"Under My Skin", a film as part of the exhibition, addresses the cultural issue of bullying, which creates scars and long-term impact on millions of children throughout generations – an issue which remains normalised and unacknowledged.

The film aims to silence the ‘loud’ labels that inflict wounds and make victims question their own values by shifting towards a culture that encourages them to stand up for themselves. It tells the story of a girl who is a victim of vicious name-calling and who nonetheless decides to stand up for what she thinks is right with a key message, “the only thing people will remember them for will be their actions, not their external qualities.” It employs a dramatic approach to spur the emotions of Thai people with the unstated reality, along with a storytelling method which keeps viewers guessing through the eyes of the victim.

Thai Life Insurance has been with Thais for generations and has its own brand purpose centered on the "Value of Life. Value of Love." For 81 years, the brand has pursued its vision of becoming a leading brand that inspires every life and people of all backgrounds. “Thai Life Experience Learning Center" was created to inspire Thai people and society with an immersive exhibition to adhere to the brand's beliefs and embrace the true intrinsic value in life rather than the external values in a contemporary context. Audience is the public and stakeholders, including employees, sales agents, investors and partners. "Under My Skin", a film as part of the exhibition, addresses the cultural issue of bullying, which creates scars and long-term impact on millions of children throughout generations – an issue which remains normalised and unacknowledged.

Cultural Context

Thailand has the second highest reported cases of bullying in the world. Every year, 40% of total number of students are bullied, with 91.79% being between the ages of 10 and 15. Verbal bullying is the most common form. 76.6% of incidents are related to appearance, leading to depression, dropout and suicide.

This partly stems from an ingrained culture of name-calling which demeans people based on physical appearance. Such characteristics include being too fat or too small, too tall or too short, having a darker or lighter skin tone than others, or identifying as non-binary. Media such as Thai dramas and comedy shows have long portrayed this as something people could laugh at. Elementary school textbooks also include exercises which teach students on what is ugly and what is beautiful based on skin colour and appearance. This abnormal practice has been normalised, seen as harmless teasing by the perpetrators and society at large.

Media

This situation often leads to suicide, revenge, and depression, and when a serious incident hits the headlines, the issue is widely discussed in the media and then kept quiet until it happens again.

Law

Unlike Japan, which has the highest incidence of school bullying, there is no law promoting measures to prevent child bullying in schools in Thailand.

We cast a real victim of bullying as the lead role of our film in order to authentically portray the issue through the emotions of the character. For the casting process, we first scouted students from several schools who have been bullied and interviewed those who were willing to share their experiences. One particular quality that we looked for in the lead role was the actress’s genuine conviction to protest against bullying, so they may channel that conviction through the film to maximise its impact for positive change.