Am I the only one that doesn't like Khmer entertainment?

[raymond_obsessed]

I grew up in California, but I learned how to read and write Khmer at a very young age, at the temple like other Khmer kids...I had to be fluent in Khmer and English to translate for my mom...so maybe that's why, but I just don't like listening to Khmer music...my family loves it, but I don't...I used to "rom labam" too, but that was the most I've ever done when it came to the Khmer culture...I also grew up watching a lot of Khmer dubbed Chinese series and Thai lakorns, so maybe that's why...sometimes I try to say it's cuz I was born in Thailand...and my mom says I should've been born Thai or Chinese, cuz I'm always singing their songs all over the house...

It's just that, I went to a Lift & Oil concert in Fresno, and expected to see more Cambodians there...but there were only like, 4 that I knew of, including me and my friend...I would've thought I wasn't the only Cambodian that loved Thai music, especially Lift & Oil...so it was either the concert wasn't promoted enough in the Khmer community, or there just aren't many Thai music fans out there...which I doubt...so I'm confused...Cuz I grew up in San Bernardino, and at the time, that was highly populated with Cambodians, Rialto...and the Khmer community that I've always known and that's close to is Long Beach...I know that city like the back of my hand, and my family knows a lot of people out there...I personally know one of the owners to one of the video stores out there, that just shows how often I rent movies at a certain video store.

But I have to admit, I stop buying lakorns and Chinese series dubbed in Khmer a long time ago...for one, the dubbed voices these days aren't as good as they used to be...and for two, I love Thai and Cantonese, so I watch almost everything with subtitles.

I just prefer listening to Thai and Chinese music, even if I don't understand it...although, thanks to Khmer, it's making it easier to learn Thai, but the roughness of the Khmer language rears its head when I try to say something in Thai...

I just wanted to know if I wasn't the only one that felt this way about Khmer entertainment...Like, getting more excited to see a Thai singer than a Khmer one...or prefer watching things with or without subtitles than in Khmer...

I mean, it's not that I'm ashamed of my culture, it just doesn't interest me.

 

[Sreymao]

I know how U feel sometimes my family ask me are U thai I'm born in thailand so YES!! hehe... KInda different from U I listen to khmer songs, watch karaoke but I don't like khmer movies. But I'm more into THai,chinese korean. I love the music also. rite now I'm into filipino entertianment

 

[peaches]

me three i was born in thailand. nothing is new in khmer entertainment, all they do is recycle old songs with new singer and their dance moves are sooo gay.

 

[yak]

lol.. well i was born here in california and lived in san francisco all my life... i really love thai song and chinese when i was little.. i never liked how khmer song always sing the same thing and some song repeat over and over... i would always sing thai song mostly than chinese.. i remember when mon plang sneaha srok srai came out in the 90's.. i sang their song like crazy and listen to them.. also i was hook on the thai lakorn than chinese movies.. but when i got to high school, thats when i started to listen to khmer song and started to sing it like crazy too.. but the only ones i liked were pich chenda and touch srey nich.. and some other singer who can sing and have a nice voice... the other people who can't.. SKIP!.. lol.. but you are really lucky that you can read and write in khmer.. here in san francisco, some of us dont know how to speak khmer.. and we all dont know how to read or write in it.. the only one who know how are the people who were born in srok khmer... well some who were born there knows how.. lol.. but lucky for me, i know how to speak it.. thanks to the thai lakorn and chinese movies... if it wasnt for them, i might forgot how to speak khmer.. i speak it really clear than the other kids who lived by me.. ha ha ha...

 

[sajenna]

i love oldies sang by samouth, sothea or pen ran, they have a very beautiful voice but now they died and we only have good looking singers with bad voice! when i was younger, i watched khmer entertainment but they were with tepreun daro, ampoy tevy, srok srey mom... it was funny at those time. i tried to watch modern karaoke, modern movies and khmer series but omg, they pissed me off! they are too modern for me they want to do like us or europe entertainment but they do too much. i'm not the only one who think this, my parents too. and does everyone know why they always dubbed khmer movies and series? they are khmer, no, so the actors can use their own voice!

