In the years that followed, Bhutan opened itself to what some critics called “an electronic invasion” — cable television. In this FRONTLINE/World short documentary that aired in 2002, reporters Alexis Bloom and Tshewang Dendup explored the differing reactions to the advent of cable TV in the Buddhist kingdom, including the perspective of a co-owner of a cable service company, who said, “We always have to move forward.”
“Bhutan: The Last Place” was produced by Alexis Bloom, who was also the videographer. The co-producer and videographer was Tshewang Dendup. The founder and executive producer of FRONTLINE was David Fanning.
We are making episodes from FRONTLINE/World’s archive newly available here on YouTube and on pbs.org as part of an effort to make our past reporting widely accessible.
Originally developed by FRONTLINE producers in conjunction with public television stations KQED San Francisco and WGBH Boston, FRONTLINE/World launched in 2002 as a national public TV series that turned its lens on the global community, covering countries and cultures rarely seen on American television. The series completed its final broadcast season in 2010."
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Bhutan is a Himalayan kingdom tucked between China and India.
A seemingly magical place that has for centuries secluded itself from the rest of the world.
A place with no traffic lights and no fast food chains.
A country with more monks than soldiers.
Where it's law to wear traditional dress in public places.
This tiny country of less than a million people has guarded its culture from outside influence.
People who come here to Bhutan, they all fall in love with Bhutan.
Why? Because we have a beautiful country, we have a rich tradition, rich culture, unspoiled.
People who travel to Bhutan cannot believe that there is a country still left in the world which
is almost untouched. And time and again, they've always told me,
they say, don't bring television into the country.
But in June 1999, Bhutan did bring television into the country.
After years of cultural protectionism, TV was legalized by royal decree.
The last place on earth to hook up to the box.
We found the man who the Bhutanese called the cable guy, Rinzi Dorji.
Just a few years ago, he hardly knew how a television worked.
I thought, how is it possible that pictures are just coming out there without any
tape being played there? Then, of course, I tried to find out how it was coming and this, that.
Then I said, it is a wonderful technology that broadcasting from somewhere else and
everybody could see on the television set. We are tuning the TV.
We watched Rinzi wiring up homes every day, 45 channels for just $5 a month.
Everything from the BBC to Baywatch, all for the same price as a bag of dried red chilies.
But not everyone welcomes the new entrepreneurs.
These are business people. These are not even technicians. These are business people who want
to sell. And they will broadcast, they will show anything they want.
There are good things as well as bad things. But as a cable operator, I can't selectively give
programs because the demand is such that some parents would like to have some programs which
are not good for others.
Rinzi invited us to his family home. In the backyard, five satellite dishes receive signals
from all over the world. Beneath the living room, racks of receivers and decks have taken
the place of traditional livestock. The family home has become central control.
This setting that we have at the moment is good for 33 channels. Once we go on expanding,
then we would require more space and more equipment and more racks.
But Rinzi's mother-in-law was sceptical.
I think people have suddenly realized that there are so many things that they desire which
they were not even aware of before. And the truth is that most of these television channels
are commercially driven. And so the Bhutanese people are, yes, driven towards consumerism.
That's inevitable. And that's, to some extent, unfortunate, but inevitable.
When I come home from school, I change my clothes and go straight to the TV room and watch
television. I watch Cartoon Network and check if there is wrestling in Star Sports. When it's my
exam time, I could not study because of thinking about the cartoon characters and the superstars
of the wrestling.
Television introduced only last year. Everybody, one thing, is curious to see
what is happening. They have never seen the special monk. They have never seen
television in their life. So they're curious, very much curious to know what is that.
I noticed that last week when I was with my brother and watching television. So sometimes
I forget my prayer things. So sometimes they're disturbing this kind of TV.
So I thought maybe better not to have myself.
Soon after television started, we started getting letters to the editor for the newspaper
from children, children who seemed very hurt. The letters actually specifically asked about
this World Wrestling Federation program. Why are these big men standing there hitting each
other? I mean, what's the purpose of it? They didn't understand. They were very hurt.
Now, a few months later, one morning, a personal example, one of my sons, seven years old,
jumped on me early in the morning on the bed and he says, hey, I'm Triple H. You can be rock.
And we're fighting. Suddenly, these were new heroes for our children.
The government has requested the cable operators that they should, to the extent possible,
exercise discretion on their part. But it's easier said than done. With all these satellite
dishes that are available, it'll be difficult to control. And so the light of 45 channels flickers
and the Bhutanese tune in to the rest of the world. I have myself heard comments from people
saying that, my God, we didn't know that we were living in such a peaceful country.
There seems to be violence and crime everywhere around the world.
So, in a way, the positive thing is that Bhutanese people realize how good
a life they are living in this country.
