Sun, 23 Sep 2007 DPA
Phnom Penh - Britney Spears was once every Cambodian's girl next door, her face adorning millions of T-shirts, school bags and businesses ranging from beauty parlours to souvenir shops. But recent scandals in the life of Britney and other young American starlets have horrified even the youth of culturally conservative Cambodia and fuelled a stampede toward stars closer to home.
As well as a boom in locally produced Cambodian music, South Korean, Indonesian and Indian artists have taken over the airwaves, according to music sellers, and at least some of that trend can be directly credited to Britney and company.
Sok Leng, the proprietor of Empire Disc music shop in the capital, said 25-year-old Britney's latest album, due for release in November, has received virtually no interest, and offerings later than her 2000 studio album 'Oops I did it Again' no longer move.
"There are still requests for her work, but it is almost always for her old hits. We don't sell Korean music yet, but there is not a day that goes by when someone doesn't ask for it," Leng said.
"Television now shows a lot of Korean music clips, and people want to buy it."
Wholesome Korean pop sensation Rain is a huge star in Cambodia. Britney, by comparison, has lost significant appeal.
"She is a mother of two but she dances with few clothes. We don't want to follow our parents' ideals exactly, but we don't want to follow this example either," says Srey Mom, a 23-year-old music fan. "For me, I am embarrassed to watch this."
Newspaper proprietors have taken notice. Once pictured demurely, Britney was featured disapprovingly in Khmer-language daily Koh Santepheap last week wearing nothing but underwear.
Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said he had noted fashions and hair styles increasingly following trends set by Korean artists, and that may be reflected in Cambodian youth's musical choices.
But, he said, it was not only Britney's doing. Paris Hilton was another who had dismayed the majority Buddhist Cambodian public.
"It's no matter for the new generation who inspires their hair or their dress, such as, say, the Korean stars, if they remember they are still Cambodian," he said. "Cambodian young people prefer their own stars and other Asians to those Europeans."
But in a country where a Christmas television special once had the plug pulled by Prime Minister Hun Sen himself when a female performer was deemed to be dancing and dressing too immodestly, young Cambodians may find it more comfortable to follow local examples and those from countries such as Korea and Indonesia.
Still, Kanharith said, music is a fickle industry and Britney and friends may yet recover. "Everybody makes mistakes. The important thing is that they adjust themselves following those mistakes."
As well as a boom in locally produced Cambodian music, South Korean, Indonesian and Indian artists have taken over the airwaves, according to music sellers, and at least some of that trend can be directly credited to Britney and company.
Sok Leng, the proprietor of Empire Disc music shop in the capital, said 25-year-old Britney's latest album, due for release in November, has received virtually no interest, and offerings later than her 2000 studio album 'Oops I did it Again' no longer move.
"There are still requests for her work, but it is almost always for her old hits. We don't sell Korean music yet, but there is not a day that goes by when someone doesn't ask for it," Leng said.
"Television now shows a lot of Korean music clips, and people want to buy it."
Wholesome Korean pop sensation Rain is a huge star in Cambodia. Britney, by comparison, has lost significant appeal.
"She is a mother of two but she dances with few clothes. We don't want to follow our parents' ideals exactly, but we don't want to follow this example either," says Srey Mom, a 23-year-old music fan. "For me, I am embarrassed to watch this."
Newspaper proprietors have taken notice. Once pictured demurely, Britney was featured disapprovingly in Khmer-language daily Koh Santepheap last week wearing nothing but underwear.
Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said he had noted fashions and hair styles increasingly following trends set by Korean artists, and that may be reflected in Cambodian youth's musical choices.
But, he said, it was not only Britney's doing. Paris Hilton was another who had dismayed the majority Buddhist Cambodian public.
"It's no matter for the new generation who inspires their hair or their dress, such as, say, the Korean stars, if they remember they are still Cambodian," he said. "Cambodian young people prefer their own stars and other Asians to those Europeans."
But in a country where a Christmas television special once had the plug pulled by Prime Minister Hun Sen himself when a female performer was deemed to be dancing and dressing too immodestly, young Cambodians may find it more comfortable to follow local examples and those from countries such as Korea and Indonesia.
Still, Kanharith said, music is a fickle industry and Britney and friends may yet recover. "Everybody makes mistakes. The important thing is that they adjust themselves following those mistakes."
