HBO’s White Lotus does Thailand dirty – Asia Times
Did you hear? There’s been another death at a White Lotus lodge, this moment the one in Thailand.
Again for its second season, Mike White’s critically acclaimed and Emmy award-winning tragi-comedy series follows the awful exploits of the White Lotus’s rich, mostly light holidaymakers, alongside the local employees.
There is cultural comedy, a lot of drama and often a death in heaven. In the first time there was dying in Hawaii, the following in Sicily, Italy, and then, in the second, there’s dying in Koh Samui.
I have studied on-screen images of Thailand, so I was interested to see how the present handled this area. Rather, the exoticness and charm of Thailand is foregrounded, as is the metaphysics of Buddhism.
The set follows four groups of people, the majority of whom the market is somehow made to feel repulsed by.
The first is the Ratliff community. There’s father, Timothy ( Jason Isaacs ) who works in finance and mother, Victoria ( Parker Posey ), whose anxiety means she is heavily medicated and constantly falling asleep.
Then the kids: daughter, Piper ( Sarah Catherine Hook ) who is studying Buddhism, son Lochlan ( Sam Nivola ) who has poor posture from being glued to his computer, and Saxon ( Patrick Schwarzenegger ), the eldest of the three, whose primary focus is having sex.
The next group is three middle-aged ladies who are on a “girls ‘ vacation” who abandon their emotions as the line advances. They are frequently referred to as wildcats by Saxon. Also present are the odd couple Chelsea ( Aimee Lou Wood ) and her older partner Rick ( Walton Goggins ), who appear to be going through a rough patch.
The one likable person, Belinda ( Natasha Rothwell ), is a character previously seen working in the spa in the first season’s Hawaiian resort. She is conducting research for her own welfare organization in Thailand.
Bad people
As with past line, the knowledge of the holidaymakers is obvious. Thailand is referred to as Taiwan. She is told by her family that she is not Taiwanese, so Piper is unable to be a Buddhist.
In a number of shows, the notion of the older, wealthy, shaved white man who retires to Thailand with a little younger woman is hammered house.
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The couple Thai characters we are introduced to are submissive, often smiling, and always there to choose because of these guests’ continued social ignorance and indifference. There’s always a sense of contempt at the achievements of the rich light customers. They are silent and for the most part, excluded.
Belinda, the single dark character, is also the only one who converses in any significant way with a Thai people. The only story that gives Thai characters any space is one in which a security guard ( Tayme Thapthimthong ) and health expert Mook ( Lalisa Manoban ) blossom in love, but this is sidelined.
There is a distinct cultural, economic, and cultural split in the presentation that doesn’t allow any Thai characters to express their opinions or gain any meaningful development. The main topic of discussion is whiteness, which was also raised in past shows.
An absurd Thailand
All of these elements come along to give a glimpse of Thailand through the lens of Orientalism. This is a European way of looking at non-Western places as whole of metaphysics, sexuality and exoticness, where little regular occurs.
This perspective is reinforced by characters who frequently say things like” Thailand is full of people either looking for something or hiding something” and” Whatever happens in Thailand stays in Thailand”
Alcohol and drugs can be purchased away from the beach in a continuous flow. In the first few episodes, the crowd is shown Lochlan gazing upon the naked figure of his nephew, which makes adultery also come up in the plot.
The nation is depicted as a playground for white debauchery, where anything goes, much like in the film The Hangover Part II ( 2011 ), a trope I have explored in my research.
The way that Thai church is depicted as being spiritual furthers the hyperlink to Orientalism. A tinkling report indicates something ethereal is happening whenever a character engages in spiritual practice.
This isn’t confined to American heroes. The images are slow-motion as light flickers through a magical aura as Gaitok makes an providing at a temple.
Go to filming locations in Sicily and Hawaii has increased significantly in the past two seasons, as evidenced by their on-screen portrayals, and the Thailand placing this season is expected to do the same.
The scenery is a continuous focal point, which best exemplifies the theory of the” tourist gaze” by British psychologist John Urry. From the forest and palm trees to sea vistas, unique portions of the scenery are lingering upon. Monkeys are continually seen, alongside another “exotic” species.
This recurring theme runs through every Hollywood film that is set in Thailand, including Anna and the King of Siam ( 1946 ) and The Impossible ( 2012 ), which portrays it solely as an exotic location.
The backdrop for a discussion in one image is the Buddhist temple Wat Pho, which is used in this collection. Moreover, what appears to be the Phi Phi Islands, known for their immaculate beaches and clear waters, fall prior during a pleasure yacht vacation. Unfortunately, this line ‘ focus on Thailand is reduced to comprehensible volumes of popular culture images.
White Lotus plays a double-cross. The series is undoubtedly important of the characters, portraying the lifestyle and holidays as appealing and aspirant, while strengthening antiquated Orientalist stereotypes in itself. You’d expect a present that attempts to depict the negative aspects of a particular type of tourism doesn’t also fall foul of the hypocrisy it’s trying to portray.
Andrew Russell is teacher, University of Artistic &, Cultural Industries, University of Portsmouth
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