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Popular Culture Review
(Like the flow of a river, calm and peaceful
Leave myself to the river/fate
Like the flow of a river, forever
Listen to the blue stream murmuring)
(Translation by Judy Lu)
While "‘Kawa no nagare no you n f is not a drag anthem like “What
Makes a Man a Man?” the Enka genre (folk songs) did have its roots in the
Japanese social protest music of the 1880s, and Enkashi (Enka singers)
sometimes cross-dress when they sing, with male singers taking the role of a
mushy woman and female singers a macho man. Misora Hibari, pretty and coy
as she was, had appeared in Samurai garb in her performances (Schilling, 1997,
134).
The highlight of “Calypso,” however, is “Amazing Thailand,” a
classical Thai dance sequence choreographed to a script using ancient Angkok
Wat as the setting. There is a double metaphor in the complex storyline; on the
one hand, the dancers represent forces of tradition fighting forces of modernity;
on the other, two women compete for the love of another woman. It is this
unrestraint display of same-sex love by transgendered men that makes a
statement about tolerance for gender nonconformity in Thai society. The two
women, one wearing a Khmer-style tiara of the Lop Buri period (11th to 14th
century) as well as the classic lep norah (nail extenders), and the other a bikini
like bead outfit sans the nail extenders, fought ferociously in a stylized battle for
the affection of a third wo man who was dressed in white.
The tradition-versus-modemity theme, according to a cast member who
told us after the show, is also signified by the colors of the performers. The
dancer symbolizing traditional Thai is dressed in darker colors, earth brown and
black. She also has a darker complexion that is more representative of Thais in
the insulated rural areas, whereas the other two dancers have a lighter tone that
is seen more in the big cities, such as Bangkok. The cast member did not
elaborate, but there is a clear subtext in her message: in spite of the greater
freedom in loving whom you love, Thai culture is not free of irrational bias in
human relations.
“Calypso,” however, is not limited to lesbian dramas. There are love
interests of the heterosexual varieties, such as a poignant episode about a bride
betrayed by her philandering husband-to-be, who is a gangster. It goes without
saying that the bride, the various other women who seduce her man, and all of
his gangster ftiends are played by kathoeys. But “Amazing Thailand” is the
centerpiece showcasing love does not have gender boundaries.
Desire, Defiance, and Destiny
The observation that we have made in Bangkok and Las Vegas may
have broader implications for understanding the interaction of culture and