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Thai Traditions and festivals in Paradise of Thorns (Part3)

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The Bun Bang Fai Festival , also known as the Rocket Festival, is a tradition where locals launch huge homemade rockets into the sky to pray for rain and bless the rice-growing season. It is loud, colourful, and full of energy, featuring parades, dancing, street food, music, and fireworks. However, despite being portrayed as a joyful celebration, the dark skies and rainfall that follow foreshadow the tragedy and destruction that lie ahead. Secondly, in Thai Buddhist culture, ordaining as a monk is considered an act of merit, respect, purification, and mourning . In Paradise of Thorns, Thongkam’s ordination symbolizes not only grief and mourning for Sek, but also his attempt to gain acceptance from Mother Saeng. He becomes ordained hoping that she will finally see him as part of the family and trust him enough to give him the orchard. This makes the scene more emotional, as Thongkam is forced to prove his sincerity and worth in order to be accepted, even after ...
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Paradise, Blood, and Durian Blooms: Symbolism and Thai Culture in Paradise of Thorns (Part 2)

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Paradise, Blood, and Durian Blooms: Symbolism and Thai Culture in Paradise of Thorns While the first half of Paradise of Thorns focuses on legal invisibility and grief, the second half descends into psychological tragedy, symbolism, and the destructive power of greed. But this is only the first half of the movie. The second half takes an even darker and bloodier turn, revolving entirely around greed, betrayal, and property rights, while slowly revealing the true nature of the characters Mo and Jingna. Image credits : IMDb At first, Jingna appears irresponsible and troublesome, but as the story progresses, the audience realizes that he is one of the few genuinely kind characters in the film. Eventually, both Thongkam and Jingna develop feelings for each other and decide to leave the durian farm after harvesting to sell the durians, hoping to finally escape the pain attached to the place. Meanwhile, Mo’s character becomes increasingly disturbing. Desperate to gain ownership o...
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When the Law Refuses to See Love: Queer Rights in Paradise of Thorns (Part 1)

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We all believe in love, be it between any gender. But what begins as a story about love and a shared dream slowly turns into a painful question: what happens when society refuses to recognize that love after death? This question is powerfully showcased through Paradise of Thorns , a Thai movie directed by Naruebet Kuno released in 2024 . The story revolves around Thongkam and Sek, a legally unmarried gay couple who build a home and a durian farm together. However, tragedy strikes when Sek dies in an accident during the flowering season of the durian farm. The real tragedy begins after his death, when Thongkam realizes that his relationship with Sek has no legal recognition despite the life they built together and the evidence of their commitment. Because the land is legally under Sek’s name, Thongkam is left with no rights to the farm, even after selling his own house to help pay the installments for it. After Sek’s death, all the assets, including the house the...
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When Beauty Was Black: Rethinking What We Call Beautiful 🖤✨

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I paused a scene in a movie, not because of the plot, but because of a smile that wasn’t white. In today’s world, young people often feel pressured to follow strict beauty standards, being thin, having an hourglass figure, flawless glass skin with no pores, and more. Watching that particular scene made me reflect. It was a Thai historical film, and when a woman smiled, I noticed something unusual, her teeth were painted black, not white as we usually prefer today. For a moment, it felt unfamiliar. But instead of brushing it off, I think we should pause at moments like this. Because sometimes, what looks strange to us is simply something we have never been taught to understand. So, I looked up this practice and discovered something meaningful. In earlier Thai history , especially during the Ayutthaya period, blackened teeth were considered beautiful, not just acceptable, but desirable. A darkened smile symbolized maturity, elegance, and cultural belonging. It marked a transition into ad...
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The Door That Finds Me When I’m Sad 🚪✨

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It never appears when I’m happy, not when I’m laughing or distracted or when life feels normal; it only shows up when my chest begins to ache, when my thoughts grow louder than they should, when breathing feels heavy, and that’s when I see it, a door, standing somewhere it doesn’t belong yet somehow feels like it has always been there, whether it’s in the middle of a road, beside my bed, or quietly existing in a crowded corridor like a secret meant only for me.  It reminds me of those doors that can take you anywhere, but this one feels different, like it doesn’t take me just anywhere but exactly where I need to go; it looks like something out of a dream I can’t fully describe, slightly worn yet beautiful, with a pathway behind it that feels endless and soft, almost glowing, as if it exists between reality and memory, and there’s no sound except silence wrapped in a faint, soothing music that calms something deep inside me.  The first time I saw it, I wasn’t scared, only curio...
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The Day My Voice Stopped Shaking 🥲

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Today wasn’t just another college event. It was a think tank session, where ideas were meant to shape the future of the college and the well-being of its students. But somewhere between discussions and suggestions, something unexpected happened to me. We had a jamming session. And somehow… I was pushed to sing. That alone was enough to make my heart race. Singing in front of people has never been easy for me. Every time I try, my breathing betrays me. My voice trembles. My confidence slips away before I even reach the chorus. But today, I said yes. I decided to sing my own song,  The lost promise The moment I started, I could feel it. My voice shaking. My chest tightening. The fear was loud, louder than my own singing. I noticed it so clearly that I instinctively pulled the mic away, as if distance could hide my fear. For a second, I thought I would stop. But I didn’t have to face it alone. And then, my Professor stepped in and played the karaoke track of my song. And s...
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The Lives I Live Only When I Sleep

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What if every time we fall asleep, we don’t escape reality… but enter another one? What if the dreams we brush off as imagination are actually moments we lived, just not here? Maybe that place felt familiar not because you’ve been there… but because another you still is there. Every time I fall asleep, I don’t just dream, I become someone else. Sometimes a child, sometimes a stranger, sometimes someone older than I am now. And in those moments, it never feels strange. It feels normal, like that life is the one I’ve always known. I don’t question it. I live it. What’s even more unsettling is how familiar everything feels. Places I have never seen in my waking life appear so clearly, yet they don’t feel new. It’s like my world blends with something unknown. My college exists there too, but right next to it, there’s a waterfall I’ve never seen before… and yet, it feels like I’ve always known it. In those dreams, I don’t feel like I’m watching a story, I feel like I’ve been ass...
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