherently opens itself up to control and abuse by a minority to control the thought processes and behaviour of the majority, and for that reason alone, mankind would be better off without this addictive box.

[Heng]

They also are shown that the standard for physical beauty is having light skin and Sinitic features and those with darker skin and Tai features are relegated to servant roles.

You mean like in real life?

Hi Heng,

Just curoius of your opinion of the soaps?

I don't watch much of the main free to air channels, but IMO the soaps are just like any other product, they are made by folks who want to make money. They don't care whether it changes your beliefs or not, just as long as you keep watching so that they can continue to sell ad time.

Not true Heng - there's lots of published evidence to the contrary. Read up on "critical political-economy theory" and "mass communications" and "Frankfurt School" and "Brazilian telenovelas" as keywords and you'll come across it.

Well if it's published then it must be true, right? It's just a product. It certainly CAN be used as such a medium for re-education as suggested, but as it is now, there are too many interests whose goals are simply to use it to make money.

[kiakaha]

I think soaps are somewhat reflective of how a particular tribe really wants to look and act, but cant for whatever reason.

In my case, take western soaps for example..i want razor sharp silver hair, a granite jawline, malibu tan and the ability to speak like a game show host announcer to women.

[elkangorito]

My comments in blue.

public tv doesnt have to be idiotic and cheap.

in canada theres 4 free channels, 2 of them are highly intelectual. the other one is average.. none of them have soap shows, just regular teleseries

Agreed. In Australia the best television channels by far were SBS and ABC (govt/non-commercial). Tax payer supported but often excellent.

Back to soaps ...

Describe the soaps in your home country. Basically, Australian soaps had/have 3 groups of people; the "goodies", the "baddies" & the "fence sitters". To my brief observation, there was nobody who was "normal". Only the extremes existed. The task of the "fence sitters" was to act as a double agent whereby at any time, they could swing from one extreme to the other.

Did their style reflect the culture of your country/region? Only by way of colloquial language & some "typical" behavioural traits. In the whole, the Australian soaps did not reflect the general attitude/behaviour of Australians.

Did people emulate the mannerisms/styles/behaviours of those soaps? Those who did emulate such things were usually castigated for their unrealistic outlook on "life". Nonetheless, this castigation did not seem to deter such "soap addicts". They simply reduced the size of their world to those who could tolerate their mindlessness...usually to & with other "soap addicts".

The scariest thing about all of this is that these "soap addicts" vote. I was equally gobsmacked when several television surveys indicated that about 80% of viewers liked to watch "Big Brother". These morons also vote.

It really worries me when people rave on about Britney Spears (for example) & ignore things like oligarchies, the world energy crisis & the general well being of our planet.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that these programs are responsible for this situation. I am saying that these programs are not helping anything. They simply allow the mindless to remain mindless...much to the pleasure of many a government.

I suggest that "mindless" programs be limited. Afterall, I do like to be "mindless" on the odd occasion (movie...not a "serial").

[imaneggspurt]

Interesting post Johpa,

I think that Thai society/economy is, at the roots, still firmly in the hands of the women. A few observations I have made

- go to a Chinese run hardware store. There is almost always a middle aged woman dealing with the cash and organising the place.

- Rutnin eye hospital in Bangkok must employ 95% women.

- My accountant (female) has at least 20 staff, all female.

- Thaksin has stated that his wife makes the decisions (tongue in cheek, maybe)

- There are far more female students in college than male.

- My impression at the Labour Department and Immigration offices is that the majority of the staff are female.

Where does this leave the males? Motorcycle taxis, the military and the police force come to mind.

I would even go so far as to state that I think the typical Thai male is considered by his female counterpart as a necessary irritation to keep the population going, but basically allowed to play golf, swan around the massage parlours and karaoke bars, play with his mia noi, anything as long as he stays out of the way of running the business.

And mopping around your feet in the toilet, dont ever see men doing it in the ladies, no, its a womans world !

[Kf6vci]

The often terrible make up for both men and women - they are young and have great skin, so why overdo the make up like this?!

Soem fans should start a collection for better make up products like mineral powder.

Ar a wedding, sometimes the groom's face may be caked in make up as well