Comments on: "No, son, that is a transvestite."

"No, son, that is a transvestite."

LarryC — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 14:23:32 -0800

Wonderfully strange Thai TV commercial for light bulbs [YouTube].

(Via Andrew Sullivan.)

By: Brockles

Brockles — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 14:27:49 -0800

That is just a touch bizarre. Like it, though.

By: found missing

found missing — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 14:31:05 -0800

That's not a ghost, son, that's a transvestite.

By: grouse

grouse — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 14:36:38 -0800

Uh. Wow. [NOT TRANSVESTITIST]

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 14:40:53 -0800

Nice.

By: Falconetti

Falconetti — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 14:41:34 -0800

I lived in Thailand awhile ago and I went to see a movie based on the "kra-sue" ghost (which is a head that detaches itself from the body at night and flies around with all the entrails and internal organs dangling from it). It was terrible of course, as most Thai movies are, with the exception of everything Apichatpong Weerasethakul has ever made.

By: inconsequentialist

inconsequentialist — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 14:47:54 -0800

Tall ghost is still scary in the light.

By: stet

stet — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 14:57:39 -0800

The blue ghost was clearly metafilter.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 15:04:28 -0800

The blue ghost was clearly metafilter. I actually thought for a split second that it might've been a tie-in (no pun intended) with some Thai production of Blue Man Group.

By: mkhall

mkhall — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 15:12:06 -0800

That was amazing.

By: The Bellman

The Bellman — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 15:12:35 -0800

Thai culture has a very strange relationship with ghosts. John Burdett's most recent Bangkok police procedural is largely about that. Not as good as his first one (Bangkok 8) but not bad.

By: oddman

oddman — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 15:26:13 -0800

That was pretty awesome.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 15:50:14 -0800

You like Mr. Sparkle?

By: furtive

furtive — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 15:51:11 -0800

Baba bobo!

By: clevershark

clevershark — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:01:29 -0800

This is certainly much more upbeat than the last time we talked about Thai ads, that's for sure.

By: localroger

localroger — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:22:12 -0800

The matter-of-factness is charming. Scary in its own way, but charming.

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:24:49 -0800

They must have so much fucking ganja in Thailand.

By: aerotive

aerotive — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:41:20 -0800

It's posts like this that make metafilter awesome.

By: kozad

kozad — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 17:25:40 -0800

Metafilter: You, You Light up my Life, Just like the Ghosts, In the Thai commercials...

By: marvin

marvin — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 17:26:03 -0800

somehow connects with the thread above on IQ....

By: cazoo

cazoo — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 17:29:47 -0800

Ghosts of Thailand, I love you.

By: MythMaker

MythMaker — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 17:33:06 -0800

awesome. I love the transvestite.

By: PHINC

PHINC — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 19:00:39 -0800

Huh, yeah I saw a kra-sue movie in Cambodia with the floating heads and intestines. I bought this movie poster in Battambang of the movie, evidently it's called Nieng Arp. It was really gruesome and included lots of creepy bloody organ and placenta eating. A really cool TV show I watched over there was True Asian Horror on Discovery Asia. It was interesting to see how the new Asian directors used old traditional ghost tales in their modern movies.

By: jason's_planet

jason's_planet — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 20:25:09 -0800

Neat!

By: Joakim Ziegler

Joakim Ziegler — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 01:11:40 -0800

I think the only Thai movie I've seen is Ong-bak, which is awesome (although the plot is a bit cheesy). Love this commercial, though.

By: gman

gman — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 03:26:44 -0800

my friend who lives in thailand says: "The line in the subtitles about the transvestite in English is totally different from what is being said in Thai -- it says nothing about a transvestite in Thai but makes a pun on the word "phi khanun" or jackfruit ghost, which is slang for a cheap streetwalking prostitute. I have heard it said that in the old days there were a lot of cheap streetwalkers along one street in Bangkok that had a row of jackfruit trees, and that's how people started calling the hookers there "jackfruit ghosts". Today it means any streetwalking prostitute. That funny line where the father supposedly says "That's a transvestite" he's actually just saying "That's a person (not a ghost)". So whoever added subtitles took liberties to change the meanings -- which is often the case with Thai commercials and especially films that are subtitled in English."

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 03:41:12 -0800

Hey, gman, thanks so much for that comment. Shedding more light on the subject: that's when MetaFilter really shines!

By: CrazyJoel

CrazyJoel — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 05:04:56 -0800

Well, the transvestite line is even funnier if you translate it as "That's a man(not a ghost)".

By: Sprocket

Sprocket — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:35:19 -0800

this is a bizarre and distrubing movie clip on youtube with the flying head/intestine thing. Perhaps the same movei PHINC saw?

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:45:24 -0800

That there is some truly fucked up shit. You have to respect the sheer badassity of Asian ghosts. You know in head-to-head combat they'd totally fuck Dracula and the Mummy's shit straight up.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 20:42:15 -0800

Wonderful find LarryC. Seconding localroger's review " The matter-of-factness is charming. Scary in its own way, but charming." I'd add quite sophisticated too. Following the banana ghost with the risqué pun on jackfruit ghost is delightfully mischievous, especially with the idea of street walkers and nighttime. Wonder how the commercial has gone down in Thailand?

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:06:38 -0800

I missed this before because I was in Pee Wee Herman land, but this cracked me up! (Especially the transvestite part... some of the prettiest women I've ever seen were Thai men in Bangkok.) I totally loved the whole ghost thing though, because they are obsessed with ghosts there. All of the buildings in Thailand have adjoining spirit houses to keep ghosts outside. Spirit houses are EVERYWHERE... in front of homes, businesses, and even in cemeteries. Thai ghosts have some really kickass homes to live in and are given constant offerings so they won't decide to be roommates with living people. It's a trip. I don't believe they do the same for transvestites, though.

By: krautland

krautland — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 16:56:43 -0800

I loved that. too bad that the asian kind of humor never flies at D&AD, cannes or the one show.