9 comments:
Oh well! People will always have different take of how they view the world. I don't think Cambodian people are that conservative at all if they have the chance to expose to any culture long enough.
You can't expect too from Cambodia these days because Cambodian people are beginning to emerge from the Stone Age and their living conditions are very primitive under the same communist Vietcong puppet dictators for over 30 years and they still eat insects and lizards for snack. I try to imagine how could people eat insects or lizards for snack? Ahahahahah!
Britney Spears is very beautiful woman with great voice! Some people point out that "She is a mother of two but she dances with few clothes." are some of the reason for not buying her music. I think this is bullshit! Why is it so ashamed to show off a beautiful body in the public? God create a beautiful human body for the world to see and why it is a sin to look at it? Come on! Are these people looking for mother figure or great artist who produces great music? People should her judge base her music and talent.
For me, Britney Spears represents Western affluent and excess and most people around the world can't afford it and if they can and they wouldn't talking about it!
4:11,
You kidding me? Sure, any women have the right to show off their bodies. However, there should be a limit to how much is exposed. I hope you are not a husband or a father. From what you said, you would allow your children to dress like Britney Spears or P. Hilton in public. What a shame!
To 6:45
Calm down, I feel that as a Cambodian we shouldn't be suppressed and restricted in a lot of things. It's sad that the government is scared of society crumbling down because of Western culture and norms. Just look at the Cambodian government ... isn't that a negative as well, lots of scandals etc, corruption, isn't that bad with Cambodia's "strict" culture? I would think so, I don't want my children to kill someone over a love triangle. I don't want them to cheat and corrupt people, steal and plunder and I don't want them to suppress others!
I think of it as a freedom of expression, if Britney had the body and talent why not flaunt it. If you don't want your kids to watch it, turn it off, she's an entertainer, not a whore, and she's a mother.
Stop living in the Stone Age. I was just outrage with Hun Sen making that actress/singer publicly apologize for something that was so trivial.
Weren't our ancestors walking around half naked? I think we must scold our ancestors too then, take out all the images of the Apsaras off the Angkor ruins. Note that was sarcasm.
You guys are seriously making me crack up all over the floor. As a music critic in America, I can't believe you're justifying Britney's use of her body as a legitimate form of musical expression.
It's about the MUSIC, not the BODY.
What sort of musical and artistic devices has Britney utilized in ANY of her music? Can you even name one?
Or are you just so inundated by "Western" ideas (an arbitrary concept) that you believe that superficiality precedes artistic ability? You know, a few executives are making millions off this young girl's body, not her music...
What are Britney's strong points? No vocalist in American will tell you Britney has a half-decent voice or use of musicianship...
A fine deduction, 8:18AM! Of course, there are laws, rules and regulations concerning how far people can do in public within reason. The educated public play an important role in this regard. Look at what Michael Jackson's sister did on stage (flashed her nipples for a few seconds), and it was the public who shot her down, not Bill Clinton (who apparently got himself tangled with Monika's knickers!).
Hun Sen, on the other hand, tries to portrait himself as the moral guardian of the Cambodian society. But, look at how his nephews and nieces behave in public. It's one standard for his family circle, and another standard for the rest of us. It's more of a suppression than a guidance.
Parents have the duty to bring up their children, teachers have the duty to educate students, and Buddhist monks have the duty to offer the moral guidance to people. Hun Sen tries to do all that but he is good with none of them. If anything, he looks an idiot every time he tries to do that. Of course, his cronies and clowns would applause him and say nothing else.
I'm v8,"Who care about negative mind thikings stong ages people" the fact is that we were bless it by the free world today.are we for gotten that 30, years ago under the communist regim?we were living in the darknes. To me, I'd think that all Asain nation they din't have a mordern cultral ether.they were influence from western world all so. So!!if you're going to learn,learn it from the best.because the asain people like to look down on you sooner or later.ps who wrote about that apsara,angkor thing? I'd like your comment.
I just wish that all beautiful women walk around half naked like those Khmer women during the Angkor Wat civilization.
True artists will use any form of expression to tell a story of the world around them. If Britney Spears can use her great music and her great body to tell a story and more power to her!
Britney's exotic picutre is perfectly fixed into KHMER mentality. The Khmers love it and readily to absord.
This is clearly a case of the brain starved moral education. They should have booked her for indecent exposure.
Post a Comment