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Chitikamoltham, Chanokporn. "Pleasure of Abjection: Cheap Thai comics as cultural catharsis." Explorations: A Graduate Student Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 12 2014. Accessed 7Jun. 2020. <https://www.cseashawaii ... /10/Explorations_12.pdf>. Added by: joachim (6/7/20, 6:06 PM) Last edited by: joachim (6/7/20, 6:15 PM) |
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| Resource type: Web Article Language: en: English BibTeX citation key: Chitikamoltham2014 Email resource to friend View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Asia, Buddhism, Kristeva. Julia, Religion, Style, Thailand Creators: Chitikamoltham Collection: Explorations: A Graduate Student Journal of Southeast Asian Studies |
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Cheap Thai comics (khatoon lem la baht) are an overlooked cultural product. In this paper, I argue that cheap Thai comics are cultural products with subaltern credentials due to their production process and the location of their distribution. Moreover, their status as an example of vernacular Thai culture segregates them from mainstream culture as they do not conform to official Thai cultural norms. The rigid and static interpretation of culture by the Thai state in its shaping of ‘Thainess’ (khwam-pen-thai) creates and supports patterns of cultural marginalization. The paper further adopts a psychoanalytical lens in its analysis of cheap Thai comics. Drawing on Julia Kristeva’s notion of abjection, I argue that these comics serve the purpose of cultural catharsis by allowing vicarious experience to release repressed emotions. Despite their grotesque visuals and storylines, they are Buddhist didactic parables, conveying Buddhist messages such as morality and law of karma. Furthermore, cheap comics rely upon the aesthetics of horror and evidence an idiosyncratic artistic style.
Added by: joachim Last edited by: joachim |