Organizer: The Center for Khmer Studies

Description:

In Cambodia, the spread of mass media and the internet is fuelling popularity-focused processes of transformation and change within the traditional ritual music and theatre genres. Phleng kar wedding music and lakhon bassac theatre genres are being mediated through television performances and remediated on the internet with the aim of preserving and promoting traditional genres in order to revitalize Cambodian musical and theatrical styles after the upheaval of the Khmer Rouge regime (1975–1979). By examining performances on TV and social media of a well-known phleng kar wedding ensemble and lakhon bassac theatre troupe, this talk will demonstrate the role of television as a vector of modernity in shaping traditional art forms. As well, it will focus on the role of social media in advertising traditional genres, artists, and ensembles. This advertisement mirrors new socio-cultural trends such as the role of women as musicians and entrepreneurs, the role of traditional instruments in promoting ensembles, and the inclination of many groups to communicate their political affiliation to gain more clients/audience. These processes also show how artists embrace demands for national representation and the promotion of individual creativity while remaining subject to current socio political trends and audience interests.

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