What if the most famous movie characters had been Thai? Would it have worked?

[Beetlejuice]

Imagine if Superman, Batman, an Indiana Jones, the Saint or a James Bond had been Thai, would it have worked, could a Thai audience had even related to them?

An ultra polite James Bond who would introduce himself by saying, sawadee krup, my name is Khun James, instead of; my name is Bond, James bond, and they would never had understood his liking for drinks, shaken but not stirred and I bet a Thai James Bond would never had got to bed the girl at the end if it would have been a Thai movie.

Try to envisage a Thai Batman and his sidekick, Robin. In a Thai scenario Robin most probably would have been a ladyboy or extremely camp. But my guess is that all these movie characters would have been much more violent, with plenty of blood and gore, savage fights and higher body counts in the movies. Who would have been their enemies, a Thai Lex Luther? Could in the case of Batman there had been a Thai penguin, or a cat woman?

Could a Thai version of Star Trek work in Thailand? And another mystery, why has there never been any long-standing soap operas on Thai TV? Such as the UK`s Coronation Street, Eastenders, or the American Cheers, the golden Girls and others like it? There also never seems to be any detective, hospital, police or other types of long running dramas on Thai TV.

Has anyone ever noticed this and wondered why? Or are there such programmes on Thai TV that I am missing?

[Soutpeel]

The keystone cops is a reality show in Thailand

[benalibina]

U must be bored shitless.

[BillyBobThai]

The thing Thai's need most, is a good education in world history. They would then know where on the totem poll they actually fall.

[Scott J Rothwell]

The King and I ever get a run in Thailand?

[wym]

We're probably not even allowed to talk about that here, so no. . .

[Suradit69]

Do you get the feeling that more and more threads are started with the idea of "what if?"

[Suradit69]

The thing Thai's need most, is a good education in world history. They would then know where on the totem poll they actually fall.

Anyone who thinks he received a totally unbiased view of his own country's history or one that wasn't tampered with to boost nationalistic egos is beyond naive. And the fact that you think the purpose of teaching history is to trivialize the significance of any group of people on the planet is imperialistic hubris typical of colonial thinking.

A good education in world history ...

You mean a good education that taught the British that their colonization of the world was at worst benign and probably beneficial to all the "lesser" races and perpetuates the fantasy that their place on the totem poll in the 21st century is still near the top?

Deny the British empire's crimes? No, we ignore them

There is one thing you can say for the Holocaust deniers: at least they know what they are denying. In order to sustain the lies they tell, they must engage in strenuous falsification. To dismiss Britain's colonial atrocities, no such effort is required. Most people appear to be unaware that anything needs to be denied.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/apr/23/british-empire-crimes-ignore-atrocities

Or the education that most Americans got that ignores the deplorable treatment of African Americans or the concentration camps for Japanese Americans or glosses over the atrocities Americans committed during the Mỹ Lai Massacre or in Iraq or paints Americans as the haloed saints in every war they've taken part in?

Or in Texas and Tennessee even today:

To whitewash one of the darkest practices in America history, conservatives proposed that textbooks refer to the slave trade as the “Atlantic triangular trade.”

Now Tennessee Tea Party members are taking their efforts a step further and trying to eliminate references to slavery in American history textbooks. Salon reports that Tea Partiers who fetishize America’s founders are “demanding” that students not be taught that many of them owned slaves:

Or the Japanese history teaching that covers up the consequences of their Imperialism?

Or maybe the revisionist history that is a full-time dynamic industry in Russia, up to and including the current omission of references to Putin opponents?

Edited February 3, 2014 by Suradit69

[zeichen]

First I think that you are confusing with the title.You ask if the protagonist could have been Thai. But in your post you talk about if the movie was made in Thailand. Not necessarily the same. I think that there are a few Thai actors that could pull off some of those roles. As for making Thai films from the list you have, I don't think any of them would be top sellers. Some things just don't translate well. The ideals of the culture and what not would not work. Sci fi really isn't popular so star trek wouldn't do well. Thai film industry needs to mature a little and eventually when the film makers stop getting arrested or black listed, it might have a chance.

Korean film industry has done great things even though it is much younger than the Thai industry. One thing that they did was put a quota on foreign films at cinemas, France did that as well. It keeps the money in the country and helps develop the industry. I can count on one hand the Thai movies that can compete with other countries films.

"The King and I ever get a run in Thailand?"

