Good documentaries can make a big difference: Thai editorial

[webfact]

EDITORIAL
Good documentaries can make a big difference
The Nation

Digital TV needs refreshing content to avoid the mainstream trap

BANGKOK: -- Digital TV is getting closer and closer to a full-scale launch. The positives have been identified and the negatives have been spotted. On one hand, the TV industry is striving to try the untried and advertisers are getting a bit braver supporting unorthodox content.

On the other hand, the gravitational pull of the status quo is heavily asserting itself, with mainstream sure-to-get-good-ratings and sponsors' content starting to creep in.

We have seen the positives - the attempts to produce content never before put on air - so let's see what has been obviously lacking. No new TV station has come up with good documentaries, or at least showed us it's trying. That's a pity because Thailand is a country rich in history, a goldmine for documentary-makers.

We have great temples with intriguing backgrounds. We have a long-established monarchy. We are one of very few nations that escaped colonialism. We are not the world's most spectacular sporting country but we have a fair share of great athletes. We played our roles in world wars. Our politics is one of the world's most colourful.

That is to name just a few. We all know the famous "History" channel that has slowly changed the general mindset that watching historical documentaries is boring. That international channel has explored key world events and interesting names and places. The concepts and examples are already there for our local TV producers to follow. The best part is the TV industry doesn't have to focus on the world, because this country alone can provide unlimited material, ideas or resources for great content.

Any digital TV station that decides to pioneer documentary making will make, no pun intended, history. This is not to say that no locally-made great documentaries have ever graced our TV screens. There have been some masterpieces, but they are only far and few in between and no station has really dedicated itself to being a pioneer in this particular field.

Money is admittedly the key issue. It's easier and cheaper to get celebrities to host some programmes that attract advertising - but do not quite enrich the audience with new knowledge - than to do one really good documentary. The problem is that celebrities' chit-chat, concerts, health advice or gadget updates are part of the mainstream content that is threatening to flood every station. There are attempts to try new "presentation" methods, but that is not what makes a station "different" from others.

Well-researched and well-produced documentaries are the answer. This sort of content requires a good mix of journalistic skills and visual expertise. In other words, any station armed with good journalists, dedicated video and CG technicians and film directors can have a really great head-start.

Where will the funding come from? A good documentary series on, say, Ayutthaya, may be as costly as making one movie. Money and quality content are a chicken-and-egg issue. But the bottom-line is that if one production is good, the next one can attract a lot of sponsorship or advertisements. All a station needs is the courage to invest and get started.

Digital TV stations are competing in a "red ocean" business environment, they say. On the one hand, it's called "red ocean" because it's tough. On the other hand, a "red ocean" is where all the easy things are done so there are too many fish gathering there for comfort. While it takes some courage to be in the red ocean, getting out of it may require greater bravery.


-- The Nation 2014-05-26

[terryp]

Thailand is a country rich in history. .....................most of which has been manipulated and the rest you cant talk about for fear of arrest

Thai TV is basically trash for the braindead mass's ....but if thats what they want

[canuckamuck]

Here's an idea: Make a documentary or show about something outside of Thailand!

Believe it or not there are other things to talk about.

Edited May 25, 2014 by canuckamuck

[kalbo123]

Notice that Thaivisa does not bring news about the coup anymore.

Instead we have to talk about quality Thai tv.

Think I tune out for awhile and find my needed information elsewhere.

Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met behulp van Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[chooka]

Here's an idea: Make a documentary or show about something outside of Thailand!

Believe it or not there are other things to talk about.

Is there anything outside of Thailand?

[chainarong]

Any documentary makes better watching than the soaps and reality TV , anywhere , so the ball is in the TV lands court, to have very good content or average to boring turn off content, they have no excuse ,documentary's are everywhere and just tickle up the voice over and hey presto Thai's are learning something special and if all TV stations did this the watching audience will have only two options turn off or learn , bet it doesn't happen.

[chainarong]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Here's an idea: Make a documentary or show about something outside of Thailand!

Believe it or not there are other things to talk about.

Is there anything outside of Thailand?

You have raised a good point Chooka ,

[PatOngo]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Here's an idea: Make a documentary or show about something outside of Thailand!

Believe it or not there are other things to talk about.

Is there anything outside of Thailand?

You have raised a good point Chooka ,

Why change the formula....the rich family,the big house and nice cars,the poor maid,the love triangle with plenty of arguments....oh,and the ladyboy....that's what they like.

