Can a Nice Tshechu Dance At a Monastery Compete With the World Wrestling Federation?
That was the question asked by Kay Kirby in 2002. She's a former Los Angeles Times editor who married a Bhutanese and moved to Thimphu:
A wistful look began to furrow Kinley Dorji's brow. "It's not that TV and the Internet are bad, but that we're so small, unprepared, and vulnerable. To use things like TV and the Internet intelligently and not lose our uniqueness, our people need to be better educated. If you let a subsistence Himalayan farmer watch sexy girls in five-star hotel pools, . . . " his sentence trails off. "Well, you have to ask: do human beings ever learn without going through these mistakes themselves?"
This issue is being pondered by Karma Ura, an Oxford-educated author and the director of the Centre for Bhutan Studies, a government organization that is very much involved in questions of cultural preservation and national identity in Bhutan. "I thought, well, since the king is controlling things at the helm, he should control TV, too," says Mr. Ura. "But then, he let go. If all barriers are broken down, then all decisions will become economic." It is rare, indeed, in Bhutan to hear anyone criticize the king so directly.
When I ask Yeshey Jimba, Bhutan's minister of finance about cable and pro wrestling, he pauses. "There is no doubt that TV is now uncontrolled," he finally replies. "But to do anything about it leads to criticism of being authoritarian, and we Bhutanese are freedom-loving people." He smiles wanly. "Anyway, in certain ways I think the days of such control are over."
So can a nice Tschechu dance compete? Maybe not in Bhutan, but in the developed world--are you kidding? With the right PR advisers--which is, apparently, exactly what the Kingdom of Bhutan has--Tshechu dancing will leave WWF in the dust. Between the Gross National Happiness campaign and the Bhutanese Royal Wedding, I'm guessing Bhutan has what it takes to be the biggest corporate success since Whole Foods.
Bhutana Non-Republic is a brand for the market-savvy to watch. I'll be there at the IPO.
- Comment (1)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (0)
Comments :
May '10
Re: Can a Nice Tshechu Dance At a Monastery Compete With the World Wrestling Federation?
"Authenticity" is a very valuable commodity. Even if you have to fake it. If they can preserve that, upscale tourist dollars will pay every man, woman and child in Bhutan enough to act their roles convincingly.