Ok, Ill bite, I doubt that you can be that naive, but all films that depict any member of the royal family living or non living are banned. All versions of that story are not allowed to be read, viewed or owned in Thailand. It's a pretty silly story to begin with and 100% fiction.

[zeichen]

"The thing Thai's need most, is a good education in world history. They would then know where on the totem poll they actually fall.":

Did you know that world history is required in schools. Just because people forget about history in every country doesn't mean that they didn't once learn it.

I read a US social studies book that said "Japan is one of the most technologically advanced countries in Asia." If that isn't distorting world history and culture, I don't know what does.

But you go on thinking that everything that you were taught and know is better than what other countries put as a priority. That by the way is the definition of ethnocentric.

[cashpower]

I guess it's as good a reason as any to do a bit of Thai-bashing. I mean why not try to directly (mis)apply one culture to another in every situation?

"why has there never been any long-standing soap operas on Thai TV?"

Your ignorance is palpable. It's a cultural difference, the same that applies in some Latino cultures/TV soaps. The soapies have a definite storyline and limited life.

Maybe their audience doesnt go for the western dictate of milking the audience for decades with one stupid storyline after another, and whatever the "writers" can dream up this month?

Your topic is pointless and is probably a sad reflection on your own life and ignorance.

[jonesthebaker]

maybe you need to get out a bit more

[Suradit69]

Do you get the feeling that more and more threads are started with the idea of "what if?"

And yes, I realize the people who created the "card" misspelled "homicidal" ... although maybe it was a telling Freudian slip on their part.

[Razzler1973]

Anyone seen that Book of Eli (good film) ... he does a hell of a lot of walking in that ... not gonna work in Thailand

[Razzler1973]

I have travelled extensively and probably watched TV in most of the countries that have it and without any question of doubt whatsoever, Thais are the worst actors in the world !!!

Toe curling ham acting where every programme seems to follow the same plot - boy meets girl, boy goes off with another girl, first girl bawls her eyes out for hours (without tears), before boy realises he wants the first girl back every single sodding day, day and night!

Might be why they don't get anywhere outside Thailand

I have to say a couple of 'serious' Thai films that I have seen the acting is perfectly fine

[7by7]

I haven't watched much Thai TV, but I have watched many Thai movies.

Yes, many of them are silly comedies, ghost films or wham bam action films; but that is true of, for example, Hollywood as well; and there is nothing wrong with that type of film if you enjoy it. Film's primary purpose is entertainment, after all.

But there are many excellent Thai films; well plotted and written, well produced with high production values, well directed and well acted.

Some examples off the top of my head (I'm giving the English titles):

• Powder Road
• Bangkok Dangerous (the original)
• One Take Only
• Tears of the Black Tiger
• Bangkok Loco
• Bang Rajan
• Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
• Shutter
• The Prisoners (sometimes, unfortunately, marketed in the West as 'Bangkok Hell.')
• Necromancer

Maybe the OP, and others, should broaden their horizons a little.

Edited February 3, 2014 by 7by7

[h90]

hmm, Star Trek, would only fly with Warp 1, because no one understand the engine guide and they are afraid because they didn't install the service parts, instead they sold them on the black market.

Batman would charge all bad guys with 500 USD under the table.

James Bond would never leave the casino.

The Naked gun with Thai Nielsen would be believed to be a documentary.

[dotpoom]

The King and I ever get a run in Thailand?

The great Yul Brennar....left a great message about smoking after his death....sorry for diverting....just remembering the "Magnificent Seven"

[buck99]

hmm, Star Trek, would only fly with Warp 1, because no one understand the engine guide and they are afraid because they didn't install the service parts, instead they sold them on the black market.

Batman would charge all bad guys with 500 USD under the table.

James Bond would never leave the casino.

The Naked gun with Thai Nielsen would be believed to be a documentary.

The Thai John Wayne would need to go get some of his friends when accosted by the "bad guy".

[tetleythedog]

The keystone cops is a reality show in Thailand

Mr. Bean ............so many naturals here ! Jungle book , 10,000 years BC, a Thai actor making a trilogy of " Education Impossible",

" The Oddfather", .....on the blue side....................... Tum does Pattaya .....the options are endless!

[GuyL]

A Thai version of Batman might be named "Baht-Man". The "Baht-Man" could also have been a low-cost version of the 6 Million Dollar Man. As for a Thai Cat Woman, actually, there are plenty of them. Never met a Thai woman whose nickname is "Meow" (= cat in Thai languge)?

