''Shakespeare Must Die'' () is a 2012 Thai adaptation of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

''. It was directed by Ing Kanjanavanit and produced by Manit Sriwanichpoom. The Yingluck Shinawatra government banned the film as a national security threat due to the film's visual references to the paramilitary's violent crackdown on student protesters in the

Thammasat University massacre The 6 October 1976 massacre, also known as the 6 October event ( ) in Thailand, was a violent crackdown by Thai police and lynching by right-wing paramilitaries and bystanders against leftist protesters who had occupied Bangkok's Thammasat Un ...

of 6 October 1976. The Thai-language film tells the story of a theatre group in a fictional country resembling Thailand that is staging a production of ''Macbeth'', in which an ambitious general murders his way to the Scottish throne. One of the film's main characters is a dictator named "Dear Leader", who bears a resemblance to former Thai Prime Minister

Thaksin Shinawatra Thaksin Shinawatra (, ; born 26 July 1949) is a Thai businessman and politician who was the 23rd prime minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006. Since 2009 he has also been a citizen of Montenegro. Thaksin founded the mobile phone operator A ...

, who was ousted in a 2006 coup.

Controversy

Censors at the culture ministry issued a brief statement saying that the film could not be distributed in Thailand because it "has content that causes divisiveness among the people of the nation", without specifying which scenes were offensive. Ing Kanjanavanit, the film's director, said the censorship committee objected to anti-monarchical overtones in the film as well as politically charged content, including a scene based on a photograph from Bangkok's 1976 student uprising showing a demonstrator being lynched. Ing said she will appeal to overturn the ban. "The committee questioned why we wanted to bring back violent pain from the past to make people angry," Ing said in an interview. The censors also disliked the attire of a murderer in the film, who wore a bright red hooded cloak—the same colour worn by the pro-Thaksin demonstrators known as the Red Shirts. The director called the ruling absurd and a reflection of the fear in Thai society. "I feel like we are heading to a very dark, dark place right now, a place full of fears and everyone has to be extra careful about what they say," she said, adding that the character resembling Thaksin could represent any leader accused of corruption and abuse of power. "When

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

ns watch this they'll think it's

Hun Sen Samdech Hun Sen (; , Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military officer who currently serves as the List of presidents of the Senate (Cambodia), president of the Senate. He previous ...

. When

Libyans Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, Ethnic group, ethnicity, and Religion in Libya, religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. All figures are from the Uni ...

watch it they would think it's

Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until his assassination by Libyan rebel forces in 2011. He came to power ...

." Sharp partisan political battles in the wake of the 2006 coup have unleashed fierce questioning of established institutions in Thailand. In 2011, the film board banned a movie about a transgender father struggling to raise two children, called ''Insects in the Backyard'', saying it contained scenes that were immoral and pornographic.

Documentary film about the controversy

A documentary film about the censorship and controversy surrounding the film called ''Censor Must Die'' was screened for the first time on 1 June 2013, at the

Bangkok Art and Culture Centre Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC; ) is a contemporary arts centre in Siam area, Bangkok, Thailand. Art, music, theatre, film, design and cultural/educational events take place in its exhibition and performance spaces. The centre includes caf ...

(BACC). Manit Sriwanichpoom made a short speech prior to the screening which was attended by an audience of several hundred.

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 2012 drama films 2012 films 2012 controversies 2010s Thai films Censored films Thai-language films Modern adaptations of works by William Shakespeare Films based on Macbeth Films set in Thailand Thai drama films Film censorship in Thailand