Phnom Penh (Ah!) Travel Tips EXTRA - Faces & Places - FRESHIE CONTEST'S HIP-HOP GENERATION - December 2005

Freshie photo The DJ Cake Team perform Hip-Hop on the Freshie Boy & Girl contest television show.

DJ Ken/National Radio Text Service

FRESHIE CONTEST TEACH GOOD THINGS TO KHMER YOUTH - Also: FOREIGNERS BEHAVIOR Results In Negative Influence On Khmers - NR Mail & Top 10 According to Google

Thursday December 29, 2005

American DJ CAT wrote NR (National Radio) and asked what kind of music do they dance to in Cambodia. CAT is a rock DJ that travels around the world performing in clubs and concert halls but has yet to set foot on Southeast Asian soil..

In part the answer is that in the last five years Khmer culture has changed drastically. The change is largely due to the Freshie Boy & Girl contest that has developed much of the talent that appear on Cambodian television, music videos and work as models.

The competitor's first big time entertainment industry experience is on the Freshie television show. It is sponsored by Samart a Thai company and produced jointly by Khmers and Stuart Loke a Singapore event planner.

On a recent show the contenders performed hip-hop dancing and dressed in Hip Hop fashion. In addition to the contestants the show features Khmer talent that add to the shows diversity and gives the Freshie's a break to change their costumes.

On a recent show Hip Hop act DJ Cake Team sang and performed Hip Hop dancing while wearing Hip Hop attire. This is what Khmer youth are leaning towards today.

For some contestants it is a learning process. The bottom line is now Khmer youth have an opportunity to express themselves in s society trying to adapt to Democratic ways in a country that has a horrid past.

When you assess what the value of foreigners coming to Cambodia to HELP you sometimes have to wonder what is their purpose and what's impact do they have in the positive development of the country and its people.

The contest open to 16 to 20-year-old youths is one example of foreigners doing good things. Now in its fifth year the contest is gaining popularity from both Khmer youth and adults.

Samart is contributing to the positive side Cambodia's development by functioning as the primary sponsor of the event.

With Cambodia's history firmly in place there is no doubt that the positive changes being made in the country is largely due to foreign influence

"This is one of our contributions to the country in uplifting their image to the world. Winners go to other countries to express their traditional Khmer culture."

Some people around the world embrace the thought that all Cambodians wear a bone in their nose and carry an AK-47 in one hand and a hand grenade in the other.

True that is a part of Cambodia's past but that was then and this is now.

While I was hosting the Cal Tex Drive Time radio show during Christmas of 2002 I was shocked to hear some of the callers talk about Christmas.

Being a Christian holiday in a Buddhist country I asked what does Christmas mean to you? How did you hear about it? Their answers were similar to what Freshie show producer Loke who hails from Singapore had to say.

"About two years ago (2003) Christmas became popular in Cambodia. They learned about the Christian holiday from missionaries, foreign school teachers and employers," he noted.

The interpretation that the foreigners in Cambodia taught was about the gift giving but not the real meaning of the it being the celebration of the birth of Christ thus the holiday CHRIST(mas) was born.

With the foreigners that came to Cambodia influence in mind one Freshie show had a skit with the contestants dressed in Santa Claus stocking caps giving out gifts.

In the five years of its existence the Freshie show has grown with the times without forgetting Khmer culture.

Teachers from the Ministry of Culture teach Khmer dancing to Freshie contestants.

"There are over 100 moves to learn," Loke said.

In addition to teaching Khmer dance the Freshie organizers brought in teachers from Thailand to teach grooming and fashion. A teacher from Malaysia to taught the participants how a model should walk (catwalk).

Those lessons can be evidenced on this weeks final elimination show with the reaming eight participants reduced to the final seven from the original 3000 entrants.

Show time is Saturday December 31 performed and televised from TV 3.

NOTE:

With less than 48 hours notice TV 3 canceled the show and rescheduled it for the following day (Sunday) January 1, 2006. Showtime time and televised time are 7:30pm

The judging comes from three sources.