[Luk Mhee]

If they could only stop airing the documentaries that contain endless screaming and crying, sexual assaults, and beatings that the women gets from time to time, the documentaries would be more acceptable.

[Pib]

...We played our roles in world wars....

Yes, during WWII Thailand declared neutrality but signed a military pact with the Japanese to give them full access to the country/support of Japanese war operations against the allies. Then Thailand declared war on the allies. Then once the Japanese were defeated Thailand started sucking up to the allies.

Yes, Thailand has played its roles in world wars.

[Benmart]

I watch CTHs broadcasts of Arirang (Korea), NHK (Japan)' Telemonde5 (France) and DW (Germany) for their varied, international and diverse pegramming. They cover internal/external travel, news, historical drama, history, culture, cuisine, human interest and many other subjects. Perhaps these models could be considered.

Many of the broadcasts are in the native language with English subtitles, which, is mostly absent on Thai PBS.

Thai television, in my opinion, lacks creative imagination and consists primarily of entertainment that does little to enhance the national heritage, advance the viewers education or expose them to the world they are a part of.

Edited May 26, 2014 by Benmart

[Mentors]

Thailand is a country rich in history. .....................most of which has been manipulated and the rest you cant talk about for fear of arrest

Thai TV is basically trash for the braindead mass's ....but if thats what they want

+ 1

[Benmart]

...We played our roles in world wars....

Yes, during WWII Thailand declared neutrality but signed a military pact with the Japanese to give them full access to the country/support of Japanese war operations against the allies. Then Thailand declared war on the allies. Then once the Japanese were defeated Thailand started sucking up to the allies.

Yes, Thailand has played its roles in world wars.

Your point is well taken. History has many examples where humanity has suffered as a result of political and military alliances.

History also provides many examples where peace, foregiveness and friendship have been extended to former adversaries.

History cannot be rewritten with creative wording or explanation. However, understanding the circumstances at the time the history was made is beyond my comprehension since I was not there.

[american12bthai]

i love thai tv, its so great. its better than food. when i watch thai tv i wanna rape someone and blame my best friend. cause thats what the soap opera teaches us. Its ok to rape someone as long as you love them.

lol. actually thai tv is the stupidest thing ever. even the news has sound effects. boiinngg! waaah waaahh wwaahhhhhh... hellpooo... 1980s wants their sound effects back. (insert punchline sound effect). and is anyone else tired of SEEING THE SAME 5 PEOPLE ON TV, MOVIES, ADVERTISEMENTS? ITS THE SAME 5 PEOPLE... EVERY SINGLE TIME> >> AM I TAKING CRAZY PILLS?

If thailand was a movie, it would feel like im in Zoolander.

my sister makes documentaries for a living. she did one on Thai cowboys. its in production.

[TimCM]

How can you have good documentaries without free speech?

[UbonRatch]

I've done a Dusaass University poll, just in the last hour, and out of 1,235 corresponding ex-pats, aged 20-65, from USA, UK, Canada and Australia, 99% said they have been watching: National Geographic, BBC, Riley's Believe It or Not, and reading Reader's Digest for the last 20 years.

I wonder what a Thai documentary shall comprise:

Cartoons with big boobed little teenagers, bust like reality?

[spermwhale]

I've been asking my Thai friends for years (including a TV sitcom actor and the owner of BEC Tero) why there isn't more quality programming in Thailand and why it's all melodrama and always with cartoon sounds. Why not a gritty cop show? Why not some good documentaries that are not about HM the King or food? Even the travel shows here use silly visuals and stupid sounds.

Well my BEC Tero friend, who lived in the US for many years, told me flat out that it won't sell. People don't want reality in Thailand. They want silliness and fantasy.

Thais don't want reality, especially the poor masses who have a hard enough life as it is. They want pure escapism and anything that looks too dirty and real, like their own lives, they won't watch.

Sad really.

[spermwhale]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Notice that Thaivisa does not bring news about the coup anymore.
Instead we have to talk about quality Thai tv.
Think I tune out for awhile and find my needed information elsewhere.


Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met behulp van Thaivisa Connect Thailand

Uh... did you check your inbox today and yesterday. It's all over ThaiVisa

[madmitch]

They could test the water by showing quality TV documentaries by the BBC or similar with Thai commentary. When they discover that no one is interested they can go back to soaps, boings and celebrity tittle tattle.

[sprq]

Documentaries about social issues, about abuse of power, about corruption, about the military, about the education system, about the police, about law enforcement, etc etc etc. Funny thing, The Nation doesn't suggest coverage of contemporary Thailand in issues that really matter. Just one more illustration of how bad the thinking behind Thai TV is, even from a newspaper.