[3NUMBAS]

the 3 stooges are playing daily on the streets of BKK with suthep as Mo

[JesseFrank]

Imagine if Superman, Batman, an Indiana Jones, the Saint or a James Bond had been Thai, would it have worked, could a Thai audience had even related to them?

I have no doubts the majority of the Thais think those movie characters are based on real Thai persons.

[Beetlejuice]

I haven't watched much Thai TV, but I have watched many Thai movies.

Yes, many of them are silly comedies, ghost films or wham bam action films; but that is true of, for example, Hollywood as well; and there is nothing wrong with that type of film if you enjoy it. Film's primary purpose is entertainment, after all.

But there are many excellent Thai films; well plotted and written, well produced with high production values, well directed and well acted.

Some examples off the top of my head (I'm giving the English titles):

• Powder Road
• Bangkok Dangerous (the original)
• One Take Only
• Tears of the Black Tiger
• Bangkok Loco
• Bang Rajan
• Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
• Shutter
• The Prisoners (sometimes, unfortunately, marketed in the West as 'Bangkok Hell.')
• Necromancer

Maybe the OP, and others, should broaden their horizons a little.

I watched Shutter on Utube some time ago.

Thought it was great and without adding any spoilers what happened at the end was really scary. I think it was voted in the top ten list of scariest movies of all time.

Here is the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvqWrkdZqn4

Shutter (2004) is a Thai horror film that steals from just about every j-horror convention. There's a pale ghost with long black hair that always seems wet. There's flickering cuts, and there's a young woman who needs to find out what the ghost is trying to tell her. And there's an unexpected bleak ending. But in addition to some above-average scares and some really freaky scenes, Shutter also surprises by being an unexpectedly ambiguous and nuanced examination of the self-deceit and justifications of people who do terrible things but don't want to believe they are terrible people.

Main actor, Tun

He`s half farang I think.

[GOLDBUGGY]

First I think that you are confusing with the title.You ask if the protagonist could have been Thai. But in your post you talk about if the movie was made in Thailand. Not necessarily the same. I think that there are a few Thai actors that could pull off some of those roles. As for making Thai films from the list you have, I don't think any of them would be top sellers. Some things just don't translate well. The ideals of the culture and what not would not work. Sci fi really isn't popular so star trek wouldn't do well. Thai film industry needs to mature a little and eventually when the film makers stop getting arrested or black listed, it might have a chance.

Korean film industry has done great things even though it is much younger than the Thai industry. One thing that they did was put a quota on foreign films at cinemas, France did that as well. It keeps the money in the country and helps develop the industry. I can count on one hand the Thai movies that can compete with other countries films.

"The King and I ever get a run in Thailand?"

Ok, Ill bite, I doubt that you can be that naive, but all films that depict any member of the royal family living or non living are banned. All versions of that story are not allowed to be read, viewed or owned in Thailand. It's a pretty silly story to begin with and 100% fiction.

Not sure about that.

My Thai Wife's favorite movie, and like her younger brother, is "Iron Man". She could hardly wait for last Saturday for the showing on Cable TV of Iron Man 3. Before that her favorite movie was "Amageddon". A Science Fiction Movie. So why not Star Trek? I don't know why so many people think that Thai People are so different. They enjoy a good movie just like anyone else. The longer I live with my wife the more I see she is not so different. The scary part for me is that I afraid she will see that in me to.

True about the King and I never getting a showing here. It is also true that this story is not true as well. Also true about the Poster being off his own topic. But as to a Thai Actor becoming a big success here, and elsewhere, of course he can. Just look at Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee! Both started out in Hong Kong China. Both on Low Budget Movies.

But to make big money in the motion picture industry you need big money to start with. What's that joke about running a business in Thailand? That you need a large fortune here to make a small one. So not many people are willing to do that and to invest heavily here to make a film in Thailand, with some unknown Thai Actor. Or should I say unknown outside of Thailand? They are also under strict guidelines, or censorship if you like, when making a movie here. IMHO these are the only reasons why it hasn't happened here already.

But now look at India and Bollywood. They seem to do very well just staying in India, with some export to Indians living Overseas. You will never see Nudity on an Indian Movie either, but lots of singing. So why should they want to change things in Thailand as I am sure they do very well here as well, with 63M Thai Population and growing? I enjoy the odd Thai Soap myself.

But my favorite is Nigerian. If you don't see some murder or violence, or some ruthless Uncle slapping a Niece, Daughter, Wife, or another Woman, and then turning them into slaves, well, then it is not a Nigerian Movie. What I could never figure out though, is with all these movies of Violence, why is it that they are so afraid to show a Woman's Naked Behind, or Breast? Hum??? I guess they are more afraid of women then a gun.

