Ah, the beauty of English subtitles. Yesterday, I went to see the Thai romantic comedy, Sai Lub Jub Baan Lek (which kind of translates into The Bedside Detective).
As the movie got started, the audience was quickly introduced to the lead Jock and his friend Jack. Jack was the perfect sidekick. Funny but not a show-stealer. However, even though he wasn’t the star of the show, I couldn’t stop laughing at Jack’s characterization as a sensitive hip-hop wannabe who always wore American sports jerseys and thumped his chest. (Watching him, though, I’d say his costumes looked more like those of a cholo than a hip-hop kid.)
Seeing Jack up on the big screen made me think about how easily America exports our lifestyle. I mean, first some type of sub-culture happens on the streets of the US. Then that culture becomes part of the mainstream media in the US. Then, that mainstream media is played abroad. Then, those media images become a part of the foreign culture. Then, it’s so prevalent in that foreign culture that it’s satired in their mainstream media.
Freaky.
