[Tlc] FW: Only one winner in soap-opera clash

[Robert Albritton]

Just a brief clarification. Such situations have been portrayed in 
American television and movies, evoking considerable protests from 
flight attendants in general. The creation of stereotypes is, 
obviously, insulting to the workers. My wife, who just returned from 
Thailand, however, says that Thai airways was never mentioned in the 
"soap" and in the clip I saw (on CNN)  the flight attendants were not 
dressed in uniforms that could be mistaken for Thai Airways. I am 
sympathetic to the protests of Thai flight attendants, but the 
overall reaction by the news media seems to be a bit "over the top." 
Gee, what if the "soap" had been written and produced by a European 
or American? Is it true that  there was no identification of the 
flight crews as "Thai Airways?"
RBA





At 10:01 PM 1/25/2008, Michael Montesano wrote:
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>From: Pavin Chachavalpongpun [mailto:pavin403 at hotmail.com]
>Sent: Friday, January 25, 2008 7:14 PM
>To: adisak chang; jayanama pinsuda; Michael Montesano; 
>SakulratMontreevat; surapong jayanama
>Subject: Only one winner in soap-opera clash
>
>Only one winner in soap-opera clash
>
>Dr Pavin Chachavalpongpun
>The Nation
>Published on January 25, 2008
>
>The Air Hostess War," or "Songkram Nang Fa", which was broadcast for 
>the first time last week on Channel 5, has already stirred much 
>anger among Thai Airways flight attendants, who condemned the show 
>for its supposedly immoral storyline replete with steamy sex scenes.
>Now the war that has been fabricated as part of the story is 
>transformed into a real-life war between Exact, the show's producer, 
>and people in the aviation industry.
>What is "The Air Hostess War" fuss all about? This controversial 
>soap opera tells the story of a charming air hostess who becomes 
>involved in an extra-marital affair with a pilot, instigating 
>jealousy among her co-workers which leads to physical fights in the 
>plane aisles. It is a story of infidelity and unethical behaviour 
>projected through uninhibited sexual encounters in exotic 
>locations  - which many Thais find it hard to accept.
>Thai Airways International perceives the soap opera to be insulting 
>and damaging to the reputation of flight attendants. Noppadol 
>Thaungthong, a Thai Airways flight attendant who represents the 
>labour union of his company, said, "It's all about sex and air 
>hostesses beating each other up in the cabin because of love and 
>jealousy. This kind of thing never happens."
>On behalf of the Union, Noppadol demanded Channel 5 terminate the 
>show and petitioned the Ministry of Culture to look into whether it 
>disparaged Thai morals and values. The Union also plans to petition 
>the National Human Rights Commission and the Royal Thai Air Force. 
>It was reported that the government would invite all parties 
>concerned for a meeting to discuss points of contention.
>Meanwhile, Somsak Srinual, the Union's president, told reporters 
>that passengers would be afraid to fly with Thai Airways if they saw 
>flight attendants slapping each other. To him, "Songkram Nang Fa" 
>was a direct offence against those who work as cabin crew.
>Behind the disagreement between the two sides lies the question of 
>Thai identity and its discursive exploitation. What Thai Airways 
>International has been defending is not only the reputation of the 
>company and its employees, but also the moral identity of being Thai.
>Thais are not supposed to be dishonest and aggressive, as reflected 
>in the national anthem. Thai ladies in particular are meant to be 
>well-mannered, demure and possess krengjai (a reluctance to impose 
>on anyone or disturb his or her personal equilibrium by direct 
>criticism or confrontation). The indecent behaviour of the women in 
>"The Air Hostess War" can therefore be cast as opposite to Thai 
>values and identity. They may be Thai, but they are not good 
>representatives of "Thainess".
>In reality, however, outrageous behaviour occurs in every corner of 
>Thai society. In fact, immorality is universal, no matter the 
>profession. In Chicago, two air hostesses of Mesaba, a US-based 
>airline, quarrelled over where to store a passenger's hand luggage, 
>exchanged vulgar language, and forced the pilot to turn the plane 
>back to the terminal.
>Last year, British actor Ralph Fiennes reportedly engaged in a sex 
>act with a Qantas air hostess in the first-class section's toilet. 
>But no one considered this disrespectful toward Australian identity, 
>or even a bad omen for the airline. Blame was put on the member of 
>staff for failing to comply with the company's regulations. It was 
>an individual mistake, and Qantas moved on.
>Now, some may argue that Thai values should not and must not be 
>compared with those in the West. True. But if Thais are willing to 
>be open-minded enough to understand and admit that double standards 
>exist in this society, then the moral issue emerging from "The Air 
>Hostess War" may not be too stark.
>The current fuss is about promoting a Thai positive identity at the 
>expense of cloaking the real behaviour of Thais. Thai society has 
>been built on a male-chauvinist structure where adultery and 
>promiscuity are implicitly legitimate for men. That is why the whole 
>nation is filled with massage parlours and late-night entertainment 
>complexes, so lucrative and successful that they have become tourist 
>attractions catering for domestic and foreign visitors alike.
>Love, lust and bitch-slapping have become so normal that they come 
>into play everywhere - in households, workplaces and even in the 
>skies, and in all classes in society, among the rich and poor alike. 
>We are so concerned about such real-life behaviour because it can 
>potentially taint our national character, which is supposedly moral-based.
>All identities and values are products of the imagination. Thai 
>Airways could be right in its protest against a soap opera because, 
>as it sees it, what has been portrayed on the small screen is 
>clearly extrinsic to the company's preferred identity. It is a part 
>of defending an image of a clean, moral brand.
>On the other hand, the discontent of Thai Airways reveals its lack 
>of a sense of humour. "The Air Hostess War" has a typically tacky 
>storyline, comprising of all the standard soap-opera cliches, to the 
>point of being over the top. The idea, of course, is to attract the 
>widest audience. Indeed, it could be commended for presenting 
>something truly realistic in Thai society.
>Thai Airways has been known for years for its fine service and has 
>remained one of the 10 best airlines in the world. The outrage 
>expressed by its employees is understandable but should be made only 
>to a certain degree so that it will not fall into a moral trap 
>within the walls of Thai society.
>Ultimately, the more the issue of moral dilemma becomes the 
>talk-of-the town, the more it brings in viewers and higher ratings. 
>We might not know who will end up the "loser" in this "moral' 
>battle. But we can say for sure that Exact and Channel 5 will emerge 
>as indisputable winners.
>
>Dr Pavin Chachavalpongpun is a visiting research fellow at the 
>Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore. The opinions 
>expressed in this article are his own.
>Pavin Chachavalpongpun
>The Nation
>
>
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