Miss Chada: Popular Literature and Its Adaptation into Television Drama

Abstract

The popular horror novel was a literary work written primarily for entertainment, with the main purpose of reaching a wide audience. This was distinct from high literature, which focuses on the use of complex language and structure. As a result, popular literature became popular in society, leading to its reproduction and adaptation in various forms while maintaining the original content. The popular literature “Nang Chada” by Pakinai gained such popularity that it was adapted into a television drama of the same name. This adaptation involved transforming the original content and structure of the novel to suit the television format. An interesting aspect of this process was the use of traditional Thai dance (Nang Ram) in reinterpreting and creating new artistic expressions, giving rise to a new context. The study focused on: 1) the adaptation of the popular novel “Nang Chada” into a performance in the television drama, 2) the empowerment of the ghost character through the image of the “Nang Ram” (Thai dancer) in Thai culture. The “Nang Ram” symbolized feminine grace and beauty, however, when the ghost appeared as a traditional Thai dancer (Nang Ram), its beauty was accompanied by a powerful sense of authority. Empowering the ghost in the form of a Nang Ram reflected the strength of femininity within the social and cultural context of Thailand, and 3) the value of the popular novel Nang Chada in its adaptation into a television drama served to affirm that popular literature was not merely a form of entertainment meant to stir the imagination and evoke emotion. At the same time, the performative aspects of traditional Thai dance maintaine the novel's identity through the portrayal of the ghost in the form of a Nang Ram.