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Carnivalesque communities: Thai TV dramas and the Chinese censorship

2023; Routledge; Volume: 24; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/14649373.2023.2242143

1469-8447

Amporn Jirattikorn,

Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics

ABSTRACTThis paper explores how Thai television dramas, which have been a staple of the nation's TV landscape for many decades, have made new inroads in mainland China. Despite intense censorship by the Chinese state, China's extremely large market enticed the Thai media industry. Control over what citizens can see on websites has also created an obstacle for which fan communities must find ways to bypass. The paper outlines both the historical process of Thai TV dramas' inroads into the Chinese market and the different tactics Thai media companies and Chinese fan communities employ to circumvent Chinese state censorship. Based on interviews with various actors, including Thai TV media personnel, Chinese fansub groups, and fan communities, the paper argues that Chinese fan culture surrounding Thai TV series is a mixture of a subversive community that rebels against state control, as well as a constantly negotiating subculture that adopts various practices to break out from state censorship. Chinese youth today show that consumption is a site of contestation, rather than a site of control and manipulation.KEYWORDS: Thai TV dramasChinese censorshipfan-subtitleaudience receptionThai boys' love Additional informationFundingThe author would like to thank Thailand Science Research and Innovation for funding this project.Notes on contributorsAmporn JirattikornAmporn Jirattikorn is an Associate Professor at the Department of Social Science and Development at Chiang Mai University, Thailand. She received her PhD in Anthropology from the University of Texas, Austin in 2008. Amporn's research interests are in two areas of media flows and mobility of people across national boundaries. One area involves cross-border flows of Thai television series to Asian countries and the audience reception of Thai popular culture. The other area focuses particularly on the movement of Shan migrants from Myanmar into Thailand. Her recent publication has centred on the consumption of Thai TV dramas outside Thailand.