Chapter 4
A Village in the Jungle: Culture
and Communication in Thailand
Abstract This article provides analytical components of Thai culture: worldviews,
value systems, symbolic representation, and social organization. The Thai Buddhist
worldview and beliefs will be discussed from a historical perspective. Power hidden in
the hierarchical structure will be assessed in the realm of interpersonal and mass
communication. Thai cultural products will be analyzed in relation to the Thai value
system and symbolic representations. How Thais organize their social life will be
illuminated by looking at the role and impact of‘face’and‘leadership’in Thai society.
There appears to be an almost insulting contradiction between the image of the delicate
Land of Smiles, of exquisite manners and‘unique hospitality’, and the world of live pussy
shows. Yet, to see these images as contradictory is perhaps to misunderstand Thailand.
Patpong kitsch and Thai traditions coexist—they are images from different worlds, forms
manipulated according to opportunity. The same girl who dances to rock‘n’roll on a bar
top, wearing nothing but cowboy boots, seemingly a vision of corrupted innocence, will
donate part of her earnings to a Buddhist monk the next morning, to earn religious merit.
The essence of her culture, her moral universe outside the bar, is symbolized not by the
cowboy boots, but by the amulets she wears around her neck, with images of Thai kings, of
revered monks, or of the Lord Buddha. The apparent ease with which Thai appear able to
adopt different forms, to swim in and out of seemingly contradictory worlds, is not proof of
a lack of cultural identity, nor is the kitsch of Patpong proof of Thai corruption—on the
contrary, it reflects the corrupted taste of Westerners, for whom it is specifically designed.
Under the evanescent surface, Thais remain in control of themselves.
Buruma ( 1989 : 30)4.1 Introduction.........................................
Though Thailand has never been“colonized”by a foreign power, external influences
have always played a significant role in the country’s history. Whereas the Chinese
and Indian cultures heavily affected the local society historically, since the beginning
of the so-called Ratanakosin period in 1782, Western values were introduced.
This is an updated and revised version of Chap. 8, published in Servaes ( 1999 ), Communication
for Development. One World, Multiple Cultures, Cresskill NJ: Hampton Press, pp. 209–225.
©Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017
P. Malikhao,Culture and Communication in Thailand, Communication,
Culture and Change in Asia 3, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-4125-9_4
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