A Semiological Analysis of Anti-traditional Elements in Chalerm Wongpim’s Absurdist Films

Abstract

Absurdity can be a tool to express a rejection of tradition. It draws upon a display of comical actions based on confusion and marked by irrationality. This article reports on research conducted to examine semiotic patterns found in absurdist films by the late Thai director Chalerm Wongpim. The samples were four of Chalerm’s films: Heaven’s seven (2002), Heaven’s seven II (2005), Dynamite warriors (2006), and Navy hero (2010). The authors also conducted in-depth interviews with the director himself and analyzed the data using concepts related to semiology and postmodernism. The findings show that Chalerm Wongpim’s absurdist films present anti-traditional elements through three strategies. First, power relations are reversed. That is, characters of a higher social status are belittled for their physical defects or traumatized experiences. By contrast, characters of a lower status possess a special bargaining power with either their technologically-advanced weapons or their superhuman powers. Second, foreignness is applied together with elements of local wisdom into objects of dark humor. One example is the juxtaposition of locally available items and imported weapons, including a missile bamboo rocket and a cowboy gun made with a banana rope. This essentially symbolizes equal access to knowledge. The third strategy involves a parody of famous fictional characters, which is a blatant distortion of historical facts. All of these are playful reinterpretations of preexisting materials for the purpose of satirizing the centralization of powers.