— Overview
The notes follow the work from the writer’s own prejudice to its musical origin, and they stop before a later shop heading.
— Contents and key concepts
A governess at the court of Siam
The writer begins with a prejudice. They had been reluctant even to watch The King and I, because a certain image of Southeast Asia as “indigenous” sat in their head, and they had no wish to travel there or meet the culture. That, they later write, was only a prejudice. The film showed them more than one face of Thailand, and also the Western superiority of its own period.
The King and I, as they tell it, is about the King of Siam — they write the king’s name as 시암, and they do not give another — who brings Mrs Anna, an Englishwoman, as governess, so that his children and the royal house may be taught English and Western ideas and philosophy. What then unfolds, they also call a love story between the king and Anna, set in a palace that gives off an exotic Thai atmosphere.
A 1956 film, and a ban
When the film was first shown, they write, it was enough to satisfy a Western curiosity about the East. Whether it is historically true is still debated. In Thailand it was banned as a distortion of historical fact, and as a film in which the prejudice and superiority of Westerners ran thick. The notes place the screening in 1956, and say that in a single work one can also see how Western eyes then looked at Southeast Asia, and how the gaze of men and of women differed.
A musical first, after a novel
In Korea the work is better known as the 1956 film, but it was first presented as a Broadway musical. The composer was Richard Rodgers, who also wrote The Sound of Music, and the lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II; they made it together, after a popular novel by Margaret Landon.
The writer says the film was not, after all, so far from what they had expected, yet the unfolding of the characters was interesting. They had thought of Thai people as ignorant, and of the culture as dirty and merely indigenous; the film, they write, helped break that prejudice, though not completely. Another reason for their dislike of the region, they add, is the food, whose scent they do not much care for. The notes leave the work at that admission, before a later heading that only restates the title. The same Korean report sits on CampusDown, written out more fully.
Sources
- The notes, a student reading of The King and I: Mrs Anna at the court of Siam, a 1956 film first known as a Broadway musical, and a ban in Thailand.
Last updated: 15 November 2026
Frequently asked questions
What story do the notes say the film tells?
The King of Siam — the notes write his name as 시암, and they do not give another — brings Mrs Anna, an Englishwoman, as governess, to teach his children and the royal house English and Western thought and philosophy. What follows, they write, is also a love story between the king and Anna, set in a palace that feels exotic.
What do they say about the date, the ban, and the musical?
The film was shown in 1956. Its historical accuracy is still debated; in Thailand it was banned as a distortion of historical fact and as a work steeped in Western prejudice and superiority. It was first presented as a Broadway musical, and is better known in Korea as the 1956 film. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II made the musical after a novel by Margaret Landon.
Where do they stop?
The writer admits an earlier dislike of Southeast Asia, of “indigenous” images, and of strongly scented Thai food, then says the film helped break some of that prejudice, though not all of it. The notes leave the work there.
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