Complaints have flooded social media since the video’s release, with residents saying it fails to show the modern side of their country. Many claim the footage was edited to seemingly appear old-fashioned, with a faded sepia tone, and that the camera focuses on shabby architecture.
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Others have complained about the video’s airport scenes, during which one of the characters loses his luggage and seeks help from a local ground staff member called “Happy.”
“When I watched it, I was thinking, this was Thailand 50 years ago. This looked like Thailand 70 years ago. There were no segments showing the modernity of my home,” David William, an American content creator based in Thailand, said in Thai in a TikTok video that has been viewed over 11 million times.
In an interview with CNN, he said he’s never seen “a cab that looked that bad before” in his nearly 10 years in the country, adding Thailand’s main gateway, Suvarnabhumi Airport is just as modern as New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
“Thailand is a modern, safe and beautiful country,” he said. “I just hope [people] don’t misunderstand.”
Echoing his view, Facebook user Nipawan Labbunruang said the video makes Thailand look “terrible.”
“What is this clip trying to present?” she wrote in a post that received 1,900 likes.