Virtual Thailand (Routledge Research On Rethinking Southeast

Description:
Written by an established expert on Thailand, this is one of the first books to fully investigate the Thai media's role during the Thaksin government's first term. Incorporating political economy and media theory, the book provides a unique insight into globalization in Southeast Asia, analyzing the role of communications and media in regional cultural politics. Examining the period from the mid 1990s, Lewis makes a sustained comparison between Thailand and its neighbouring countries in relation to the media, business, politics and popular culture. Covering issues including business development, tourism, the Thai movie industry and the war on terror, the book argues that globalization as it relates to media, can be patterned on Thai experiences.

Table of Contents:
Contents Acronyms and abbreviations 5 Tables 8 Acknowledgments 9 Introduction: Thailand as the virtual centre of Southeast Asia 10 1 Singapore, KL, and Bangkok as rival communications centres 22 Communications regionalism and techno-nationalism 23 Singapore: The price of being an 'Intelligent Island' 28 Kuala Lumpur: The Multimedia Super Corridor 37 Bangkok: Capital of consumer desire 47 2 Development and democratization: The 1997 Asian crisis 70 Singapore, Malaysia and the crisis 72 The Thai crisis: Why did it happen, who was to blame, what is to be done? 81 Regional resource controversies in Thailand's poorer neighbors 90 The media and environmental politics 103 3 The military, the media and moral panics 121 Media control and moral panics in Singapore and Malaysia 122 Thailand 2001: 'Social Order' and the 'War on Terror' 138 2002: Muzzling the media -- The AMLO affair 152 2003: The 'War on Drugs' and the Chuwit sideshow 157 4 Media reform and civil society in 'Amazing Thailand' 173 Civil society and Thai print journalism 174 The main media players 180 Media business and the National Broadcasting Commission 188 Community radio: People's empowerment or political pawn? 198 Remodelling the media by preferential privatization 206 5 The Thai movie renaissance 225 Screening the nation: Alternative histories 227 Alternative routes to transnationalisation 237 Gender, the body and the family 242 Ghost movies: Phii versus phra 255 Defining the self 261 6 Tourism and terrorism in mainland Southeast Asia 275 Regional tourism rivalries 276 Thai tourism, take 1: 'A land of diversity and refinement' 282 Thai tourism, take 2: Sun, sand, sex and SARs 297 Terrorism and disorder in Southeast Asia 306 Afterword: The media and cultural politics in Southeast Asia, October 2004. 332 Appendix I: A note on sources and method 348 Appendix II: A sample of Thai movies, pre-2000 to 2004 354 References 358

Author Biography:
University of Canberra, Australia