Unfolding the Blindfolded.

The last few weeks had me zealous over a marathon of Thai dramas. A Korean drama addict, i can't help but compare these two. With superb acting and script, these two Asian drama waves actually run on the same page. However, after watching several Thai dramas, i begin to notice a difference in the plot which has never been portrayed in any of the Korean dramas so far.

RAPE. Now this is the on-going and recurring choice of plot for a Thai drama. Out of 10 dramas i've watched, only three are shown without a rape scene in the episodes. The rest, are broadcast with occasional raping by the male lead. The plot then continues with the female lead getting pregnant, and the two roles falling in love with one another. Despite of the fact that rape is a big issue religiously, culturally and internationally, the production companies seem to take no heed of this matter and continue on making dramas containing R-scenes. The way the script is written somehow manipulates the inhuman rape actions and drags the viewers' morality to the verge of collapsing. Making RAPE look OK to the public, especially the teenagers, is definitely not a GOOD thing!

i keep on thinking on the issue, and even question myself, that if i'm in the female lead's shoes, would i be able to forgive and accept someone who has raped me?Can i bring my traumatized self to LOVE and HONOR that person?Reality check shows that a rapist never gets away with it. If they aren't severely or fairly punished by the law, they'll be cursed and ostracized for a lifetime.

But then again, the dramas put up a different campaign, milking sympathy and mixed feelings from the viewers for these on-screen rapists. To prove how the dramas have victoriously colonized our minds, i threw the issue up to my students during a speaking activity. i started off with a few if-will questions, then i popped the real question: if a man rapes you, will you forgive and accept him after he changes to a better person? To the boys, in order for them to relate to the situation, i asked them to act as a family member of the victim. Well, i got a variety of answers. Some students bluntly spat out a NO, many of them said PERHAPS, and a few answered YES.

i'm too sleepy to continue babbling miserably in this post, so i'll put up another one to let you guys know the WHY-S and BECAUSE-S that my students have given.So,bon nuit!