Teacher MarCod Satrusayang: In defense of the wolf pack
"Cod Satrusayang: In defense of the wolf pack"
In just under a week, "The Hangover Part II" made more than US$200 million worldwide. But many citizens in Bangkok -- the backdrop for much of the movie -- are growing increasingly upset about the image the raunchy comedy portrays of Thailand. Among their complaints is the way Bangkok in particular is depicted, from the gritty, slummy feel of the cinematography to the vulgarity of some boundary-pushing R-rated images.
I suppose that these are the same people that see the "Amazing Thailand" ads from the Tourist Authority of Thailand and say, “Oh, yes. That is the Thailand I know and love.”
Do they have any idea how Thailand is perceived overseas?
While some of those sugar-coated perceptions might be rooted in hyperbole or exaggeration, the images that we see in the "The Hangover Part II" are rooted in fact.
Like it or not, the ping-pong shows, the lady boys, the prostitution, the weapons smuggling and the drug dealing exists here. And on a widespread scale.
Drugs? News stories about foreigners getting caught at Suvarnabhumi International Airport trying to smuggle drugs in or out of the country appear regularly in the daily newspapers .
Lady boys? Really you have to ask?
Prostitution? HumanTrafficking.org lists Thailand as a source, transit point and destination for human trafficking.
Weapons smuggling? Hey, when Viktor Bout was arrested, chances are he wasn’t here to sunbathe.
In fact probably the most unrealistic things about the entire movie were the Chinese-style monks, the monkey and elephants walking around in the streets.
Now the point of this article is not to defend the movie itself. After all, it’s not a terribly good sequel.
The plot is recycled, the story is too familiar and the jokes aren’t as funny as the first time round. But those criticisms are about the movie itself rather than its portrayal of Thailand.
So should Thais be offended by the way "The Hangover Part II" portrays their homeland on the silver screen? Well, it depends.
It depends on your definition of offensive. Is it the perceived lies the movie tells about the country or the fact that the box office record-setting film is portraying the Thailand we’d rather sweep under the carpet away from the gaze of millions of people worldwide?
After watching it, a friend of mine remarked that the movie was funny but Bangkok was not that gritty or slummy. When pressed on it, he said the film could’ve been nicer and shown that we are "civilized" too. Maybe show some of our malls or something.
To the people that have this mindset, I suggest a driving tour of Bangkok, maybe away from Siam Paragon and the intact side of Central World. Drive around the city early in the morning and see the hard-working people who wake up at 5 a.m. on some gritty street so they can support themselves.
Maybe the images of rioting and whoring on screen brought the country's problems a little too close to home. Remember, forgetting about realities does not mean that reality will go away.
Still if one still wants to continue embracing the façade that is so heavily curtained around the real world then, as the wolf pack keeps hearing in "The Hangover Part II," Bangkok truly has you now.
Source: http://cnngo.com