Petition: English language movies at Hua Hin cineplex

Hua Hin general discussion, observations and chat. Hua Hin topics that don't really fit anywhere else.
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Chas
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Impressed!

Post by Chas »

Just want to add that I am VERY impressed that Kitechick got a reply from the cinema management! This in itself is most unusual and it gives me hope that someone might at least be listening! Hey, its a start!


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Post by sandman67 »

you have my full support

get at em!

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Post by Tony_S »

Big Boy wrote:Maybe if kitechick could provide that e-mail address, we could all bombard head office. We tried it a while back to the local office with no response - at least kitechick got a response.
If we all email every week asking if any movies are listed for this week and also get all the thai girls we know to email too (in thai) then this should work better than a petition.
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Post by thaiorchid »

Georgy Porgy wrote:
"I have a friend whos only English lessons were from DVDs and her language skills are excellent."
That was a new one. I thought that any lady in LOS, with better than average language skills, all had worked as "cashiers". After the ricefarmers union, the "cashiers" union must be the second largest.
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Big Boy
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Post by Big Boy »

I would actually agree with Georgy Porgy's comment.

When Thai wives bring their children to the UK, the education authorities encourage the children to watch English TV as it is an excellent aid to them picking up the English language.
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Post by Roel »

So I guess then movies dubbed into Thai are an excellent aid for farangs to pick up the Thai language. :naughty:
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Post by Big Boy »

Well, yes. A friend of mine who lives not too far from me regularly watches TV5 here in the UK. His Thai is coming on a treat.

Me, while I'm living in the UK can't be bothered to watch TV5 - my poor wife is relegated to the conservatory if she wants to watch Thai TV. :twisted:
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I would disagree

Post by Chas »

The dubbing of English language movies into Thai is not well done and after all you are seeing the mouths speaking English on the screen . .I doubt if it can be recommended as a language learning tool! ( I can honestly say I learning NO Thai from my recent exposure to "Transformers" dubbed into Thai.)

Best would be a Thai language movie with good English subtitles! Then you see and hear the Thai speaker . .and see the meaning.

In learning a new language., it is generally easiest to speak it directly with a native speaker. Most difficult IMHO is using the phone or a situation like a dubbed movie where you can not see the speaker and must rely solely on your hearing.

(EDIT)
"I learning NO Thai"
you see, that dubbed movie even sabotaged my English! That should read . ." I am learning NO Thai . . ." :wink: :wink: :wink:


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Last edited by Chas on Sat Jul 25, 2009 8:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: I would disagree

Post by Tony_S »

Chas wrote:Best would be a Thai language movie with good English subtitles! Then you see and hear the Thai speaker . .and see the meaning. .
There were parts in the movie 'Bangkok Dangerous' where the guy spoke in Thai and English subtitles came on.
Always remember the words farang keenok (subtitled bird shit foreigner) :P
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Re: I would disagree

Post by tolair »

[quote="Tony_S"

There were parts in the movie 'Bangkok Dangerous' where the guy spoke in Thai and English subtitles came on.
Always remember the words farang keenok (subtitled bird shit foreigner) :P[/quote]

Isn't that the Thai slang for "Backpacker" ?

I've been recently enjoying watching movies in the PIRACY of my home.

The English subtitles of the new Star Trek movie are a real hoot and include some real humdingers.

Ambassador Spock is referred to throughout as
"Bas***d Spock

and when someone does call him pointy ears, It's transcibed as
"Donkey eared Bas***d

Lots of others that I can't recall at present. Worth 100 baht for the laugh.
AWOL

Post by AWOL »

Just wanted to add that while the situation with the Harry Potter movie now apparently having some screenings with the original soundtrack is good, the main hope is that this is done with all releases on a regular basis, and also that the information of what is on and when is readily available. AWOL will happily print the information every week, giving the cinema free advertising effectively.
Well done to kitechick by the way for her efforts so far in trying to find out and bringing the information to us.
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Post by SuperTonic »

Went down today to get some info, no indication about English language, no advertising, and no-one at the ticket desks to sell me a ticket even if I wanted to watch something. Do they have a single brain cell between them?
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Post by Big Boy »

They wouldn't want the English language trial to be a success ......... would they?
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Post by AWOL »

Big Boy,
We don't really believe that the cinema would think like that, given that all over the country other cinemas show the original soundtrack. We have been racking our brains to think why they would object to a policy of regular advertised screenings of original soundtrack versions, and the possible reasons are:
1. They get more customers for what they are already showing;
2. The original soundtrack version is more expensive than the dubbed version;
3. The management, both local and head office, don't care;
4. The management, both local and head office, don't like farangs.

Going through these in order, 1 is unproven; while they may have shown original soundtrack versions in the past, no one knew about them, both because of a lack of advertising by the cinema and their track record of not showing them, so no one bothers going to the cinema to find out. This objection would only be valid if they have full houses for every showing of their current offerings, which we very much doubt.

2 is unlikely, as normally dubbed versions are much more expensive, which makes sense given that there is the additional cost of the actors doing the dubbing and the engineer to add them to the audio of the film. Quite a time consuming process.

3 is possible, given how many Thai businesses don't appear to care about repeat business or have much of a clue about running their businesses.

4 is also possible but we think unlikely; there have been stories that the local manager does not like farangs but we think this is probably a 2+2=5 reaction - 'they don't show films that farangs can watch so therefore...'. We certainly don't think it is true of the head office, as their outlets in Bangkok and elsewhere regularly do show the original soundtrack versions.

Given all this, we think it is just that the perception of Major Cineplex is that there is no demand for original soundtrack movies in Hua Hin, possibly based on both previous screenings from when it first opened as well as the claimed survey they carried out on their customers. The aim of the petition, for those reading this that haven't yet signed it, is to alter their perception with hundreds and possibly thousands of signatures.

To date there are 232 signatures which is a great start, and we want to get the number as high as possible; if you haven't already, send emails to anyone you know who would support this petition, tell your Thai friends and family and if they don't have the internet skills necessary add their name for them if they agree with it. We need to prove that there is a demand from both farang and Thai moviegoers. Tell the staff at the hotel you are staying at, the businesses you deal with, the internet cafe you visit; ask the waitress if she would like to see original soundtrack movies and tell her about the petition; if someone talks to you and says they want to improve their English, ask them as well.
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Post by sandman67 »

Ive been down there to see the big Thai blockbuster films over the last two years.....Queens of Langsuka, King Naresuan 1 & 2...... the big big films.

The most people in there were in for KN2...and there were about 30 people in there.

Ive been in watching other Thai films and there have been 4 or 5 people in there.

the problem is the manager and his useless apathetic staff.

Ive been to Cineplexes in Chang Mai, Patayya and Bangkok, and none of them are run as shambolically as this one.
"Science flew men to the moon. Religion flew men into buildings."

"To sin by silence makes cowards of men."
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