 

[peaches]

the reason why the actors are dubbed/don't use their own voice because no need to rememberize the script they had people shout out the lines to them

 

[sajenna]

the reason why the actors are dubbed/don't use their own voice because no need to rememberize the script they had people shout out the lines to them

really? so they're not actors, they're just puppets!

 

[yak]

the reason why the actors are dubbed/don't use their own voice because no need to rememberize the script they had people shout out the lines to them

Lol.. I was about to say that.. Its so true! I hated when they repeat their line after them and tried to make it sound like a poem.. Also some of the actor or actress can't act and some don't even fit into the part they're playing.. one of the most thing they dont have is emotion... even the person who dudbed their voice dont't even have that.. Some have emotion, but its not enough the the point makes you even want to watch it even more.. But during Srok Srey Mum time, now they can act and stuff.. I liked it during that time.. But now.. Nah! I'll turn around watch thai lakorn and chinese movies.. He he he.. Even better.. But hey, I do give them credits of trying and they are up grading their graphics.. Remember back then how their graphic was.. Lol.. Even though, their graphics kinda better.. But need more work on that and acting!

 

[Areeya]

Your not the only one. I also feel the same about Khmer entertainment. They suck when it come to entertainment. Eventhough I'm more fluent in khmer than thai and chinese, but I still dont like khmer entertainment. Is not that I hate it, but its boring and funny to see them act in movie. I'm tha, chinese, and khmer, but I dislike khmer entertainment and love Thai and Chinese alot. GO THAI and CHINESE ENTERTAINMENT ALL THE WAY...

 

[Vanndii]

You guys might be right with your own reason. It is true that the media entertaining industry in Cambodia is just so young compared to Thai's and China's. So what we can do is to give it a chance and a right time to hit up like the others. Yes, I admit that I don't feel well when watching Khmer movies or series since I always expected beyond what they are able to do. However I have got one director that I am really fond of his every piece of his productions, from movie to docufilm. His name is Rithy Panh. Les gens de la riziere/ Rice People always makes me cry no matter how many times I watch it. It always hit my eyes.

 

[raymond_obsessed]

plus, the bad thing about dubbed voices is that they ruin the actual actor's really good acting some time...cuz the dubbed voices don't really have to act, but they should...I watch The Other Side of the Horizon with Andy, and the dubbed voices didn't even try to act, they just read their lines, so boring, and totally ruined it for me...watching things in it's original context is better, you can fully appreciate the actors for how well they're doing, to hear their own voices and emotions...

 

[peaches]

plus, the bad thing about dubbed voices is that they ruin the actual actor's really good acting some time...cuz the dubbed voices don't really have to act, but they should...I watch The Other Side of the Horizon with Andy, and the dubbed voices didn't even try to act, they just read their lines, so boring, and totally ruined it for me...watching things in it's original context is better, you can fully appreciate the actors for how well they're doing, to hear their own voices and emotions...

i know anything is better in the original voices. other than you, we're talking about khmer dubbing khmer movies/series like this one http://www.sarnworld.com/discuzz/index.php?showtopic=31782

 

[yak]

you know the other thing is that some times you catch them fixing their self during they shooting the movie.. lol... cause this one time i was watching some khmer dvds and she was all fixing her self while they were shooting the movie.. i was like omg.. and they didnt edit that part out..

 

[Khatiya]

I've been against this whole khmer dubbing khmer thing for the longest time. It's just so ridiculous to see and hear and know that our country is doing this. What, their original voices aren't better enough? They should not be judged by their voices but by their talent (acting skills) although and yeah a decent look. But I'm pretty sure that if the actors/actress are talent, even their voice will be a minor thing cuz they have other features that grabs the audience attention.

Another thing is that I feel that Khmer entertainment is CHEAP. Yeah our country been in war..blah blah blah.. I'm not talking about putting millions of dollars like the American movies, but come on, they can't afford them microphone thingy that ppl put on their back to project their voice and filter out the surrounding noises? Geeshhh! Ok, if they have to result to voice over, why not bring the voices of the original actors/actress and have them do a voice over instead of having OTHER TOTALLY different ppl dubbing it (in KHMER, on top of KHMER).

