A Tortured Soul: New Media, Burmese Copy Songs and Culture Cringe in Contemporary Myanmar

• In Event: 131. Media, Reform, and Myanmar's Political Transition. Sponsored by the Burma Studies Group

Abstract

The tremendous increase in Internet access throughout Myanmar means that hundreds of thousands, if not millions more people are watching YouTube videos of Burmese popular musicians compared to just a few years ago. YouTube offers a massive repository for Burmese popular music, from old recordings from the 1940s, to contemporary music video clips. With Burmese-font enabled smart phones and computers, music fans post comments, ranging from praise and admiration, to strong distaste, even admonishment. One Burmese genre of music copy thachin “copy song” is of particular interest. These songs are akin to cover versions of existing international hits, but with new lyrics in the Burmese language, and performed by Burmese musicians. With the removal of the stringent censorship regime and the expanding contact with international consumer culture, groups of music fans are increasingly critical of copy thachin, seeing the practice as culturally derivative and potentially as an embarrassment. Through analysis of posts on YouTube videos of copy thachin, this paper will examine how notions of derision and shame about popular music genres are expressed by Netizens in Myanmar today, reflecting the country's changing relationship with the symbolic capital of its own culture industry and its relationship with international popular culture.

Author

• Jane Ferguson, Australian National University