THE PUBLIC

The public accounts for 30% of the vote. They can vote via SMS messaging service only on the Samart system. One vote is permitted per call. Each vote costs the caller 10 cents.

During the first week of voting Ky Hong called 50 times within three days. As a result he won an I Mobile cell-phone and one month free service..

NOTE: COMMENTS BY CALLERS

During every televised Freshie show callers can SMS a comment on their Freshie contestant of choice. Comments are not counted as a vote. Some of those comments are telecast during the telecast and scrolled down across the TV screen.

Each comment call cost five cents. Over 700 comments were SMS'd during the semifinals show last year.

ORGANIZERS & TEACHERS

Responsible people involved in the event such as the talent trainers and professors account for 35% of the vote.

JUDGES

Judges at the shows account for the other 35% of the result. Judges are comprised from the sponsors of the show and representatives in government..

NR Mail

Regarding the above story Joel Warren of Beverly Hills, California; USA wrote:

Upbeat positive stories about Cambodia are very helpful to its image, and they are providing opportunities for youths as well.

On the other hand, it's another step toward westernization and homogenization of the culture, which is too bad. The girls are indeed beautiful.

FOREIGNERS BAD INFLUENCE ON CAMBODIA

FOREIGNER STEALS FROM KHMER - What Is Honesty & Integrity?

When you think about the problems that Cambodia has you don't have to be a brain surgeon to understand they need good teachers and good influences.

Some foreigners are dedicated to help Cambodians but some foreigners come to help themselves.

In doing so some foreigners destroy any hope of building moral character in the country.

One case in point is a long time English teacher at a major university in Phnom Penh moved to another location in the city (i.e.; a better neighborhood) with his Khmer girlfriend and newborn child.

He took with him the Khmer landlords stove, rice cooker, fan, and a chair. He did leave the kitchen sink... it is bolted to the wall.

The foreigner also didn't pay for utilities that were to be paid at the end of the month resulting in him leaving his telephone number.

The end of the month came and there was no sign of the foreigner. The telephone number was out of service. The landlord hunted him down and was told by the foreigner that he would pay at the end of the following month.

Questions: Is stealing a lesson that Cambodians need to learn? Is this the type of person that you would want to teach your children? Is this the type of person that you would invite into you home? What lessons and values will this foreigner teach his child? Stay tuned &

FOREIGNERS NOISE POLLUTION SHOWS NO RESPECT

When a foreigner visits a country they are that countries guests. The way some behave they act as if they own it.

Case in point. A group of foreigners opened up a business in one of Phnom Penh's most upscale neighborhoods. In the block there is the Malta Embassy and nearby the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization.

The business is in a courtyard cavernous like setting with homes surrounding it on four sides. The neighborhood is also the home of many families with school age children. The neighborhood is also the home of heads of ministry and police.

Prior to the business opening the only noise you could hear was the croaking of gecko's after 10pm when most of the neighborhood went to sleep.

Recently the business with primarily NGO type customers was open on a Thursday evening past 1am with loud music and noisy clientele.

The following evening the business outdid the previous nights annoyances when they had a party with loud pulsating music with drums booming that riveted the community's residents past 4am.

The noise was deafening with the surrounding walls functioning like a megaphone or intensifying the volume like that of a tunnel.

The following morning the bleary eyed residents were up in arms over the disturbance. It was the topic of conversation throughout the day. The school children were without sleep. The residents had to go to work in a tired state. The foreigners had their party and were happy.

Daily the business played music without regard for their new neighbors.

Questions. Why do foreigners with money and jobs come to a country and treat it as if it were there own and have NO REARGUARD for the residents? Why do they come into an area with a condescending attitude? Why cant's they respect the people who have lived in the area for years raising their families? Why can't they understand that school children need sleep and quiet so they can study?

WHY CAN'T FOREIGN OWNED BUSINESS' RESPECT OTHERS? ISN'T SLEEP DEPRIVATION USED AS A TORTURE IN WAR?

Stay tuned... More on this story in our January 2006 edition.