Matt Carrell's Blog, page 4

Jeremy Kyle show - Thai Lady takes the lie detector test.

I doubt that even Jeremy Kyle claims that his show has any journalistic ambitions - so I can't really complain that this clip fails to meet the standards one might expect. It is, however, a fascinating insight into what might happen when a 48 year old man marries a girl he met on the internet, who was raised half way across the world.

You can see the clip here - Kyle show

The husband thinks his wife is selling sex and generally screwing around, she denies that she has ever cheated on him. Phil seems like a nice guy who would love to make it work, Anchana is full of righteous indignation.

Did she pass the detector test? Watch the clip and see.

My only comment is that Kyle judges the outcome through the eyes of a westerner whose model for marriage is the union of white anglo-saxons with broadly similar upbringings, values and culture. When Phil logged onto the internet to find a bride and chose someone from half way across the world, he stepped way outside that model. When Thai women marry older western men, for many there is affection, even love but for a huge number it is a trade. They do what they have to do to take care of their families.  To judge their subsequent behaviour through the same lens that you would use to examine the conduct of the girl or boy you met in school is unjust. 

Stacey Dooley blows the lid off the dark side of tourism in Thailand

This film has a worthy objective. Viewers will learn about the low wages paid to hotel workers in a famous Thai beach resort, about the plight of sea gypsies who may lose their homes as more hotels are built and the impact on a tiny island of the influx of drunken western party goers. You can watch it here: - Stacey Dooley

These are important issues and the film is beautifully photographed. The problem is the vacuous if undeniably pretty presenter. When Stacey Dooley is happy she says "Wow" and "Lovely", apparently inserting extra syllables into each word to emphasise that she really means it. When she disapproves we are treated to "It's crazy innit" or "It's not on."

There are a few sensible observations, such as the suggestion that visitors who tip the locals are actually making a massive difference to them financially. We are repeatedly invited to marvel at how anyone can work for £4.50 per day, truly shocking by western standards, and we are told that tourism is driving the locals out.  Stacey is unable to make the connection that the people she is interviewing are not locals, but are from the poor north east of Thailand and on that meagre salary they are able to support an extended family. There is no doubt that pay is poor and workers live in very low quality housing but the report is typical one dimensional, shock horror stuff.

The coverage of the infamous Full Moon parties is just an excuse to show people getting drunk, the issue she is getting at is not really articulated and no solution is offered. It's just cheap voyeurism and an excuse for Stacey to treat us to another "It's not on."

The coverage of the Sea Gypsies case was interesting but if Miss Dooley or her producers believe that she had any impact on the case she is delusional. Transporting a leader of the community to Bangkok with a promise that he was going to meet the Prime Minister was a ridiculous piece of self promotion on the part of the presenter. Nobody who knows anything about Thailand would have been surprised when she was brushed off with a thirty second audience with a junior official. She was ecstatic as a result of the man's assurance that the gypsies would be looked after, but here was no way he was ever going to say anything else. The closing credits proudly announced that the Thai PM had intervened, claiming it to be a direct consequence of the documentary. Unsurprisingly, there was no confirmation that the gypsies had got the result they were looking for.

This was a potentially fascinating documentary, ruined by the choice of presenter. Miss Dooley just doesn't have the intellect to carry it off.      

Latest review for Thai Lottery

Thanks to JBuckley for this review on Amazon.co.uk -
this book is suberb !!! right up there with the best bar scene thailand books, private dancer etc.. lots of short stories....... and all types of characters..... have not been able to put this down, really well written......

Thai Lottery... and Other Stories from Pattaya, Thailand

The questions they ask

My first book ran to three hundred pages and was around a hundred and three thousand words. The subject matter is a little racy so I decided I needed a pseudonym. It seems to be well received on Amazon so I finally decided I could put my head above the parapet and admit my secret. The first question many people have asked me is - "wow - how did you think of that pseudonym?"
Trust me that wasn't the hard part.

Thai Lottery... and Other Stories from Pattaya, Thailand

Thailand - and preconceptions

I wrote about the Thai sex industry and people ask me how many bar-girls I slept with. I've just completed a short story about a High School shooting but nobody thinks I shot anyone.

Thailand is a sink hole of depravity and anyone who knows anything about it is depraved. Everyone knows that's true. Isn't it? I may not have helped the case too much by writing a book based in the country's most notorious city - but I am trying to redress the balance a bit.

My main blog - which will now appear here looks at how Thailand is portrayed in the media. If you don't like the review - at least it has a handy link to YouTube video that I am commenting on.

Thailand - Red vs Yellow

This is an interesting documentary from Al Jazeerah. It appears to have been filmed in the aftermath of the 2010 protests which ended in tragedy, when the Thai army and police broke a series of demonstrations with extreme force. The film provides fascinating background to the two factions which represent polar opposites in Thai society. Yellow shirts are generally considered to come from the wealthy urban elite, Red shirts from the rural poor. Thailand is portrayed as a country on the brink of civil war with bleak prospects for healing the social rift.
This probably underestimates the resilience of the Thai people and their ability to cope with a semi permanent state of political instability. A follow up documentary assessing the position following a change in government would make interesting viewing. In the meantime, this is good background to the political climate in the country.

Watch it here: - YouTube 

Thai Sex Workers Organise

This is an excellent film that shows how sex workers in Thailand are cooperating to improve their lives. The driving force behind the movement is the extraordinary Empower Foundation - see the web site here.

There are two perspectives represented, Empower recognises that many women have no choice but to sell their bodies, others do so because it is far more lucrative than any of the other options available to them. They are dedicated to giving these women support and education that will help them to be safe and as successful as they can possibly be. You could say that they are dealing with the world as it is, not as they wish it would be.

We also meet an American from an organisation, the objective of which is to eliminate prostitution. She openly scoffs at the work and achievements of Empower. Her view is that paid sex is, by definition abuse and should not be tolerated any more than we accept murder and robbery.

Watch the films and decide for yourself which of these women impresses you most.

Part 1
Part 2

Islamic Rebellion - Thailand

This film paints a genuinely frightening picture of the Islamic Uprising in Southern Thailand. There are echoes of Britain's Northern Ireland situation here - an annexed territory and religious differences. This crisis gets little coverage in the West.

Well worth a look - Islamic rebellion

Speed Kills

Another interesting film on past Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's crackdown on the drug trade in Thailand.

It's also a stark warning as to what happens when the police operate with strict targets, the achievement of which determines whether a senior officer gets to keep his job.

Watch it here - Speed Kills

Quick Fix

I am generally wary of films from Journeyman Pictures. Too many have decided what they want to portray before they go looking for any evidence.

This is an honourable exception -  Quick Fix

There is no need to sensationalise or take one incident and claim it is representative of a bigger truth in this case. It's the shocking story of Thaksin Shinawatra's crackdown on the Thai drug trade. A fascinating film, well presented.