If you watch any amount of television at all in Thailand, you’re bound to run into a Thai soap opera.  And even if you don’t speak Thai, you’ll be able to distinguish the heroes form the villains, due to the success of these extremely formulaic dramas. Here at WoWasis, we think they’re worth an occasional view, as they underscore and illustrate the Thai concept of good and evil, and serve as both an educative and entertainment purpose. 

Essentially, the dramas focus on the conflict between the heroine (nang ek), and the villainess (nang rai). Nang ek is sweet, attentive to family, children, and her elders.   Her essential  nobility is underscored by her adherence to correct social manners and grace under the onslaught of Nang rai.  In contrast to nang rai, namg ek desires harmony, rather than a pursuit of financial fortune, and is a good Buddhist. 

Without a suitably nasty villain, people simply won’t sit through a drama.  Nang rai are the parts, virtually every actress in Thailand is dying to play, even those who achieved fame in playing the nang ek role in other dramas.  Their main function in life is to create misery for the heroine by stealing her boyfriend, bearing false witness, turning friends and family against nang ek. They are outspoken, severely goal-oriented and frequently are shown to have chosen career over family.  Eventually, they will meet tragic ends, unless they make an about-face and sincerely and publicly apologize for their deeds.  Classic endings for nang ek include death, insanity, public humiliation, or arrest. 

Nang rai roles have given longer life to the careers of middle-aged Thai actresses, as older nang rai commonly evidence a life-long history of scheming.  Ladyboys are also favorite villainesses, generally portrayed as two-faced and slaves to the trendy. 

Acting is superb in these dramas, and we’ve found it enjoyable to take an occasional ten-minute peek to see what terror the latest nang rai is spreading.  You don’t even have to turn on the TV yourself, just walk down the street.  When a favorite soap opera is on, scores of stall girls, shopkeepers, and businesspeople watching a streetside TV will have one eye on you, and the other on the nang rai.