<p>Writer and former senator Wimon Chiamcharoen, best known under her pen name Thommayanti, passed away yesterday (13 September) at the age of 85.</p>

<div> <div>Thai soap operas play a crucial social role in constructing political ideas of nationalism, Buddhism and morality. This mechanism, however, is not a stagnant process. The recent airing of a nationalistic soap has shown how Thai soaps adapt to changing political contexts. </div></div>

<p>A time-traveling romantic soap opera surrounding the events of Bang Rachan, based on a novel written by a right-wing author, colours the imagined past through rosy, blood-tinted glasses.</p> <p></p>