[Lancelot]

We are often reminded that Thailand is one of the few nations to escape colonization. OK, but was that a good thing? (Rhetorical question, na)

The US was colonized by Great Britain - it was the best thing that ever happened to us: English language, rule of law, western ethics are a few of the attributes we gained from colonization (yeah, our Brit friends will say we never actually learned to speak English, Ha!) Singapore and Hong Kong are also examples of a currently successful former colony. Yes, being colonized surely does not guarantee a country will enjoy future success (Nigeria) but some countries did receive some positive institutions from that experience.

With respect to Thailand never being colonized, it (Thailand) served as a buffer state between the British and French Empires and that suited both European countries. Could Thailand have successfully resisted a determined effort to prevent colonization? We will never know that; however, we do know that it was occupied by the Japanese Empire during WWII. Also large parts of Isan has Khmer temples, indicating that areas were controlled by the Khmer Empire prior to its (Khmer Empire's) collapse. Then there were the Burmese...

A few objective documentaries on Thai history would be a good thing indeed

[Lancelot]

I've been asking my Thai friends for years (including a TV sitcom actor and the owner of BEC Tero) why there isn't more quality programming in Thailand and why it's all melodrama and always with cartoon sounds. Why not a gritty cop show? Why not some good documentaries that are not about HM the King or food? Even the travel shows here use silly visuals and stupid sounds.

Well my BEC Tero friend, who lived in the US for many years, told me flat out that it won't sell. People don't want reality in Thailand. They want silliness and fantasy.

Thais don't want reality, especially the poor masses who have a hard enough life as it is. They want pure escapism and anything that looks too dirty and real, like their own lives, they won't watch.

Sad really.

Good point. Check out some of the Depression era films made in the USA- musicals with lavish dance scenes, Little Rascals, Shirley Temple. They were all escape films, pay twenty-five cents and forget your problems for a couple of hours.

Edited May 26, 2014 by Lancelot

[sundrenched]

I bought The Nation this morning and was happily surprised at the incisive commentary on the editorial page. First, the timely and much needed editorial in the first post, letters from foreigners endorsing the coup, and a cartoon doing the same.

[BillyBobThai]

The Art of The Scam

How Thailand became the hub of scamming.

[anteater]

I propose a documentary entitled "Lovely Lovely Coup". This will show how the lovely coup this month is already improving life for everyone, even the dogs and cats.

[spermwhale]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

I've been asking my Thai friends for years (including a TV sitcom actor and the owner of BEC Tero) why there isn't more quality programming in Thailand and why it's all melodrama and always with cartoon sounds. Why not a gritty cop show? Why not some good documentaries that are not about HM the King or food? Even the travel shows here use silly visuals and stupid sounds.

Well my BEC Tero friend, who lived in the US for many years, told me flat out that it won't sell. People don't want reality in Thailand. They want silliness and fantasy.

Thais don't want reality, especially the poor masses who have a hard enough life as it is. They want pure escapism and anything that looks too dirty and real, like their own lives, they won't watch.

Sad really.

Good point. Check out some of the Depression era films made in the USA- musicals with lavish dance scenes, Little Rascals, Shirley Temple. They were all escape films, pay twenty-five cents and forget your problems for a couple of hours.

That's a really good point!

[Chang_paarp]

When we got digital TV in Oz I hoped we would get a few new "quality" programmes scattered across the range of new stations.

What did we get?

Dr Ho's Physio belt, Dr Ho's pain relief, Release the nutients with NUTRIBULLET, The Brazil But Lift and other similar quality shows to supplement the reruns of '70s and 80's TV series, and "encore" showings of the latest drivel from across the commercial TV world.

Sorry no hope for Thailand given my limited experience in Oz.

[Benmart]

The Art of The Scam

How Thailand became the hub of scamming.

Perhaps. And perhaps a documentary about "The critical visitors that came to dinner and wouldn't leave".

[SidFernwilter]

A Thai documentary would be two hi-so girls traveling around Thailand taking selfies and food pictures.

[DeepInTheForest]

It's all very well to endorse historical documentaries. But could we possibly get to a point where we endorse freedom of expression first? The censorship that affects things here mitigates against any deep examination of the powers that be, or the powers that were.

Thailand is not unique in this regard. Censorship of mass media prevails throughout the 'developed' world-- because it is controlled so tightly by corporations who have little interest in challening the status quo.

For those who seek truth, independent filmmakers and internet blogs may be first place to turn to.