MaiLuk Posted September 11, 2004 Report Share Posted September 11, 2004 Film headed for trouble as Thais seek to pull ad Sept 10th, 04 First it was swimwear. Now it is Hollywood. Five months after Thailand persuaded the fashion company Victoria's Secret to remove images of the Buddha from a swimsuit, the largely Buddhist country is demanding the withdrawal of a film advertisement showing a man sitting sitting astride the head of a large statue of the Buddha. Thai authorities have expressed outrage over a poster for Hollywood Buddha, an award-winning independent picture by a French filmmaker. Thais believe the head, particularly that of a Buddha, is almost sacred and should not be touched. The poster shows Philippe Caland, the film's writer, producer, director and star, sitting on the statue's head. A spokesman for the Thai Foreign Ministry, Kiattikhun Chartprasert, said the Government had lodged an official complaint. "We have asked our consul in Los Angeles to send a protest letter asking the company to pull those posters. If they don't respond, we will seek other means," he said. The Government believes Caland wanted the advertising campaign to be provocative. "We can assume that the poster was not done because of his ignorance, but the producer deliberately intended to make the film promotion controversial to get public attention," the Deputy Culture Minister, Weerasak Kowsurat, said. "The more controversial it has become, the bigger the audience the film will get." The vice-chairwoman of the parliament's religious affairs committee, Anongwan Thepsutin, said: "Our representatives on the film censor board will do their best to ban the screening of the film in Thailand. The poster is so offensive, I can't imagine what the whole film will be like." Public attention was drawn to the film when a local newspaper, Matichon, published a photograph of the poster on its front page with the caption "Buddhism humiliated". Internet message boards have since been bombarded with complaints . [No complaints at NP.com?] The film has won awards at several festivals and will be released in the US on September 24. It is about an out-of-luck film-maker whose fortunes improve after he starts reciting mantras to a Buddha statue. Caland was not available to comment. The Guardian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lazyphil Posted September 11, 2004 Report Share Posted September 11, 2004 Cry babys, btw did other Buddhist countrys whine or do Thailand have devinity of Buddha?....Can I ask the Thai gov to insist those Thai guys not to wear Bin Ladin TShirts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted September 11, 2004 Report Share Posted September 11, 2004 Hi, Outrage over a visual statement? From a nation where walking around with a Bin Laden t-shirt or a German WW2 helmet (complete with swastika) is perferctly acceptable? Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khun_Kong Posted September 11, 2004 Report Share Posted September 11, 2004 MaiLuk said: Film headed for trouble as Thais seek to pull ad Sept 10th, 04 <snip> The vice-chairwoman of the parliament's religious affairs committee, Anongwan Thepsutin, said: "Our representatives on the film censor board will do their best to ban the screening of the film in Thailand. The poster is so offensive, I can't imagine what the whole film will be like." <snip> Ah, spoken like the purest of government censors everywhere! "I don't even have to see it to know how offensive it is" In other news: "The Bangkok Post quoted Udom Charoen, director of the National Buddhism Office, as saying that the producer, Philippe Caland , "might not have had malicious intentions [with his film]..." The actions taken by the Thais on three specific issues have given me a certain level of respect for their sensitivity and awareness of the underlying meaning of some particular images. The images are: The Buddha image The Swastika image The bin Laden image Oh yeah- can't forget the few bars of "Dixie" that they play over the loudspeakers at the end of work every Fiday. Guess it's just a catchy tune. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khun_Kong Posted September 11, 2004 Report Share Posted September 11, 2004 LP, KS, KK- 4 minutes, 3 virtually identical opinions! What a bunch of whining farang we must be! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelgianBoy Posted September 11, 2004 Report Share Posted September 11, 2004 Time then for me to disagree........ Religion is the most holy what Thais have, you guys are comparing the highest religious symbol to a war / terrorist symbol. Apples and oranges me thinks. Just my opinion of course.... Its like arsefucking with the cross or peeing against the Wall..... not done. BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJsushi Posted September 11, 2004 Report Share Posted September 11, 2004 No need to get outreaged, nothing but artstic expression. You can show the human body being disembowled on screen but not a man sitting on a image of a statue? people need to lighten up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lazyphil Posted September 11, 2004 Report Share Posted September 11, 2004 People lives at the Twin Towers are more precious than relegious stuff. Bin Ladin is a symbol of evil and those Thais who wear that shit know it. Oranges and Clemintines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted September 11, 2004 Report Share Posted September 11, 2004 Director to withdraw poster Published on Sep 10, 2004 The writer and director of the US movie ?Hollywood Buddha? has apologised for offending Buddhist Thais by sitting on the head of a Buddha image for a poster advertising the movie and has promised to withdraw it. A Foreign Ministry official told reporters that film director and writer Philippe Caland had promised the Thai consulate in Los Angeles that he would also remove the photograph of the poster from the film?s website. Screenings of ?Hollywood Buddha? in US cinemas would be preceded by a message of apology for any unintentional offence, Kiattikhun Chartprasert quoted Caland as saying. The poster shows Caland, who also stars in the YBG Productions film, sitting atop a Buddha?s head. To Thai Buddhists, the head is the most sacred part of the body and is not to be touched, let alone sat upon. Caland?s feet ? the least holy part of the body to Thai Buddhists and never to be pointed at anyone ? dangle by the figure?s eyes. The ministry?s action followed a public outcry raised in Thai newspapers that published the poster on front pages and captioned it ?Buddhism Humiliated?. ? Reuters The Nation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelgianBoy Posted September 11, 2004 Report Share Posted September 11, 2004 BS, now you are doing cheap comparisons. Remember its about promoting a film. In all their naiveness the Thais are not promoting OBL or nazihelmets, but making a buck cos silly falang buy and pay good price...... BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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