Poeticizing Cinematic Experiences: Traditional Thai Poetry in the Early Film Magazine Phappayon Siam

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article analyzes Thai poems that discussed the early days of cinema in three weekly issues of Phappayon Siam from 1922. Published among other prose writings, the poems depicted the poets’ moviegoing experiences, the splendor of cinema, and references to Buddhism using archaic words and Sanskrit literary forms. The article examines the unusual connection between traditional poetry and modern cinema and argues that this convergence not only reshapes the way we think about the hegemonic narratives about prosaic influences on cinema but also the scope of indigenous investment in traditional religious figures and their relationship to cinema and modernity.