Education Fever and Other Academic-Related Illnesses as Diagnosed by the Thai Movie “Bad Genius”
Keywords:
academic fever, education problems, society, Thai pop cultureAbstract
Poverty, politics, and even education issues are typical disputes highlighted in movies.
Storylines particularly revolve around a student or teacher’s daily struggle in school, or a
flawed education system. By employing a content-based movie analysis, the movie Bad Genius is
scrutinized and themes are presented according to established research objectives. Five major
education issues are identified in this study: corruption, high stakes testing, academic pressure,
education equity, and academic dishonesty. The movie is an attempt to document seemingly ignored
societal cancers in our very own classrooms that breed worse and serious wounds. The movie
serves as a gentle reminder in rekindling value and values education among students. It is about
time to revisit school curricula and academic programs as the race to make it to the top becomes
competitive and challenging.
References
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Thailand (Doctoral dissertation, University of Portsmouth).
Rogošić, S., & Baranović, B. (2016). Social capital and educational achievements: Coleman vs. Bourdieu.
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Shahe, E. M., Asadul, I., & Forhad, S. (2018). Distributional Effects of Corruption When Enforcement is
Biased: Theory and Evidence from Bribery in Schools in Bangladesh. Retrieved September
3, 2020, from https://core.ac.uk/reader/214013340.
Spencer (2016). “Taking Summer School to Get Ahead, Not Catch Up.”
Streib, J., Ayala, M., & Wixted, C. (2017). Benign inequality: frames of poverty and social class inequality
in children’s movies. Journal of Poverty, 21(1), 1-19.
Susanto, S., & Fajar, D. A. (2020). Teaching Othering In Education Using “X-MEN” Movie. JELLE: Journal
Of English Literature, Linguistics, and Education, 1(1).
Taaliu, S. T. (2017). Corruption in Schools and Universities in Kenya. Open Journal of Social Sciences,
05(04), 227–231. doi: 10.4236/jss.2017.54020
Tarat, S. & Wongsawat, M. (2019). Job Satisfaction Among Academic Staff in the Public Universities of
Thailand People, International Journal of Social Sciences, 5(1).
Thomas, D. (2020). Academic Dishonesty, Religious Fundamentalism, among Students at a Religious
University. In International Forum Journal 23 (1), pp. 126-138.
Topal, M., Yildirim, E G., & Önder, A. N. (2020). Use of educational films in environmental education as a
digital learning object. Journal of Education in Science Environment and Health, 6(2), 134-147.
Tzanakis, M. (2013). Social capital in Bourdieu’s, Coleman’s and Putnam’s theory: empirical evidence
and emergent measurement issues. Educate~, 13(2), 2-23.
Van Beveren, L., Rutten, K., Vandermeersche, G., & Verdoodt, I. (2018). Exploring educational taboos
through school movies. A rhetorical analysis of student-teachers' reflections. Teaching and
Teacher Education, 75, 187-198.
Wittayasin, S. (2017). Education challenges to Thailand 4.0. International Journal of Integrated Education and Development, 2(2), 29-35.
Asep Saepul Muhtadi, A. (2016). The Transformation of Character Symbols and the Reflection of Social
Reality in Stoker’s Novel Dracula and the Movie Dracula Untold (Doctoral dissertation, UIN
Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung).
Blake, E. (2019). New research reveals the cost of international education in Asia in 2019, International
Schools Database. Retrieved September 3, 2020, from https://www.international-schoolsdatabase.com/articles/the-cost-of-international-education-aroudn-the-world-in-2019.
Bourdieu, P. (1986). ‘The forms of capital’ in J.G. Richardson (ed.) Handbook of theory and research
for the sociology of education, New York: Greenwood Press, pp. 241-258.
Cahyaningsih Utami, N. I. M. (2018). The Values of Inclusive Education in the Movie Tare Zaamen Par
in Islamic Perspective (Doctoral dissertation, IAIN Purwokerto).
Cassum, L. A. (2018). Impact of Divorce on Students’ Life, 55-57. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/
fulltext/EJ1184170.pdf
Charoenwanit, S. (2019). The Relationship of Cyber-bullying and Academic Achievement,
General Health, and Depression in Adolescents in Thailand. Walailak Journal of Science and
Technology (WJST), 16(4), 231-241.
Chapman, D. W., & Lindner, S. (2016). Degrees of integrity: The threat of corruption in higher
education. Higher Education, 41, 247–268.
Cruz, O. (2017). ‘Bad Genius’ review: Almost a perfect score, Rappler. Retrieved September 3, 2020
from https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/movies/bad-genius-movie-review.
Emram, M. S., Islam, A., & Shilpi, F. (2018). Distributional Effects of Corruption When Enforcement is
Biased: Theory and Evidence from Bribery in Schools in Bangladesh. MPRA. Retrieved from
https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/94554/.
Fredde, C. (2016). Bangkok students' cheating ring goes 'Mission Impossible. The Christian
Science Monitor. Retrieved September 3, 2020, from https://www.csmonitor.com/
Technology/2016/0510/Bangkok-students-cheating-ring-goes-Mission-Impossible.
Galloway, M. K. (2012). Cheating in Advantaged High Schools: Prevalence, Justifications, and Possibilities for Change. Ethics and Behaviour, 22 (5). 378-399.
Hussain, S., & Ahmad, N. (2016). The impact of the Indian movie, Three Idiots (2009) on attitudes to
education. Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance,
21(2), 242-246.
Imama, A., & Kumala, N. (2017). The Analysis of Moral Values of John Lee Huncock’s Movie Entitled
“The Blind Side (Doctoral dissertation, IAIN Kediri).
