iieiiei1eWrkers - Leicester Research Archive - University of Leicester

etween channels and then I don 'i really get to watch what I
want.., when I fry 10 switch channel others don '1 like ü. .1 ant tired of
fighting over the icily... I don't like this kind of interruption.. .1
sometimes go /0 the Union office to watch the weekend shows instead,
or go to the cinema...
This does not preclude the co-existence of public consumption with private taste
however. Workers may opt in or out of the arena, or she/he may participate
in a media activity without sharing exactly the same taste. Respondents (2) and
(3) for example, go to the cinema together with some friends as a group,
although their specific tastes are different from one another. In addition, the
cyclical production of the mass media is a built-in complementary system. The
popular radio dramas are made into films and vice versa. For television, the
scripts of the soap operas on channels 7 and 3 for example, are printed in th
two major popular newspapers. One of my pop fan respondents preferred to
read the soap operas in the papers provided in the reading room. Sometimes
she buys the second newspaper, Daily News, to follow a different story. This
is also circulated among friends.
Whereas drama is enjoyed largely in silence, music explodes in emotional and
physical sensuality. The constrictive pattern apparent in the consumption of
'women's genres' takes on a comparatively diversified direction in pop music.
It is a public activity in which personal tastes compete against one another.
On Sunday, several radios or cassettes are usually on at the same time,
'blasting away' music from a variety of programmes or vocalists. The two
popular Luktoong stations on the AM band that the workers tune in to most
are Sor Tor Ror Radio (The Voice of the Navy) arid Por Tor Or Radio (The
Army Artillery Radio). By combining listening with chatting and singing, the
domestic work of ironing and washing is invested with pleasure. At the same
time, differences in musical taste contribute to antagonisms between fans of
different stars.
"..there are about 20-25 in our group... we go to Surac/iai 's
concert. .lie is our idol so we think his music is the best, and his
concert is the /11051 glamnourous. . of course, f/ic other fan club thinks
that Sayan San ya is better.. we are at odds wit/i each another..
The availability of a wide range of media in the area around the factory
compensates for some of the structural constraints inside it. This is in stark
contrast to the lack of access in the rural areas. Ownership of a television set
in poor peasant families is rare. One third of our respondents did not have
access to a television before they came to work in the factory. In addition,
beyond the Central Plain, reception is limited to a maximum of two channels.
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