I also call them cheap because they don't want to invest in quality. They just want to get it done, rush it out and get paid. Although they advertise that they welcome criticism and recommendations, I don't think they take it too seriously. They rush in the fact that they do not have the actors/actress study their script (no memorization like what Peaches said). With this the actors/actress does not understand the storyline well, nor do they have time to develop the emotions and characteristics of the character they portray. So it comes out BLAHH

Ahhh.. too many negative things to say about Khmer Entertainment and it sound like I'm hating on my own people.. which I'm not On the music side, there has been some improvement, music style wise even though some of them reference neighboring countries music

 

[yak]

I've been against this whole khmer dubbing khmer thing for the longest time. It's just so ridiculous to see and hear and know that our country is doing this. What, their original voices aren't better enough? They should not be judged by their voices but by their talent (acting skills) although and yeah a decent look. But I'm pretty sure that if the actors/actress are talent, even their voice will be a minor thing cuz they have other features that grabs the audience attention.

Another thing is that I feel that Khmer entertainment is CHEAP. Yeah our country been in war..blah blah blah.. I'm not talking about putting millions of dollars like the American movies, but come on, they can't afford them microphone thingy that ppl put on their back to project their voice and filter out the surrounding noises? Geeshhh! Ok, if they have to result to voice over, why not bring the voices of the original actors/actress and have them do a voice over instead of having OTHER TOTALLY different ppl dubbing it (in KHMER, on top of KHMER).

I also call them cheap because they don't want to invest in quality. They just want to get it done, rush it out and get paid. Although they advertise that they welcome criticism and recommendations, I don't think they take it too seriously. They rush in the fact that they do not have the actors/actress study their script (no memorization like what Peaches said). With this the actors/actress does not understand the storyline well, nor do they have time to develop the emotions and characteristics of the character they portray. So it comes out BLAHH

Ahhh.. too many negative things to say about Khmer Entertainment and it sound like I'm hating on my own people.. which I'm not On the music side, there has been some improvement, music style wise even though some of them reference neighboring countries music

you know what.. your right.. they do be rushing making these movies and stuff.. and yah they should just have the actor/actress dubed their own voices.. even though, some people have deep voices and stuff, but still i would like to hear them.. cause maybe they can put emotion to it, better than the person who dubbed their voices on to them..

 

[smileD]

I grew up in California, but I learned how to read and write Khmer at a very young age, at the temple like other Khmer kids...I had to be fluent in Khmer and English to translate for my mom...so maybe that's why, but I just don't like listening to Khmer music...my family loves it, but I don't...I used to "rom labam" too, but that was the most I've ever done when it came to the Khmer culture...I also grew up watching a lot of Khmer dubbed Chinese series and Thai lakorns, so maybe that's why...sometimes I try to say it's cuz I was born in Thailand...and my mom says I should've been born Thai or Chinese, cuz I'm always singing their songs all over the house...

It's just that, I went to a Lift & Oil concert in Fresno, and expected to see more Cambodians there...but there were only like, 4 that I knew of, including me and my friend...I would've thought I wasn't the only Cambodian that loved Thai music, especially Lift & Oil...so it was either the concert wasn't promoted enough in the Khmer community, or there just aren't many Thai music fans out there...which I doubt...so I'm confused...Cuz I grew up in San Bernardino, and at the time, that was highly populated with Cambodians, Rialto...and the Khmer community that I've always known and that's close to is Long Beach...I know that city like the back of my hand, and my family knows a lot of people out there...I personally know one of the owners to one of the video stores out there, that just shows how often I rent movies at a certain video store.

But I have to admit, I stop buying lakorns and Chinese series dubbed in Khmer a long time ago...for one, the dubbed voices these days aren't as good as they used to be...and for two, I love Thai and Cantonese, so I watch almost everything with subtitles.

I just prefer listening to Thai and Chinese music, even if I don't understand it...although, thanks to Khmer, it's making it easier to learn Thai, but the roughness of the Khmer language rears its head when I try to say something in Thai...

