Showing 1 - 10 of 11
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.
A unity of none
Life, Sawarin Suwichakornpong, Published on 17/04/2020
» In the morning of Aug 25, 2017, a group of militants belonging to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) unco-ordinatedly attacked police and border guards in northern Arakan (Rakhine) state, killing at least 12 officers. The Myanmar Armed Forces, known as the Tatmadaw, retaliated by launching a military counter-insurgency campaign in order to capture the perpetrators who attacked the border garrisons.
What's happening on Thailand's music landscape this week
B Magazine, Published on 02/02/2020
» Jenny & The Scallywags (Feb 3)
End on a high
Life, John Clewley, Published on 24/12/2019
» The entertainment business is in full swing as we come to the end of 2019 with lots of concerts and end-of-year parties not only in Bangkok but also around the country. Word Beat has been out and about to join in the fun. Here are some recent highlights.
Memories buried in soil
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 19/07/2019
» Memories and war, illusory borders and invisible scars: These themes are resonant in two documentary films shown late last month at the SAC Film Festival (hosted by the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre). In the Thai documentary Din Rai Dan (Soil Without Land), a Tai Yai man in Shan state talks about his life as a waiter in Bangkok and as a soldier in his ethnic army. In the Vietnamese film The Future Cries Beneath Our Soil, a group of men in a rural village bear the indelible wounds of the Vietnam War, still stinging after 40 years.
Shostakovich in the spotlight
Life, Published on 19/02/2019
» The Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra (RBSO) under the Royal Patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana continues its bounty of classical music with "Li-Wei Qin Plays Shostakovich", a concert highlighting works by two of the greatest composers of the 20th century -- Dmitri Shostakovich and Jean Sibelius. Dedicated to His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, the concert which is part of RBSO's "Great Artists Series" programme is set to take place on Friday at the Thailand Cultural Centre.
Anwar Ibrahim is back in Bangkok
Life, Published on 20/11/2018
» The champion of reformasi (reform), a prisoner of more than 10 years and finally the prime minister-in-waiting of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim has charted the most remarkable political career the region has ever seen.
A political punk party
Life, Published on 22/09/2015
» Punk veterans Anti-Flag protested along with the people of Bangkok on Sunday night at The Rock Pub.
Molam's mass movement
Life, Pimrapee Thungkasemvathana, Published on 07/11/2014
» 'Molam can't be tamed," so the old saying goes. The years have certainly proven this true. From now until the end of March next year, the Jim Thompson Art Center presents "Joyful Khaen, Joyful Dance", an exhibition tracing the development of molam from its ritualistic roots in Isan, through its passage as anti-communism propaganda, to its current place in pop culture, where the once rural music is played to the cool or even international crowd of Bangkok.