Breast-Painting On The Tube: Is This Much Ado About Nothing?: Thai Opinion

[webfact]

TELL IT AS IT IS

Breast-painting on the tube: Is this much ado about nothing?

Pornpimol Kanchanalak

The answer is a resolute "Not".

BANGKOK: -- For the second time in a month, several friends from overseas have written to express their disbelief and bafflement. Their confusion was caused by what they saw on two episodes of a popular TV talent show in Thailand that caught their eye on the Internet.

The first episode was a striptease dance by a male performer who was allowed by judges to perform his pathetic "motion" - that was not even qualified to be called a dance - until the very end. By then, the only piece of clothing left on his body was a very flimsy jersey that rendered very visible the body part underneath that also "danced" to the music. "If I were a Thai, I would feel so humiliated," were the words from the Land of the Free, where freedom of expression is held sacred.

The second episode was only recently. A girl who apparently has no talent was voted on to the next round of the show. She presented herself as an artist and managed to paint what appeared to be a rough silhouette of a human body before starting to remove her shirt and bra. She then proceeded to pour paint on her breasts and rubbed them against a canvas, with music playing in the background. The two masters of ceremony acted surprised. The one female judge hit the red button for the show to stop, but to no avail. The two male judges allowed the girl to continue and run down the clock for her alloted time. She completed her act and was even deemed by the two male judges to have enough talent to continue in the next round of the competition.

The next screen shot showed the male judges trying to "educate" and enlighten the visibly upset female judge about art.

"Just when I thought nothing coming out of Thailand these days could surprise me, I saw this and had to lower the bar." So went the words from across the ocean.

The show in question is a franchise of an original British TV format that has spawned spin-offs in 39 countries. The show in Thailand started in 2011 and the first winner it produced was a 13-year-old classical-crossover singer.

It is obvious that the producers of the programme must have known what the painter girl was going to do. There were even reports on Wednesday that she was paid by the company that owns the Thai franchise to go the whole nine yards on camera to boost the show's ratings. For the masters of ceremony to at first act shocked when the girl took off her clothes, and then react in glee when the girl was voted on to the next round, was a serious insult to viewers' intellect and sensibility.

Certainly, we do not live in a "Victorian" era and cannot expect everyone and everything to be polite, decent and tasteful. But we also know that cognitive line between real and phony art has become extremely thin. It does not require much intelligence to appreciate the distinctiveness between nude paintings by Lucian Freud and pin-up calendar girls. But now, with this show, the line between talent and malarkey has been smashed.

Harvard University social philosopher Michael J Sandel has written a book, What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets, in which he states that over the last few decades, many societies have drifted away from having a market economy to becoming market societies. The marked difference between the two, he espouses, is that a market economy is a "tool - a valuable and effective tool - for organising productivity", while a "market society" is a place where everything is up for sale. It is a way of life in which market values govern every aspect of life, and almost everything can be bought and sold, with a price tag. He also contends that we did not arrive at this condition through any deliberate choice; it is almost as if it came upon us unawares. He calls it "market triumphalism". It is the reach of markets, and of market values, and most important of all, greed, into spheres of life traditionally governed by non-market norms

And indeed, that society has come upon us, exacerbated by our laissez-faire attitude. As the market price-tag value has seeped in, many of the good things in life have been degraded into commodities - even more so here than in those countries well known as the bedrocks of capitalism.

Why do we have to worry that we are fast becoming a market society?

Putting moral decadence aside, the two most prominent characteristics of a market society are inequality and corruption, as there is no end to the run of money's writ. We pride ourselves as being a society that takes an extremely non-judgemental stance towards moral and spiritual values. But as such, we are becoming a society increasingly devoid of public discourse on moral and civic energy. Do we want our children to live in such a society?

If the answer is negative, it is incumbent upon us to decide where to put a stop to the market values and to begin preserving the realm of non-market value that comprises integrity as well as moral and spiritual convictions.

The first small step may be a clarion call against the extreme commercialism of a talent show that promotes lewd and crude acts, not actual talent.

-- The Nation 2012-06-21

[theblether]

Yes............

and it says a lot.............

That it was....................

The most entertaining thing...................

On Thai TV this year

[Reasonableman]

tal·ent n.

1. A marked innate ability, as for artistic accomplishment. See Synonyms at ability.

2. a. Natural endowment or ability of a superior quality.

I guess this act must fall under definition 2a, natural endowment.

[Thai at Heart]

It proves that there is "No such thing as bad publicity".

Useless TV show, debasing itself to the lowest level, with judges who patently have absolutely no idea of "talent", yet they sit there with their wacky glasses, hi-so accents lecturing about talent and art. The strangest part of it, was that they essentially allowed a stripper to pose as a painter and voted her through, claiming that if this was done in Europe it would be acceptable, because of course, as worldly pooyais, they have seen it all before.

