Following on from my previous post about my initial encounter with Ong Bak, I have done research into specific aspects of the film that were of relevance to my initial reactions recorded on Twitter. I have watched limited martial arts films and the majority of them were western produced films (I’m talking Rush Hour). The Thai film industry was already renowned for its horror and teen movies and has seen success in the box office since 1997 however research into Ong Bak showed that the Thai film was a worldwide success and started the breakthrough of Thai action films. The prominent type of Thai action movies that are successful are those showing exciting Thai boxing (Muay Thai). Thai films do not use martial arts which aims to chase the antagonists, instead they design the fighting scenes to be beautiful and exciting combining Muay Thai with acrobatic moves and combat which…
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Digital Asia 
Hi Andy,
This was a really enjoyable insight into Thai and martial art films, neither of which I have encountered much myself. The way you broke down and analysed the religious aspects of the film was very well done. You used the story of the film to explore the importance of Thai religion in a wider social context.
You took your initial identification of Buddhism religion within the film and explored it further, emphasising the importance of it within Thai society. I think it is this transition from identification to exploration that makes your work successful autoethnographical research.
Well done!
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