Tomorrow Never Dies: Understanding Death in Thai Films

Abstract

                   In Thai modern society, death is seen as fear and mystery. Film, however, functions to reveal how people perceive death in daily life. In this article, nine films,both mainstream and independent, which were exhibited from 2007 to 2017, are analyzed. Adopting a concept of death and cultural studies, the article makes visible how filmsconstruct the meanings of death ideologically.
                   My study found that Thai filmsportray deaths in various ways, for example, deaths of people with different gender and age, criminal deaths, mysterious deaths, spiritual beliefs or life after death, death rituals, etc. Due to morality and values about death, flm languages signify deaths to be contradictory. On the one hand, death is connoted to be fearsome and not normal. On the other hand, death is also viewed as a truth of life and being dramatic. With reference to ideology, deaths in different filmgenres represent modern risk, changes in beliefs and religion, and capitalist state in Thai society.