[Beetlejuice]

First I think that you are confusing with the title.You ask if the protagonist could have been Thai. But in your post you talk about if the movie was made in Thailand. Not necessarily the same. I think that there are a few Thai actors that could pull off some of those roles. As for making Thai films from the list you have, I don't think any of them would be top sellers. Some things just don't translate well. The ideals of the culture and what not would not work. Sci fi really isn't popular so star trek wouldn't do well. Thai film industry needs to mature a little and eventually when the film makers stop getting arrested or black listed, it might have a chance.

Korean film industry has done great things even though it is much younger than the Thai industry. One thing that they did was put a quota on foreign films at cinemas, France did that as well. It keeps the money in the country and helps develop the industry. I can count on one hand the Thai movies that can compete with other countries films.

"The King and I ever get a run in Thailand?"

Ok, Ill bite, I doubt that you can be that naive, but all films that depict any member of the royal family living or non living are banned. All versions of that story are not allowed to be read, viewed or owned in Thailand. It's a pretty silly story to begin with and 100% fiction.

Not sure about that.

My Thai Wife's favorite movie, and like her younger brother, is "Iron Man". She could hardly wait for last Saturday for the showing on Cable TV of Iron Man 3. Before that her favorite movie was "Amageddon". A Science Fiction Movie. So why not Star Trek? I don't know why so many people think that Thai People are so different. They enjoy a good movie just like anyone else. The longer I live with my wife the more I see she is not so different. The scary part for me is that I afraid she will see that in me to.

True about the King and I never getting a showing here. It is also true that this story is not true as well. Also true about the Poster being off his own topic. But as to a Thai Actor becoming a big success here, and elsewhere, of course he can. Just look at Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee! Both started out in Hong Kong China. Both on Low Budget Movies.

But to make big money in the motion picture industry you need big money to start with. What's that joke about running a business in Thailand? That you need a large fortune here to make a small one. So not many people are willing to do that and to invest heavily here to make a film in Thailand, with some unknown Thai Actor. Or should I say unknown outside of Thailand? They are also under strict guidelines, or censorship if you like, when making a movie here. IMHO these are the only reasons why it hasn't happened here already.

But now look at India and Bollywood. They seem to do very well just staying in India, with some export to Indians living Overseas. You will never see Nudity on an Indian Movie either, but lots of singing. So why should they want to change things in Thailand as I am sure they do very well here as well, with 63M Thai Population and growing? I enjoy the odd Thai Soap myself.

But my favorite is Nigerian. If you don't see some murder or violence, or some ruthless Uncle slapping a Niece, Daughter, Wife, or another Woman, and then turning them into slaves, well, then it is not a Nigerian Movie. What I could never figure out though, is with all these movies of Violence, why is it that they are so afraid to show a Woman's Naked Behind, or Breast? Hum??? I guess they are more afraid of women then a gun.

Thank you for this, a most informative post.

You make a lot of sense regarding why in Thailand they don`t like to risk investing a huge fortune into film making and again on an excellent point you make, I also believe that due to strict censorship laws the themes regarding movies and TV programmes here rather limits the film makers. One Thai movie that does come to mind and as an example, was called tsunami 2022 made in 2009, about a huge tidal wave that wipes out Bangkok. (can be seen on Utube). All the budget stops and whistles were pulled out for this one, millions were plied into it, only it resulted in being a huge flop. As far as I know the Thai movie makers have never ventured into creating such big budget productions since.

Also, the population of India is now I believe reaching 1.3 billion plus the millions living abroad, compared with a population of 63 million in Thailand. So the Indian film companies have a much wider audience and can afford to make higher budget movies.

What you have mentioned in your post, more or less answers my questions, but perhaps in the future the Thai censorship brigade and the movie makers will let their hair down a bit and allow the themes to be a little more riska, placing Thailand as one of the top players in the International movie scene.

[Keesters]

Your topic is pointless and is probably a sad reflection on your own life and ignorance.

Then what are you doing here?

[Keesters]

U must be bored shitless.

maybe you need to get out a bit more

Seriously is that the best you can do. The OP asked a question, just because you have nothing to offer all you can do is be rude.

[samran]

The OP doesn't get out much, does he?

[evadgib]

U must be bored shitless.

That's the best one liner i've seen all day:)