Journal of Integrative and Innovative Humanities

2475 Graphic Novel and the Representation of the 1932 Siamese Revolution in Contemporary Thai Society

Sarunyou Thepsongkraow — 2024-11-29

This article aims to study the graphic novel 2475 Graphic Novel (“2475: Ghost Writer of Siam” in Thai) by Thanis Wirasakdiwong and Podcharakrit To-im, as a creative work that represents the 1932 Siamese Revolution in contemporary Thai society and connects it with the political activities of the new generation. The study found that the phenomenon of reviving and destroying memories of the People’s Party (Khana Ratsadon in Thai), especially after the 2014 coup, as well as the youth movement calling for democracy throughout 2020, has brought the story of the People’s Party back to life again through a variety of media presentations to respond to the visual culture in line with the political movements of the new generation.
The book 2475 Graphic Novel presents the stories of common people who participated in the Siamese Revolution together with the People’s Party. The authors interpreted the People’s Party in a new way and presented the image of the Siamese Revolution in a way that is in line with the contemporary era, starting from the roles of women in the Siamese Revolution,
the problems of inequality in Thai society before the 1932 Revolution, and the perspectives of the People’s Party and the ruling class of the old regime. In addition, the book aims to fill readers with hope and encourage new generations who want to change Thai society for the better.

Beyond the Handbook: Thailand’s Bad Students in the Film, Arnold is a Model Student

Gil Turingan — 2024-11-29

This paper analyzes how Sorayos Prapapan's film Arnold is a Model Student connects to the recent student movement in Thailand through its references to the Bad Student movement's Manual on How to Survive School handbook. The film features
a network of high school student activists known as the Bad Students, who began campaigning against the traditional norms of Thai schools, the government, and even the monarchy in 2020. In addition to closely examining the film and the handbook, this study also explores the different texts and media forms incorporated in the movie and their relationships and interactions. By exploring these unique connections, this qualitative study presents a different approach to discussing the nuanced portrayal of the re-emergence of the Thai student movement in 2020 and conducting film analysis. The study reveals that the film depicts two sides of Thai student activism and enhances the overall message and image of the movement by using the handbook as a point of reference. Through intertextuality and intermediality, the film elaborates on the student activists' message to a broader audience while critiquing the movement and Thai society, demonstrating the power of media in public discourse and activism.

Forbidden Memory: Reflection on Trauma, Memory, and the Question of Justice

Darlene Machell Espena — 2024-11-29

This article examines the film Forbidden Memory (Philippines, 2016) as an act (and art) of political work and activism through its radical memory work documenting collective trauma in pursuit of social justice. Directed by Gutierrez “Teng” Mangansakan III, the film revisits the tragic events of September 1974 when men, women, and children were killed in the southern provinces of Mindanao. Known as the Malisbong Massacre, the plot was sanctioned by President Ferdinand Marcos as part of the counter-insurgency campaign during the early years of Martial Law. Despite the extent and severity of the collective trauma and loss experienced by the predominantly Muslim community, this episode is mainly absent in the broader national narrative of the country. Taking inspiration from Alison Landsberg’s (2004) notion of “prosthetic memory” and Walter Benjamin’s (2003) contention that the work of memory goes beyond mere interweaving of facts and events that are buried in the past,
but an active work of finding the truth, and that cinema serves as a mass cultural technology that conjures political and historical consciousness, this article explores the ways in which Forbidden Memory performs radical memory work amid collective forgetting and exclusion. Foregrounding both the emotional and painful testimonies of victims (ordinary people) and the landscape of trauma (ordinary sites), the film navigates incoherent and, at times, contradicting personal stories yet offers a compelling glimpse into labyrinthine public memories interpellated by the power that structures Philippine society. In doing so, it affords survivors a platform to share their stories and prompts the audience to seek a deeper understanding of the truth and legacy of Martial Law and what justice would be like for those who survived.

Question to the Sky

Sorayut Aiemueayut — 2024-11-29

Editorial Article

2024-11-29