Reflections of a modernizing Thai society in the twenty-first century Thai horror films

Abstract

This thesis aims to analyze the various reflections of a modernizing Thai society in the twenty-first century Thai horror films in order to see the Thai social and cultural changes as reflected in these films. This study is a qualitative research that utilizes major data from nine Thai horror films produced in the years during 1999-2011; Nang Nak, Buppah Rahtree, Shutter, Dorm, The Unseeable, Alone, 4bia, Nymph, and Ladda Land, but other Thai horror film examples will be mentioned in order to support the data and major argument of this research. This research is divided into three main topics. The first topic discusses the common characteristics found in most Thai horror films; romance and tragedy, melodrama, sexual roles, Buddhism and karma, and the supernatural in order to provide a small foundation and basic understanding of the Thai horror films and what differentiates them from Hollywood horror films, and Thai films of other genres. The second topic highlights the portrayal of anxieties and uncertainties of Thai people due to the rapid pace of modernization as reflected in the films. The audience will recognize that a modern society presented in the films are shown in a negative light and that Thai modernization is adversely affecting aspects of traditional Thai culture, such as the values learned from the teachings of the Buddha. The third topic of this research will focus on the social and cultural implications linked to various negative aspects of Thai modernization such as overpopulation, personal relationships, isolation, and technology as represented in these films. From the data, this research finds that these nine Thai horror films portray a modernizing Thailand with negative social and cultural changes. These negative changes are due in part to the rapid pace of Thai modernization which is poignantly reflected in the films. The negative social and cultural aspects of Thai modernization presented in the films include forms of overpopulation, personal relationships, isolation, and technology anxiety.