ENGENDERING PUBLIC MOURNING OF KING RAMA IX THROUGH DRAMA SERIES: ROYALISM AND THAI ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
Keywords:
Royalism, Critical theories, Rama IXAbstract
In the wake of the passing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Rama IX (r.1946-2016), Thailand’s entertainment industry produced several drama series participated by countless Thai celebrities. It was a royalist popular culture that aimed to mourn and remember the late king. This paper examines the “narrative structures” widely shared by these royalist series. Unlike in royal documentary films, protagonists in the series are commoners diverse in their backgrounds, nationalities, and socio-economic status. Taking place during October 2016, the plots contain warming, comic, and tear-jerking messages which are worthy of a close textual analysis. More importantly, this paper argues that these TV series are political arts. They serve to reproduce a hierarchical order and ideological domination through signs and language. This paper also explores the so-called royalism and bourgeois ideology as ruling ideologies; therefore, it enables us to better understand not only royal hegemony during the twilight era of Rama IX but also Thailand’s decade-long political conflict – the conflict that outlived the death of the monarch and became a challenging question under the new reign.
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Bleiker R. Visual Global Politics. London and New York: Routledge; 2018.
Charoen Pokphand Group. Why do Thai people love their King? 2014. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K0qET70ZNw. Accessed September 24, 2016.
Chiangsen U. The Birth of Redshirts as a Counter-Movement. Same Sky. 2011; 9(3): 123-154.
Foucault M. The History of Sexuality, Vol. 1: An Introduction. New York: Vintage Books; 1990.
Foucault M. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Vintage Books; 1995.
Glorifying the Man in the Sky: The Series. 2017. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eKWvPecQqE. Accessed December 12, 2017.
Grandma’s Memory. 2016. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/bornonkingramaix/videos/1964838730410255/. Accessed December 12, 2017.
Hall S. Encoding, Decoding. The Cultural Studies Reader. London and New York: Routledge; 2007: 90-103.
Handley P. The King Never Smiles: A Biography of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej. New Haven: Yale University Press; 2006.
Hewison K. Review Article: A Book, The King and the 2006 Coup. Journal of Contemporary Asia. 2008; 38(1): 190 – 211.
Hinwiman S. Television Series: “Slap/Kiss” and “Husband/Wife. Entertainment Media: Power of Nonsense. Bangkok: All About Print; 2002: 173 - 247.
Itsaradet T. Chak chak wong wong Series. Entertainment Media: Power of Nonsense. Bangkok: All About Print; 2002: 85-170.
Jayanama S. From Revolution to Globalization: A Critical Introduction to Global Politics through Films. Bangkok: Siamparitat; 2012.
Jayanama S. Hopeful Dystopia: Hollywood Films and Global Politics. Bangkok: Siamparitat; 2017.
Jeamteerasakul S. After October 14. Same Sky. 2005; 3(4): 168 – 171.
Jeamteerasakul S. Mass Monarchy. Repeating Era, Progressing Time: Celebrating 40th anniversary of October 14. Bangkok: Fong Tong Enterprise; 2013: 107-118.
Keawthep K. Communication-Tourism. Bangkok: Parbpim; 2014.
Krachangpho U. The Movement of “United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship: UDD” under Abhisit Government. Master of Arts, Chulalongkorn University; 2010.
Krittikarn S. Entertainment Nationalism: The Royal Gaze and the Gaze at the People. Saying the Unsayable: Monarchy and Democracy in Thailand. Copenhagen: NIAS Press; 2010: 61 – 88.
Laungaramsri P. Becoming Red: Emergence and Development of the Redshirts in Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai: University of Chiang Mai; 2013.
Lertchoosakul K. The Rise of the Octobrists: Power and Conflict among Former Left Wing Student Activists in Contemporary Thai Politics. Ph.D. dissertation, London School of Economics and Political Science; 2012.
McCargo D. and Thabchumpon N. Urbanized Villagers in the 2010 Thai Redshirt Protests: Not Just Poor Farmers? Asian Survey. 2011; 51(6): 993–1018.
Ministry of Energy of Thailand. The Royal Toothpaste. 2007. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5Hy8OOJs6U. Accessed September 15, 2016.
Nithi Aeowsriwong. War over Legitimacy. Prachatai. 2014. Available at: https://prachatai.com/journal/2014/04/52541 2014-04-01. Accessed September 24, 2016.
Noon was willing to do it. Even if it was only one scene, she would have accepted the role. Thairath Online. 2016. Available at: https://www.thairath.co.th/content/773716. Accessed March 9, 2018.
Peleggi M. Semiotics of Rama IX. (Presented paper at the round table on Thailand in Crisis: The Twilight of a Reign or the Birth of a New Order? held at the Asia Research Institute), 2009.
Pik sai. When love is completely gone. 2010. Available at: https://trong-jai.blogspot.com/2010/04/blog-post_1289.html. Accessed October 7, 2018.
Satitniramai A, Mukdawijitra Y, Pawakapan N. Re-examining the Political Landscape of Thailand. Bangkok: Thai Health Promotion Foundation; 2013.
Srinara T. History of Thai Intellectual Thoughts After October 14. Repeating Era, Progressing Time: Celebrating 40th anniversary of October 14. Bangkok: Fong Tong Enterprise; 2013: 119-128.
Stengs I. Worshipping the Great Moderniser: King Chulalongkorn, Patron Saint of the Thai Middle Class. Singapore: NUS Press; 2009.
Tejakumpuch P. From the Cover: The Historical Toothpaste Tube. Good Teeth, Good Health. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Press; 1999.
The Best of His Life!! Mak Prin in Short film Paying Gratitude to the King. Line Today. 2017. Available at: https://today.line.me/th/pc/article/ที่สุดของชีวิต+หมาก+ปริญ+เล่นหนังสั้น+ตอบแทนพระมหากรุณาธิคุณ-RL1nwM. Accessed March 9, 2018.
Thraisuriyadhammar P. Red Why? Bangkok: Openbooks; 2010.
Unchanam P. Bourgeois Monarchy: Historical Legacy from Rama IX of Chakri Dynasty. Samesky 2018; 16 (1): 7-71.
We are born in the reign of Rama IX: The Series. 2017. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAi87xLaTdY&list=PLczvnTU_CCrhjqMDlFbzrM8_JOGL1eQSF&index=1. Accessed December 12, 2017.
Winichakul T. Thailand’s Hyper-royalism: Its Past Success and Present Predicament. Trends in Southeast Asia. 2016; 7: 1-36.
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Published
2019-10-16
How to Cite
Phuaphansawat, K. (2019). ENGENDERING PUBLIC MOURNING OF KING RAMA IX THROUGH DRAMA SERIES: ROYALISM AND THAI ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY. Life Sciences and Environment Journal, 20(2), 207–221. Retrieved from https://ph01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/psru/article/view/170797
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