Hi Everyone, here are some of my thoughts.
In Khmer language,
rock and popular music is termed pleng
samay with pleng meaning music
and samay meaning modern. The French
established secular schools and imported instruments such as the violin, the
contrabass, the accordion and the guitar. Modern music is a historical and
cultural infrastructure that grew during the postcolonial period. Independence
in 1953 sprouted bands composed exclusively of foreign instruments. Stephen
Mamula (2007) calls this modern music hybridization or indigenized forms of
western rock music. Mrazek’s concept of “language as asphalt” further reflects
the year 1959 when Khmer became the official language (Amratisha 1998:191-2).
Pali and Sanskrit replaced 3,000 French loan words (Jacob 1986:121-2).
I selected a New York Times review of John Pirozzi’s
documentary about modern Cambodian music entitled “Don’t think I’ve Forgotten” which
constructs the postcolonial period in Cambodia as an era with hopes for the
future which were eclipsed during the Democratic Kampuchea regime. The official
trailer for the documentary film features materials of modernity: tambourines,
electric guitars, paved roads, cars, western-style button up blouses and mini-skirts,
trains, amplifiers, and motor cycles interspersed with visual depictions of
musicians such as Pan Ron and Sinn Sisamouth which are faces of modernity and
lost youth.
In the context of
post-migration into the U.S. the power of hope though the music becomes
an impetus for community infrastructure. The rock music that accompanies events
have regenerative themes such as rebirth and revival. Weddings officially stamp
a new phase in life in community and New Year celebrations underscore the birth
of a yearly cycle. These musical materials of modernity elicit deep feelings
that still resonate today seemingly collapsing perceptions of time.
No comments:
Post a Comment