Jemeli, C. M., & Fakandu, A. M. (2019). Equitable access to education and development in a
knowledgeable society as advocated by UNESCO. 14(6), 200–205. doi: 10.5897/
ERR2018.3647
Jiang, Y., Granja, M., & Koball, H. (2017). Basic facts about low-income children 12 through 17 years.
日本草地研究会誌, 5(1), 61–62. doi: 10.14941/pregrass.5.1_61_5
Jun-li, L., & Wen-dan, L. (2017). Educational Reflection on the Film Bad Genius. Journal of Jiamusi
Vocational Institute, (12), 135.
Kollmann, T., Stöckmann, C., Kensbock, J. M., & Peschl, A. (2020). What satisfies younger versus older
employees, and why? An aging perspective on equity theory to explain interactive effects of
employee age, monetary rewards, and task contributions on job satisfaction. Human Resource
Management, 59(1), 101-115.
Mala, D. (2016). Rangsit University cancels exams after hi-tech cheating. Bangkok Post. Retrieved
September 3, 2020, from https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand /general/964125/rangsituniversity-cancels-exams-after-hi-tech-cheating, accessed.
Maritta, V., Ruthaychonnee, S., & Minna, A. (2017). Survey of adolescents’ stress in school life in Thailand: Implications for school health. Journal of Child Health Care, 21 (2), 222-230.
Martin, R. A. (2019). Relationship Between Non-Cognitive Skills And GPA In A Rural Maine Community
College.
Nabaho, L., & Turyasingura, W. (2019). Battling Academic Corruption in Higher Education: Does External
Quality Assurance (EQA) Offer a Ray of Hope? Higher Learning Research Communications,
9 (1). doi: 10.18870/hlrc.v9i1.449
Naumann, L., Guillaume, E., & Funder, D. (2012). The Correlates of High Parental Academic Expectations: An Asian-Latino Comparison. Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology, 43 (4), 515 – 520.
doi: 10.1177/0022022112438398
Nguyen, H. T. (2015). Academic Expectations Stress in Asian American Undergraduate Students, 9-10.
Retrieved from https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/bitstream/handle/ 1969.1/156242/NGUYENDISSERTATION-2015.pdf.
Nwankwo, B. C., & Nweke, P. O. (2016). Effects of Corruption on Educational System: A Focus on Private
Secondary Schools in Nsukka Zone Effects of Corruption on Educational System: A Focus on
Private Secondary Schools in Nsukka Zone. Global Journal of Human-Social Science: Arts
& Humanities - Psychology, 16(5).
Piff, P. K., Stancato, D. M., Côté, S., Mendoza-Denton, R., & Keltner, D. (2012). Higher social class
predicts increased unethical behavior. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/02/21/1118373109.full.pdf+html.
Phutikettrkit, C., & Thomas, D. (2019, December). The Relationship of Academic Dishonesty and
Procedural Justice among University Students in Thailand. In Abstract Proceedings
International Scholars Conference (Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 1454-1465).
Phromwong, S. (2017). The causal impact of education on income: income inequality and poverty in
Thailand (Doctoral dissertation, University of Portsmouth).
Rogošić, S., & Baranović, B. (2016). Social capital and educational achievements: Coleman vs. Bourdieu.
Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 6 (2), 81-100.
Shahe, E. M., Asadul, I., & Forhad, S. (2018). Distributional Effects of Corruption When Enforcement is
Biased: Theory and Evidence from Bribery in Schools in Bangladesh. Retrieved September
3, 2020, from https://core.ac.uk/reader/214013340.
Spencer (2016). “Taking Summer School to Get Ahead, Not Catch Up.”
Streib, J., Ayala, M., & Wixted, C. (2017). Benign inequality: frames of poverty and social class inequality
in children’s movies. Journal of Poverty, 21(1), 1-19.
Susanto, S., & Fajar, D. A. (2020). Teaching Othering In Education Using “X-MEN” Movie. JELLE: Journal
Of English Literature, Linguistics, and Education, 1(1).
Taaliu, S. T. (2017). Corruption in Schools and Universities in Kenya. Open Journal of Social Sciences,
05(04), 227–231. doi: 10.4236/jss.2017.54020
Tarat, S. & Wongsawat, M. (2019). Job Satisfaction Among Academic Staff in the Public Universities of
Thailand People, International Journal of Social Sciences, 5(1).
Thomas, D. (2020). Academic Dishonesty, Religious Fundamentalism, among Students at a Religious
University. In International Forum Journal 23 (1), pp. 126-138.
Topal, M., Yildirim, E G., & Önder, A. N. (2020). Use of educational films in environmental education as a
digital learning object. Journal of Education in Science Environment and Health, 6(2), 134-147.
Tzanakis, M. (2013). Social capital in Bourdieu’s, Coleman’s and Putnam’s theory: empirical evidence
and emergent measurement issues. Educate~, 13(2), 2-23.
Van Beveren, L., Rutten, K., Vandermeersche, G., & Verdoodt, I. (2018). Exploring educational taboos
through school movies. A rhetorical analysis of student-teachers' reflections. Teaching and
Teacher Education, 75, 187-198.
Wittayasin, S. (2017). Education challenges to Thailand 4.0. International Journal of Integrated Education and Development, 2(2), 29-35.
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Published
2020-12-18
How to Cite
Inero V. Ancho, Genevie-Abi M. Calimbahin, Margie Mae E. Basal, & Windy Rose M. Dela Rosa. (2020). Education Fever and Other Academic-Related Illnesses as Diagnosed by the Thai Movie “Bad Genius”. Thai Journal of East Asian Studies, 24(2), 20–34. Retrieved from https://so02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/easttu/article/view/246716
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