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Who says Bangkokians are all about mai-bpen-rai subservience? Scratch the surface and you‘ll find a whole world of young hip subcultures.  Critics are constantly whining that Thailand lacks contemporary, alternative culture. The mainstream has certainly eclipsed other subcultures here with the reverence of multinational brands and companies, and the dominance of commercial Thai and Western pop music.
But lately, a backlash against commercial music, designer branding, and other forms of mainstream culture is coming from one of the most unlikely yet obvious sources– Thailand’s students.
Unlikely because young Thais aren’t exactly known for their gregariousness, yet obvious because universities have often proved a hotbed of new ideas and movements throughout the decades all over the globe.
In Thailand, thanks to the growing following in Thai indie music with breakthrough bands like Modern Dog, a new generation of youngsters are pushing against the current of bling bling hip hop and other trite commercialism. They are called ‘dek naew’, a Thai term used to describe young funky thangs that wouldn’t be caught dead in Louis Vuitton or Gucci.
Labels and all that
With its counter-culture origins in the art faculties of high schools and universities, almost every dek naew rejects reductionist attempts to classify their newfound ideology. The term is largely used by the media and older generations eager to explain away the zeitgeist.
Second-hand tees, fitted tapered jeans, military jackets (a la The Strokes, though some critics would say most dek naew probably wouldn’t know who The Strokes are), and mullet-like hairstyles characterise the typical dek naew look. Jan, a young Thai-American writer for the Nation Weekend, says, “The general, stereotypical dek naew listens to Fat Radio, reads A Day magazine, shops at Chatuchak and watches short films.“
The right path
Jan said that, “’Naew’ roughly translates to ‘path’ or ‘focus’ so ‘dek naew’ literally means ‘one with a path or focus’, although which path or focus that infers to is entirely up to the individual,” explains Jan.
Note, a founding member of ultra-cool contemporary mag and general creative op, Dude Sweet, recalls in the ‘90s, he was part of a similar fad called dek alter, a Thai-English term referring to a subculture of alternative kids. “Back then, we didn’t have MTV, so we were more influenced by Brit Pop and other foreign music,“ explained Note. “There weren’t that many Thai bands playing contemporary music then.”
Fashion......again
As for the current dek naew phase, Note remains somewhat sceptical. “It’s mostly about fashion - the style they dress in. They all have the same look, so really they’re not that open-minded or progressive because they’re all still following a trend.”
The increasing popularity of the dek naew craze indeed throws open the doors to ‘poseurs’ who aren’t really interested in the music or the rebellious principles, but who simply imitate their ‘cool’ friends. “Of course it’s an image thing,” Jan says, “but what’s unique [about dek naew] is their drive to be unique, although sometimes they just want to be as ‘unique’ as their friends around them.
Fab or fad
So is dek naew actually cool or should it be viewed with slight disdain as yet another teenage fad that will eventually fade away? The answer, like most things, is probably both and/or something in-between. Jan reasons, “It’s like the alternative/grunge movement of the early ‘90s - this phenomenon makes it cool and fashionable to be yourself and an individual.”
Right on, because although the dek naew subculture has produced a fashion image as clichéd as your most Dior-clad socialite, blinged out hip hopper or pseudo-goth, at least it’s a sign of youthful expression against the deluge of insipid pop culture. As Jan says, “well, it’s cooler than listening to boy bands and Boyd Kosiyapong, right?“
By Karuna Gurung
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