Darts and ping pong balls next. Now that's real talent.

Whatever pays the bills I guess.

[edwinchester]

Darts and ping pong balls next. Now that's real talent.

Only if they hit the target!

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect App

[Reasonableman]

Great Flying Bananas, Batman!!

[necronx99]

Market economy has inequality and corruption....

Nope, don't need that here.

[laurentbkk]

Damned I missed that ............ well , no wonder I hardly watch Thai TV ... so far the lousiest TV programs on earth .... kilometers of stupid drama soap and a few ridiculous "kratoey" on every channel .

[DoctorG]

I did not see this (unfortunately) so I do not know what time in the evening it was aired. If it was early then I agree that it was inappropriate. In Australia they can just about air anything they like after 9pm (with content warnings).

Older Australians will remember the shows "96" and "The Box" where full frontal nudity occured in nearly every episode.

IMO it is all about the timing.

[hmj]

Tourist are already visiting elephant painting in Thailand. Soon they will be able to visit breast painting shows.

[avalonmick]

"....the words from the Land of the Free, where freedom of expression is held sacred"

That's about as true as calling this woman a "contestant"

[Gillespie]

The whole episode displays a combination of rank hypocrisy, juvenile prurience, abject dishonesty and blurry boobs. And the TV company is being fined for the boobs.

Something wrong here.

[Arkady]

I'm afraid Pornpimol's Bell's Palsy is playing her up again and causing her to write such garrulous nonsense.

[kawaiimomo]

The first small step may be a clarion call against the extreme commercialism of a talent show that promotes lewd and crude acts, not actual talent.

LOL 90% of the TV content is pure crap and only focus on getting audience so they will obtain more money from the ads. This kind of show is $hit and just for entertain; If anyone wants to be a real artist they should go to real auditions and follow the proper channels instead of going to a TV show.

About the boobs, probably better to air the show at night time (but again, most kids here do whatever they want and would watch it the same). I also think something is really wrong when a society cares so much about showing a censored and painted tits on TV, but then doesn't show interest on illegal gambling, bribery, corruption, etc. Maybe if we got more tits on screen the mood would be better (and show something for the women too :-)

[Tatsujin]

Tourist are already visiting elephant painting in Thailand. Soon they will be able to visit breast painting shows.

That's already on offer in some of the go-go bars (apparently) lol

[1bbcd5]

Thanks for all the reports guys, nice to hear that.

[Misterwhisper]

Luckily the lass didn't sing along how much her ear itched while she was painting that canvas...

[pepi2005]

Is it on Youtube already?

[robertson468]

Enough of this titillation already!

[how241]

It proves that there is "No such thing as bad publicity".

Useless TV show, debasing itself to the lowest level, with judges who patently have absolutely no idea of "talent", yet they sit there with their wacky glasses, hi-so accents lecturing about talent and art. The strangest part of it, was that they essentially allowed a stripper to pose as a painter and voted her through, claiming that if this was done in Europe it would be acceptable, because of course, as worldly pooyais, they have seen it all before.

Darts and ping pong balls next. Now that's real talent.

Whatever pays the bills I guess.

Correct.

[Amsterdam]

Is it on Youtube already?

[oops]

Can someone keep me abreast on this issue.............................WHAt?

[oops]

Is it on Youtube already?

Thailand's talent.....cant wait till they bring in the bar girls....

[SuneeTH]

Just like the Silom wet songkran stripper; she will be fine 500 baht, CASE CLOSE.

[Jingthing]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YmYhoIykG8&feature=player_embedded Edited June 21, 2012 by Jingthing

[pacharaphet]

"If I were a Thai, I would feel so humiliated," were the words from the Land of the Free, where freedom of expression is held sacred.

Hmm.....why do I think Bunsong the teacher, Jai the political writer/academic, and Aagong might see this differently. Let's ask them...oh wait we can only ask two of them. I'm sure Aagong would not have put his hand up when they asked "Okay, so who thinks we have free expression". And if these were the only three cases in recent years, I might not bring it to issue, but it is getting quite out of hand at this point, and records show this. How is it one can make such logic while so many people are being charged for defamation laws which are directly related to the denial of freedom of expression?

[Morakot]

First time that I actually read something intelligent in the Nation. There is hope. Well done, Pornpimol Kanchanalak!

Edited June 22, 2012 by Morakot

[Payboy]

I'm afraid Pornpimol's Bell's Palsy is playing her up again and causing her to write such garrulous nonsense.

Is Bell's Palsy usually associated with Asperger Syndrome? Just wondering because Ponrpimol mentions several baffled overseas friends.