Thai Festival

What a Perfect Day!!!@ Kapiolani Park, Waikiki. Bright and clear sky, sunshine, and good weather. After enjoy!! doing PAPER, finally I got a time break and enjoy my life. Last Saturday, I woke up early and took a walk from my apartment around 10 minutes in order to be the first group at Kapiolani Park. What happen? This place brought back the memory of Thai tradition and festival because it was held a Thai festival called Songkarn Day or Thai New Year which is a nation holiday. It was a good day for Thais and foreigners who live in Ohau, HI gathered and joined this festival. In the festival, there were several booths to sell Thai food, showed Thai dance and tradition, Thai song, and Thai boxing. People sat around in circle and enjoy eating and chatting after they were working hard for whole year.

Unfortunately, we missed the outstanding part which is throwing of water. In Thailand, these day people go out with containers of water or water gun and throwing water to each other or passerby. Furthermore, this festival is a good opportunity for those who far away from their home to go back to visit and pay respect their parents and elders. People believe that if they cleanse Buddha images by gently pouring water over them, this will bring their good luck and wealth to their life in New Year. Songkarn Day is the day for Thais to bring good things such as clean house and do good thing. Why throwing water? It is believed that water is the symbol of cleaning and washing of bad away from people.


Happy Songkarn Day!!!

Mythic Individualism

Return to his desk, busy with his stuffs, rush into accident location, and

finally refuse to assimilate the society.

All of these setting always happen in one genre which is detective genre and the same as cowboys and Western hero. All of these are ideology that offers in films of order genre. Ideology is a pattern beliefs that group interpret some aspects of the world which it reflects the group’ social, economic, political and culture. Ideology as form of knowledge and power are discourse which give the meaning to both material objects and social practices. Through out the film of order genre, the main character is alone, independent and self-reliance. His ability goes beyond others or even his opponent. Rules do not apply for him. In series, CIS, the main character works really hard to help other or solve murder case, but he cannot have love story or something always happen to someone that he loves. In the film, The Bourne Supremacy (2004) which Bourne has to live alone again after his girlfriend, Marie dies from sniper rifle because the enemy wants to kill Bourne.

Another example is the series, 24, the main character Jack Bauer. In season 1 Jack’s life was normal; he had wife and one daughter. His life was happy until his wife was killed and he has become lonely. Again, in this season 4, he involves with Audrey Raines whom he think that he could stop his busy life. He hopes to live with a peaceful life. However, he is wrong because Audrey Raines get risk by kidnapping. He had done every ways to help her. His characteristic is the same as other heroes like cowboys or detectives. He gets what he wants, one thing he couldn’t have is peaceful life. He ends up his relationship and became lonely. The heroes are always lonely. He is a personal a professional motivations. As his love is in danger so he has motivated to work. Furthermore, although he does not work for CTU, he is the only one knows about bureaucratic red tape. He has no authority but he can do what he wants to do. He does not care anyone; independent person. Rules do not apply for him. He has special skills (expert shot), knowledge, and experiences (thoughtful). Finally, he is always right at the end so society value him.

It is believed that all of this situation or plot always happens in detective and Western Hero films and series. Most main characters always end up their relationships and live alone.

Film Genres

Film genres are the material conditions that provide popular stories to satisfy audiences demand and make profit to the studios. Film genres can be examined into many structural components such as plots, characters, settings, thematic, and so on. In order to understand genres, the audiences need to look to the character types and conflicts which they will generate to identify their roles. Schatz stated that each genre show the expression of filmmakers and give the experience for audiences. The film genres can be divided into two groups: order such as gangster, detective, and Western hero and another group is integration which is romantic comedy and musical. The order group has male dominate while integration is female dominate. Both of them have different in conflict such as order group has conflict that arises from indigenous to the environment, reflect the physical and ideological struggle for its control. In short, the conflict is externalized or violent within contested space. The problem will resolve by individual male or collective which manage the process of reduction: elimination or death such as The Matrix and Star War. Another group is integration which conflict arises from the different between values, attitudes, and actions or the main characters’ emotions. This genre will embrace their love to resolve their conflict such as You’ve Got Mail and Never Been Kiss. In the film, Never Been Kiss (1999), the main character Josie Geller works as copy editor who has to go undercover herself at a local high school for her first story. At the school, she falls in love with Sam Coulson, English teacher, but she has to hide her true identity to write her story. Their conflict is occurred because Sam discovers her identity and cannot forgive her. However, finally, they become a couple because Sam decides to see her at baseball match. They embrace their love each other.