“I wonder if I’ve been changed in the night? Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I’m not the same, the next question is who in the world I am? Ah that’s the great puzzle!”
Alice, Alice adventures in Wonderland
Leweis Carroll
As a child in Thailand I constantly watched a cartoon animation of Alice in Wonderland. It provoked my imagination, Alice was the main character, but unlike other fairy tales it did not have a dominant male ’hero’ nor an identifiable plot or ending. The visual characterisations of the White Rabbit, in particular one adaptation for television altered my interpretation of this story and influenced my art. The book itself has never been out of print, it has been produced as plays, films and radio broadcasts. Its characters have been depicted on playing cards, games, and chess pieces. Lewis Carroll’s book which has often been analysed and critiqued from the point of view as a simple children’s story, social comment, satire on new Victorian mathematical theory and even more obscurely The War The Roses, discourses on logic, language and philosophy (e.g. Gardner 2000; Irwin & Davis, 2009)..
To summarise all the theories impossible even a consensus is beyond the scope of this essay. Rather a more general analysis of the major themes of the book has been used. In the story Alice finds herself in a new world with its own rules. The allegory of coming to terms to a new culture is clear, but the story and characters have provided interesting metaphors about perceptions of different cultures, issues of stereotyping and assertions of personal identity to explore in my art practice.
Britain was, and still is, perceived by many south-east Asians as a ‘wonderland’, in particular its values and social norms as characterised by the middle and upper classes, in particular their affluent life-style, through the medium of mass media combined with the import of western consumer goods. My own perceptions of the British ‘wonderland’ came from Disney’s 1951 (English version), cartoon animation of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ which was faithful to Carroll’s original story. Everything looked colourful, pretty, the characters though depicted as animals were friendly, conduct was formal and conversations were polite albeit spoken in American accents. Visually stimulating it became my personal perception of ‘Britain’ as a ‘wonderland’ In contrast the Jonathon Miller’s 1961 television adaptation depicted the characters as humans, English actors in Victorian dress. Whilst Carroll had written a children’s story for children, Miller’s adaption was a critique on British society. As an adult this fundamentally changed a fantasy story of my childhood to a metaphor for irony and comment on British culture which I have explored through my art practice
.
In a literary sense Lewis Carroll’s story whilst an imaginative fantastical story was totally different from the moralising content of 19th century children’s books had characters which the Victorian reader could clearly identify. Alice is a Victorian heroine, who with her strength of character confronts and overcomes the challenges she encounters. Figuratively the ‘Mad Hatter’ may have characterised one of the many detrimental social impacts of industrialisation the Victorians encountered. The hat manufacturing industry used mercury in the curing process which poisoned the hatters giving them hallucinations and eventually sending them mad – hence the “Mad Hatter”. The image of the White Rabbit is a little more subtle. Dressed in clothes with watch and chain, obsessed with time it characterised the adult world with its rules on punctuality (Borey, 2001).
However as an allegory it can be developed further. Where I live (Northwest England ) there are visual reminders of the cultural legacy of industrialised Victorian Britain. The repeated allusion to a watch and time could also be interpreted as referring to the socio-economic impact of industrialisation on Victorians concept of time. Dials and clocks regulated the daily manufacturing process in mills. Time as a commodity would have been the basis of the economic relationship between employers and workers. It defined the working day and wages being negotiated and paid per hour of labour. Clocks were a visual dominant architectural feature of Victorian mills and would have been visible to the workers communities clustered around the mills.
The ‘Mad Hatter’, ‘March Hare’ and Doormouse are introduced as characters at a Tea Party, which in the Victorian age was a social event where conformity with the rules of decorum and social norms were critical to how and indeed whether an individual became part of higher society. Borey, (2001) interprets this as a parallel to society, rules and norms are important. In contrast there is nothing comparable to a formal tea-party in Thailand. Subject to the universal norms of courtesy, social interaction is more communal, privacy as a part of the dynamics of family and friendship relationships non-existent. I have used the tea-party in my art practice as a metaphor for the irony I perceive is created by the cultural social norm(s) of British social interaction. In contrast in Thailand the norm is for communal living whereas in Britain life is distinctly compartmentalised with more emphasis on privacy. In Britain it is the norm for members of the same family to live apart and have separate more private lives. The norm for Thai parties is to be infinitely more inclusive and open, the criteria being simply ‘people you know’ irrespective of how, why or where you interact with them. In Britain I perceive the opposite norm to be true, people invited to parties confined to, and defined by how, why and where social interaction takes place.
