BANGKOK, THAILAND

Thailand's Ministry of Public Health issued a stern warning to producers of lakorns (Thai soap operas) warning that they are putting the health of their actors in serious jeopardy. The unusually stern warning came after Ch. 7 actress Ann Pornasurat was rushed to the hospital during the filming.

Doctors say the actress arrived near death suffering from fatigue, difficulty breathings, dizziness, and low blood pressure. She was immediately diagnosed as being severely dehydrated and was treated.

The Ministry of Public Health warned that dehydration starts to occur at just 2% fluid loss. Doctors estimated that the actress had close to 10% fluid loss which is a severe medical emergency.

The ministry suggested that show producers take immediate action to make sure that their actors and actresses do not suffer from excessive fluid loss while filming. They specifically singled out the increase in overly dramatic scenes where actresses spend nearly an entire one hour episode crying.

It has been rumored that Ann had been filming back to back episodes the day she fell ill. Anonymous sources from the production crew have indicated that Ann may have cried non-stop for close to 4 hours.

Medical experts say that on a typical lakorn many actresses can easily lose up to 2% of their body fluids per episode. Filming two episodes back to back without proper medical supervision can put actresses at risk of dehydration and heat stroke.

The Ministry of Public Health warned that unless lakorn producers voluntarily implemented new procedures such as using crying doubles (actresses who can stand in and cry in super-tight shots), having medical staff on the set, and reducing the number of things that force a drawn out crying scene, that they will have no other option than to act.

Inspired by Not the Nation :-)

I also found this funny when looking at some websites.

Because Lakorn present a melodramatic storyline featuring simple one-dimensional characterizations to capture the broadest viewership and commercial sponsorship, they generally do not foster critical insight, reasoning or problem-solving skills, nor a multi-perspective consideration of the human drama being viewed. They are simply an attempt to create dramatic tension and a "showdown" between the protagonist(s) and antagonist(s). Several Lakorn adhere to this simple format which, over an extended period, may cause some viewers to develop a skewed view of reality. At least one critic contends that the recent political problems in Thailand may be at least partially attributable to the negative influence of Lakorn, surmising that it is the disregard of common sense and common human wisdom that causes people to shy away from thinking critically, and as a result, becoming prone to manipulation.

Wikipedia.

Cried for 4 hours?....

Last time I was in Thailand, I felt abit uncomfortable watching Lakorns after news.

It just doesnt feel right.. Something just .. not right..