There are certain stereotypes of disabled people in Thailand. Often on TV programmes, people with disabilities are portrayed as those who are dependent on others and require donations in order to survive.
To provide a new perspective about disabled people, the College of Educational Innovation Research at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) has joined hands with the Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEP) under the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security to create seven inspiring movies for seven categories of disabilities.
Last year, there were almost 2 million disabled people in Thailand, according to a DEP report. As categorised by the department, the seven types of disabilities are: hearing or interpretational disability (18.65%); physical disability (49.43%); vision impairment (9.82%); mental or behavioural disabilities (7.59%); intellectually disabled (6.77%); autism spectrum disorder (0.65%); and learning disabilities (0.53%).
The pilot movie, Shining Silence, was recently released on a YouTube channel with the same name while the other six short films are now in production. Shining Silence tells a story of a woman -- Kanjana "Pukkey" Phimpa who was the winner of Miss Deaf Asia in 2019 -- who has a hearing-impairment.
Torsangrasmee Teetakaew, vice-president for corporate communication at KMITL, who is in charge of the project "Innovative Creative Media For Social Communication About Disabled People" realised that content about disabled people in the media is limited after carrying out research.
The lead actress in Shining Silence is a hard of hearing person. (Photos: King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang)
"The three main issues relating to disabled people in Thai media is that they require assistance, the content focuses mostly on adults, and the fact that there are very few role models for them to look up to. We try to produce content that helps encourage the disabled so that they don't feel excluded from society. Since most viewers feel that disabled people are a burden, we would like to make them understand that the disabled are people like everyone else. When people see disabled individuals in wheelchairs, some try to help by pushing them but some disabled people don't want that. In fact, they want to control their wheelchair themselves," said Torsangrasmee.
"In the UK, the animation Peppa Pig features a pig as the main character who has many kinds of friends. One of the latest characters added last year was Mandy Mouse, a mouse in a wheelchair, so that children can learn about diversity in society. We should have a variety of programmes about disabled people," Torsangrasmee added.
The 20-minute movie, Shining Silence, reveals what Kanjana had to go through before she won Miss Deaf Thailand and Miss Deaf Asia. Kanjana wanted to study in a regular school, however, she couldn't attend because sign language interpreters weren't available. After she was chosen to enter the first round of Miss Deaf Thailand, she had an accident which led to a broken arm but she was still not discouraged and trained very hard until she was eventually crowned with the title. In the movie, people get to learn about people with hearing impairment.
"I like the scene where an actress performs a Thai dance. To perform in sync with the music is very difficult for hearing-impaired people because they can't hear music. However, they can feel the rhythm of the music by constantly touching the speakers. The actress who plays Kanjana is also hard of hearing. While she can hear some music, we have to turn up the volume very high. For this role, she practised a lot and did very well. The movie director said he had arranged a camp for the hearing-impaired and they like to touch drums while someone is playing or they sit closely to speakers, so they can feel the beat," said Torsangrasmee.
Shining Silence provides subtitles, not sign language.
Torsangrasmee explained that she decided to produce Shining Silence as the first movie in the project "Innovative Creative Media For Social Communication About Disabled People" because she was impressed how a hearing-impaired crew at Miss Deaf Thailand worked so quietly, but effectively. She also didn't want the project to begin with a dramatic movie so Shining Silence was a good choice since it has an inspiring plot.
"I have to admit that I also had perceptions of disabled people who have dramatic experiences. When I interviewed Kanjana before making the movie, her responses regarding her difficulties were simple but I couldn't use them to create dramatic scenes. Her parents had allowed her to grow up among many kinds of people so she is well-adjusted. When she flew to South Africa to participate in Miss Deaf Asia, she was able to travel alone without any fear. After the interview with Kanjana, I felt that living with a disabled person isn't difficult," said Torsangrasmee.
The idea of the project is to encourage disabled people and make society treat them equally. However, will a movie about a disabled beauty pageant winner create a gap between attractive disabled people and less attractive disabled people?
"This is the first movie. There will be different characters in the six other movies. For instance, there is a story about a physically disabled person and a dwarf who studies in a regular school. Also, today's beauty pageants do not focus only on appearances but also look at intelligence. We have to admit that the voice of an ordinary person does not carry much weight, however, the voice of someone who is a winner is more powerful. It may inspire some viewers to stop and listen to the message of the movie," explained Torsangrasmee.
Shining Silence was inspired by the life of Kanjana 'Pukkey' Phimpa, the winner of Miss Deaf Asia in 2019. Miss Deaf Thailand
Miss Deaf Asia 2019 Kanjana, who is currently a third-year student at Sakon Nakhon Rajabhat University (SNRU), added that her triumph at the beauty contest has inspired hearing-impaired people.
"To be crowned Miss Deaf Asia was very helpful because it is helping to inspire other hearing-impaired people. I can be a representative of the disabled and help people who need assistance. The movie helps society realise that hearing-impaired people are capable of many things and we can live in society without being a burden," said Kanjana.
Before releasing the movie Shining Silence on YouTube, the movie was shown to some disabled people as a sample group and the result was very positive.
"Some viewers cried. They said that prior to this movie, there had been no movie about them and some said it was a reflection of their own lives. They were touched by the movie. The movie has no sign language interpreter because they prefer subtitles. They also want TV and online programmes with subtitles, not sign language," said Torsangrasmee.
As the person who inspired the movie, Kanjana was delighted.
"After seeing the movie, I am proud of myself. I feel thankful that I was patient throughout my hardships and I am grateful to my family who has always understood me. I also feel thankful to my friends and teachers that have supported me. Without them, I could not have reached this point today. This is a wonderful project and I hope society will now look at people with disabilities equally," Kanjana said.
After Kanjana graduates from SNRU, she plans to study for her Master's at KMITL even though it won't be easy because a sign language interpreter will have to be with her when she attends classes. People at KMITL are working on a plan to help Kanjana's dream come true.
"Graduate students don't need to attend all lectures but we will provide her with a sign language interpreter as well. Since most people don't understand sign language, interpreters are needed but they are not available in universities, so it is difficult for hearing-impaired people to study further. The government usually helps disabled people by giving them money, but it isn't sustained in the long-term. If disabled people have higher education and knowledge, it can help them more. At the end of the day, hearing-impaired people also want to improve the quality of their lives and for that, communication is important," said Torsangrasmee.