Carroll’s Mad Hatter’s Tea-Party may be an allegory for the importance of learning the rules of Victorian social interaction. However my art practice photograph shows Alice
Coming as I do from a Thai cultural background to Britain, like Alice, new rules of social interaction and entertaining to learn?
At the Tea Party the Doormouse, is characterised as quiet to be almost insignificant individual whose contribution to conversation are spoken over and ignored by the other characters. Interestingly the English language uses idioms like “quiet as a mouse” or ‘... a little mouse’, as a phrase in ordinary conversation to characterise someone who is shy, quiet, by nature chooses to remain in the background. Borey (2001) uses a Marxist interpretation to make a comparison is made between Carroll’s characterisation of the Doormouse and the working class of Victorian England whose senses were ‘dulled’ by the capitalist establishment, hence the famous quote ‘religion is the opium of the people’ but as Borey observes this quote is now more often used as ‘television is the opium of the people’.
Ting –Tong- Mag -ga –Dong- Dong
According to author Sheridan Prasso (2005, 74-105) the “China Porcelain doll” stereotype and other variations of this submissive stereotype exist in American films. This includes the "Geisha Girl, Lotus Flower, China Doll: submissive, docile, obedient, reverential. The other more paradoxical stereotype of the south-east Asian woman is one of ‘sexually available’ and reflect Hollywood’s films of U.S. military involvement in countries of Far East Asia in the twentieth century. Prasso concluded that mass media, especially television, influences our attitudes and beliefs of the world. Heavy television viewers, for instance, believe the world is more violent than it actually is. On British television the popular award winning series ‘Little Britain’ whilst aimed at over 15 year olds in a 2005 Radio Times survey of children as their second favourite television TV comedy has the characters of Dudley and his mail order Thai Bride, Ting Tong, which is perhaps the only representation of Thai people and British mixed relationships in British.
Whilst presented or intended as a satire on aspects of contemporary British culture criticism of the of Little Britain’s characterisation of a Thai woman or mail-order bride is that it has given a name Ting Tong to the stereotype and an image to the caricature (Head, 2006). Whilst that criticism may not be entirely applicable to every strata of 21st century British Society, it is arguably perhaps more relevant to those whose cultural horizons perhaps extend no further than the 36 inches of flickering light on a flat screen in the corner of their living rooms.
My personal experience underscores the Runnymede Trust ‘Community Studies’ report (Sims, 2008) of casual racism and sexism being a feature of daily life in the U.K. due to stereotypes of Thai women as either mail-ordered brides or prostitutes. The public perception of Thais in the labour market is limited and mainly based on stereotyped images – arising, for example, from the prevalence of Thai restaurants across the
country and the media portrayal of Thais in and outside of Thailand
In contrast to ‘stereotyping’ personal identity is a major theme in Alice’s encounters in Wonderland. On at least four occasions ‘Alice’ questions her own identity. In Chapter 5 for example the Caterpillar asks Alice who she is, and she cannot give a satisfactory answer, she has changed so many times in one day she can no longer answer the question. Throughout the book Alice's change in size also bring about a change in perspective, and she sees the world around her from a very different view. In the last trial scene, her growth into a giant reflects her interior growth, she becomes a much stronger, self-possessed person, able express herself and speak out.
The massive majority of Thai women and Thai girls are traditionally conservative and observe high standards of moral behaviour. Prostitution in Thailand has been illegal since 1960. However, in 1966 by a law which allowed for the creation of ‘entertainment establishments’, was made to generate more income from the large numbers of US armed forces stationed in Thailand and Vietnam. Unlike Britain where prostitution is unacceptable this law, in effect tolerates prostitution and thousands of foreign men come every week to Thailand to meet prostitutes. It is not uncommon for foreign men to visit Thailand and fall in love with Thai bar girls. Many Thai bar girls, who are, in fact, prostitutes, do not conform to the stereotypical image of a prostitute that most westerners hold. The elderly and not so elderly westerner falling for the manipulative bar girl has become the butt of many jokes and a classic stereotype. It is also, in many cases true.
