Showing 1 - 7 of 7
Getting soft power right
Life, Published on 08/01/2024
» After three months in office, the Srettha Thavisin government has raved on about populist policies in the guise of digital wallets and soft power projects that will create income to boost our declining economy. With optimism, we learned that Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Pheu Thai party leader and head of the National Soft Power Strategy Committee (NSPSC), has drafted a budget of 5.1 billion baht to boost festivals and creative industries. It is welcoming news to hear this government is priortising art, music, literature, design, fashion, film, food, games, sports and festivals as essential sources for the creative economy. Where this enormous chunk of budget will come from, like digital wallets, remains to be seen.
Death by a thousand cuts
Life, Chris Baker, Published on 09/07/2021
» The film director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, is the most celebrated Thai creative artist in the world today, awarded the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2010 and a string of other international prizes. After wrestling with the Thai censors, he decided first to stop showing his films in Thailand, and then to stop making his films here. He has recently been making a film with an international star cast in Colombia, almost exactly the opposite point on the globe, the farthest possible distance from Thailand on the planet.
Exploring our own past
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 17/03/2021
» A boy walks towards the trees and asks them a history question. The trees do not answer him. Then, the boy sees two trees running back to their game world and he follows them, and so his journey begins.
Eyes wide open
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 08/05/2020
» The literature about modern Thai politics is not abundant, and by this I mean a narrative that grounds its characters in the double-whammy of coup d'etat and street protest that characterised the mid-2000s to mid-2010s. The period, plus a few years earlier when Thaksin Shinawatra rose to power, contains some of the most convulsive and era-defining moments that continue to shape the visible and invisible dimensions of Thai society in the present time, and it's astonishing that not more writers find it a rich wellspring of artistic expression (on the contrary, visual artists and theatre artists seem more responsive to the political currents of the same period).
Beam me up!
Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 23/08/2019
» Interest in extraterrestrial things (and beings) make a comeback to the Thai collective consciousness, thanks to asteroid 2006 QQ23 flying by and a viral video in which a local man, who claims to be a medium of Pluto God, warns humanity of 2020 doomsday in an alien tongue. This got us thinking about the local interest in UFOs and aliens, and how Thailand is linked to alien stories in a way that you may not be aware of. We aren't saying we believe in Pluto God or trying to convince you one way or another but there are many pieces of evidence (of varying degrees of credibility) of alleged alien visits to the Land Of Smiles and they are too fascinating not to share.
Let's get political (art)
Guru, Pasavat Tanskul, Published on 08/03/2019
» With the upcoming general election finally happening on Mar 24, the fate of the city hangs in the balance of voters hoping for some actual policy changes that leans toward democracy. However, some may express scepticism and while expressing one's doubts and criticism could be met with scorn and censorship, there are a few people who have expressed their opinions in other forms -- namely street art. Enter Headache Stencil, an anonymous masked political painter whose art usually deals with Thailand's recent social and political happenings.
In tune with the times
B Magazine, Apipar Norapoompipat, Published on 08/07/2018
» For over 30 years, Pongsit Kampee has been telling stories about people, their struggles, grievances, and of love lost. To say that he is Thailand's Bob Dylan may be a bit of an overstatement, but he's one of the few we have who may merit that comparison.