In 1998, 20th Century Fox approached the Thai government asking permission to shoot on location in Thailand a film titled Anna and the King, a dramatized version of the famous 1950s musical The King and I. The latter film has long been banned in Thailand. Fox’s plans to produce a new version created a storm of controversy in Thailand, ending in the National Film Board’s decision not to allow the film to be made in Thailand. The completed film (shot in Malaysia) was also eventually banned from Thai movie screens. This article looks at why the story of Anna Leonowens and King Mongkut remains so controversial in Thailand, even in this era of greatly increased media freedom. The article also examines the continued importance of the idea of monarchy to the modern Thai state, and the endless flood of royal imagery that saturates the Thai media and public life generally.
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