In contrast to this, the growing popularity of Thai dating sites, the internet in general and social network sites has resulted in an explosion of contact between singles in Thailand and the UK
Buapan Promphakping, an associate professor in humanities at Khon Kaen University, estimates the actual number of cross-culture couples in Thailand’s north-eastern provinces about 100,000 ( Promphakping, 2009). According to Promphakping’s studies the influx of comparatively wealthy Westerners, is creating a huge income gap between cross- culture couples and villagers and fuelling more materialism and consumerism. For Western men, especially elderly ones retiring on modest pensions the local economy offers them a standard of living their incomes couldn't buy them in the West. However ‘Wonderland’ was in a space somewhere between fantasy and reality it was not cyber-space and Alice
Throughout the story it is the White Rabbit that Alice runs after and searches for throughout Wonderland, he is perhaps symbolic of Alice’s quest for knowledge. I have used the visual image of the White Rabbit in my artwork as a metaphor to comment on the irony and paradox I see in one contemporary aspect of British and Thai cross-culture relationships. Carroll’s rabbit was exactly that, Jonathon Miller’s characterisation of the rabbit was of a well dressed cultured self-assured young man. In my photograph (see below) the White Rabbit represents a well dressed, respectful, affluent, trustworthy, reliable adult, an older man. This is often the idealised stereotypical view of Thai women of the British man they would choose as a husband. This is perception may have been encouraged by increased globalisation and the increasing prevalence and attraction of western consumer-orientated culture.
In my art practice I have reversed the characters, the Thai woman on top straddles and dominates the man. This reversal of positions represents the idea that whilst he may believe he has bought and owns the ideal commodity - a compliant and submissive woman, her cultural deferential quiet soft spoken manner contributing to the allure of her being more feminine than western women. This fantasy come true will tend to his every material and sexual. In reality he has been trapped and ultimately controlled by consumerism. Deluded when he purchased this commodity to the reality it was he was commodity had being acquired by her – a ticket to a better world of materialism and culture. The wider truth is an irony - neither of the them ‘owned’ the other, both were owned and controlled by materialism and consumerism.
The story and characters of Alice
Does the impact of globalisation, the age of internet communication, and our acquisitive consumer orientated lives mean in reality is we are no longer seeing each other another as individuals but are reducing each other to the status of a commodity, who exists solely for us to use for our own ends? What is the reality do we at the same time ‘exist’ but ’not exist’?
Just like Alice went on a journey through Wonderland I have been on a journey through Alice in Wonderland, Alice and my journey has not yet had an ending. Alice and the other characters of this English children’s story have been, ‘companions’ of mine ever since I first met them as visual images in a Disney video. At the beginning even though we were from different cultures and different times they made me think and try to understand them and their world. As I grew older these companions became metaphors to think and analyse myself and the world around me and compare and cultures I experienced. Characters like the White Rabbit have helped me to analyse and express through my art practice some of the paradoxes and ironies of life I have encountered on that journey, but it is still essentially ‘work in progress’. Out there on my journey of discovery are The Cheshire Cat and his grin, and the March Hare who are waiting to help me through my art practice to explore concepts of what is real, existing and not existing.
Bibliography
Buapan Promphakping (2009) ‘Foreign husbands flock to Thailand’s impoverished Issan - Feature’, http:// www. earthtimes.org/articles/news/29207,foreign-husbands-flock-to- thailands- impoverished-issan-feature.html, consulted 15/03/2011
Eddie Borey (2001) Alice in Wonderland Bibliography, http://www.gradesaver.com/alice-in-wonderland/study-guide/bibliography/ consulted 01/03/2011
Irwin W and Davis R B (2010) Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy, New Jersey, Wiley and Sons.
Jessica Mai Sims (2008) Empowering Individuals & Creating Communities – Thai Perspectives on Life in Britain, London. Runnymede Trust Publications
Jonathan Head (2006) ‘Perils fail to deter Thai Bride Boom’ BBC News Online (Sept 6), http://www. news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5319072.stm, consulted 19/02/2011
Juliana B Enteen (2005) ‘Siam re-mapped: cyber interventions by Thai women’, New Media & Society, page 457-482
Lewis Carroll (1866) Alice Adventures in Wonderland, Macmillan & Co Ltd.
Lewis Carroll (1871) Through the Looking –Glass, and What Alice Found There, Macmillan & Co Ltd.
Martin Gardner (2000) Annotated Alice, The Definitive Edition, London, Norton & Co.
Sheridan Prasso (2005) Asian Mystique, Cambridge MA, Public Affairs/Perseus Books
Thank you
Mike Edwards
Heptonstall
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