I just wanted to know if I wasn't the only one that felt this way about Khmer entertainment...Like, getting more excited to see a Thai singer than a Khmer one...or prefer watching things with or without subtitles than in Khmer...

I mean, it's not that I'm ashamed of my culture, it just doesn't interest me.

Don't worry...you are not the only one. Sorry to say, but I'm a culprit also concerning the Khmer entertainment industry. I prefer to watch Thai lakorn and Chinese series...same as you, I would prefer to watch the original with subtitles. There's more emotion and etc. On the other hand, I know how to read and write only basic Khmer because I studied it for a few years in High School. I don't practice it much so I suck at reading and writing but I now read better than I write. I speak and understand Khmer pretty well though.

Also I really wanted to go to Lift and Oil concert but it hurt me to say this as an excuse because it shouldn't be. My family wasn't willing to drive and pick me up in the middle of the night in a different city. If the concert was in my city, I would take a cab or drive myself. Since I'm a new license driver, I really don't want to risk it on freeways...But either way...I wish for another opportunity to come again.

Anyways, you aren't he only one. I agree pretty much what people mentioned already for the most part so I'm not gonna repeat things

 

[Sreymao]

i love oldies sang by samouth, sothea or pen ran, they have a very beautiful voice but now they died and we only have good looking singers with bad voice! when i was younger, i watched khmer entertainment but they were with tepreun daro, ampoy tevy, srok srey mom... it was funny at those time. i tried to watch modern karaoke, modern movies and khmer series but omg, they pissed me off! they are too modern for me they want to do like us or europe entertainment but they do too much. i'm not the only one who think this, my parents too. and does everyone know why they always dubbed khmer movies and series? they are khmer, no, so the actors can use their own voice!

I love khmer oldies music their voice soothe me lolz... Some adult even ask me why I listen ot them I wasn't even born around that time I just love the voice as for artist now some I love, some I hate

 

[sajenna]

i can understand khmer because i listen oldies and watch thai lakorns! lame but so true, before i can't understand and say a word. as for modern singers i don't listen them, i'm unable to listen them, their voices are bad! i'm also desapointed because they sing oldies but in a new version: same music, different lyrics but when i compare, it so weird!
for dubbing series, movies, i have an interview of a khmer star (don't know her name) and they're also dubbed her voice in this inter!!! i can't believe it!

 

[solin]

I am not a fan of khmer entertainment too...
I am proud of my khmer culture but as for entertainment they just suck
look at their music most of their singers can't sing and they only know to translate songs from others (thai)
It's really rare that I love a song Lol.
as for their movies or drama : It's just a lame !

Even my parents are not fond of khmer entertainment
they love karaoke of course but always use the same oldies songs

I think I like thai entertainment also because I grew up with it
Indeed, I have always listen to thai songs since I was young
my parents have lived in thailand and speak thai...so they like both cultures
my mother for exemple is a big fan of Got and p Bird and my father only listen to lookthong music !
plus my mother prefers watch/buy lakorn in thai (she only watch in khmer if It's free or because she can't find the lakorn in thai)

and the last reason is maybe because my family circle of asian relatives is quite small and really mix (thai khmer laos chinese)
we have always lived around french people....and khmer friends of my parents also have thai taste in entertainment
when I begin to take khmer courses with an association few years ago
I was surprised to see that the khmer people of my age are friends or know each other very well
while the only other khmer of my age I know are children of my parent's friends and my cousins lol
and I see them just once or twice a year !
Each time I go to the temple or a khmer weeding...we don't stay long
and rarely participate to activities
we even go to thai temple sometimes instead

 

[navy]

The only Khmer entertainment I like and willing to buy is RHM DVD.

Well, I don't care about copying the songs from outside. I found it everywhere that not just only Khmer, I've heard american songs in chinese, thai, korean, etc...some spanish songs that american sang...

Because I don't speak or understand their songs meaning, and when they make a beautifuly meaningful lyrics in khmer...those words melt my heart and I thank them for making it to the language I understand and love....I love RHM. Peace.