SOAS Southeast Asian Studies workshops series: Literature and popular culture

Keynote address

The Cultural Politics of Boys Love in Thailand Since 2020: When Commercialism Has Met Activism

Boys Love (BL), also known as yaoi in some countries, emerged as a media genre in Japan in the late 1970s. Since the late 1980s, translated manga from Japan has provided diversions for Thai audiences. 2014 marked the emergence of the Yaoi Boom in Thailand, when the television series Love Sick debuted. BL has maintained its status as a national and international creative industry due to the extensive engagement between supporters and industry, the star system, and transmedia storytelling. Since 2020, when diverse forms of activism engulfed the nation, this talk illuminates the tidal change of BL in Thailand. 

On the rise was the same-sex marriage movement. The complex relationship that binds screen culture, actors, fan communities, LGBTQIA+ campaigns, and the book industry has come to light. The Thai BL industry's political advocacy, bestselling BL couples (khu jin), Thainess, and transitional dialogues are all juggled amidst the Soft Power apparatus. Nevertheless, the new Thai BL movement is defined by the discourse on intensifying queer aesthetics and inclusivity, which can be framed as a legacy of 2020.

Natthanai Prasannam received his PhD (Film Studies) from the University of St Andrews, Scotland. He now teaches contemporary Thai literature and screen studies at the Department of Literature, Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand. He also serves as a founding director of the Centre for Advanced Studies in the Applied Humanities and Social Sciences, Kasetsart University Institute for Advanced Studies. Dr Prasannam has pioneered new areas in Thai scholarship: cultural memory studies, adaptation studies, intermediality studies, book history, and BL/Y studies. His current research focuses on Thai Boys Love (BL) literary and screen media as national or transnational creative industries. Email: natthanai.p@ku.th

Paper presentations

Stanning4GoodGovernance: Resemiotizing K-pop and fan activism in the Philippines

The global consumption of Korean popular music (K-pop) has evolved beyond mere commodification to engagement by an active fan base, and the resulting formation of these borderless fandoms is in part linked to the rise of social media. At the same time, however, local conditions foster diversity within these groups (Jin 2021; Sun 2020; Malik & Haidar 2020). This study investigates the ways in which K-pop is utilized as a tool for socio-political activism in the Philippines by focusing on the online-offline activities and artefacts created by Filipino K- pop fans called KpopStans4GoodGovernance (KpopStans) during the run-up to the 2022 Philippine presidential elections. 

Drawing on the notion of resemiotization and social semiotics, the study examines how elements of K-pop are rearticulated to support the presidential campaign of a politically progressive candidate (Iedema 2001; Park 2021; Kress and van Leeuwen 2006). By blending K-pop visuals, music, choreography, and slang with political rhetoric, KpopStans communicate nonviolent values and resistance, positioning themselves as agents of social change. This strategic localization of K-pop is particularly significant in the Philippines, where traditional forms of protest continually face suppression. Through creative remixing and deployment of K-pop signifiers, KpopStans navigate threats and redefine political participation, exemplifying the potential of fandom to disrupt existing political structures.

Leif Garinto is a PhD student at the School of Languages, Cultures, and Linguistics, SOAS University of London studying the rise and development of English in Southeast Asia as a recipient of the SOAS Research Studentship award in 2022. His other research interests include language policies, linguistic landscapes, and language and activism in Southeast Asia.

(Re)constructing Dystopian Siam: Politics of Language and Bodies in Thai Dystopian Novel

Juxtaposed with the coup in 2014, dystopian narratives like The Hunger Games and 1984 not only inspired acts of resistance in Thailand, but also stimulated a new literary trend from the late 2010s. A prominent example is Susan Siam [A Siam Crematory] by Prapt published in 2020 during the rise of the youth movement and the spread of COVID-19. Set in the future, Susan Siam talks about a totalitarian society while the conflict revolves around manipulation by the ruling class alongside acts of resistance from school students and the spread of the zombie epidemic. Interestingly, the novel plays with several features of Thainess [khwam-pen-thai]: the standard Thai language, the discourse of embodying the ‘good person’ [khon di], and national history. 

This presentation, therefore, highlights the increasing trend of Thai dystopian literature and examines the politics of language and bodily representation in Susan Siam using the ‘hybridity’ framework. Overall, Susan Siam represents the contestation and negotiation of Thainess during the political movement and pandemic climate through the hybridity of dystopian elements along with mimicry of the word construction and hierarchy of Thai language. The clashing ideologies of state-constructed narratives versus the resistance are embodied through the main figures along with the incorporation of zombies into the novel.

Saranpat Boonhok is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Cultural, Literary, and Postcolonial Studies (CCLPS), SOAS, University of London. His PhD research focuses on hybridity, Thainess (khwam-pen-Thai), and adaptations of Thainess turned into contemporary Thai fiction against the backdrop of the post-2006 coup and the influence of globalisation. Having received a BA and MA in Thai language and literature from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, Saranpat began his career at Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University (SSRU) in Bangkok before being appointed Assistant Professor in Thai literature. He is now on leave to conduct PhD research sponsored by SSRU’s scholarship. Saranpat's interests encompass popular literature and cultural studies of Thailand and Southeast Asia, especially in the 21st century.

Fluvial Film: Rivers and Waterworlds in Southeast Asian Ecocinema

The rivers of Southeast Asia have sustained lifeforms and shaped identities, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs for centuries. Yet in the age of the Anthropocene, the region’s aquatic ecosystems have become sites of despoliation, pollution and ecological trauma. In response to the local and global threats of climate change, a proliferation of Southeast Asian filmmakers have interrogated questions of water pollution, illegal fishing, land reclamation and environmental identity; cinematically portraying bodies of water as sites of ecological consciousness. 

This research investigates how themes of aquatic ecology (e.g. pollution, displacement, human/non human fluidity and ecological identity) are addressed aesthetically and thematically by emerging Southeast Asian filmmakers, whilst considering the cultural, historical, and political dynamics pervading the region’s riverine communities.

George Hiraoka Cloke is a PhD student and artist based at SOAS, UK. His academic research focuses on representations of rivers in contemporary Southeast Asian ecocinema. As a musician and audio-visual artist, his creative practice integrates notions of ecological awareness, attentive listening and acoustic imagination. His music has been featured on BBC Radio 1, 6 Music, NTS and Spotify Editorial, and his audio-visual works have been exhibited at film festivals and art showcases worldwide. 

Open Discussion Speakers and audiences will engage in discussions on specific themes related to Southeast Asian literatures and cultures. Networking Session Participants can connect and collaborate with fellow researchers and audiences. Tea, coffee, light refreshments will be provided.