Thai TV is terrible, comparable to Bollywood movies,


full of bad acting and totally lacking in motivation and imagination. Thai commercials are great, something about ‘short-attention-span theater’ I guess. Thai TV is like Chinatown, logos hanging from every possible angle in every possible scene. When the interviewer wants to do somebody outside, they drag the signs along and prop them up against a tree or something. It’s all quite annoying, but entertaining in the kitschy sense. The TV commercials themselves are quite good, however, better than the shows. Thais specialize in the quick thrill, the brief sensation, the sound bite, the short-term encounter. TV shows consist of insipid variety or too-soapy operas filled with over-acting and generally limp plots. Typically somebody does something bad, so something bad happens to him. This is the predominant theme in most Thai literature and is, in fact, the prime message of Thai Buddhism, the Law of Karma, for beginners, typically illustrated by cartoon to streamline the message. It’s important to note that the law of Karma is not a law of physics. Something bad will not happen in direct immediate reaction to a bad initial action, but will happen nevertheless, however long and deviant the path. This allows for the universality necessary in religion. I figure bad actions are their own punishment, but that may apply only to me. The memories carry weapons, remember. Of course, I also figure that nothingness is its own punishment. Tang figures that it’s its own reward.

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