The creators of The White Lotus tried to avoid stereotypes of Thailand. They didn’t succeed | Rachel Harrison

Despite Thai advisers, the series failed to escape the western lens of its rich protagonists and the history of the country's representation

• Contains spoilers for the finale of The White Lotus series 3

One of the first things I noticed when I sat down to watch the eagerly awaited third series of The White Lotus was the birdsong. The distinctive call of two species peculiar to Thailand - the coucal and the Asian koel - conjure up precisely how it feels to be there, in the midst of a tropical soundscape. Then there are the exquisite opening credits, which plunge the viewer into a visceral experience of the Thai cultural environment: based on reimagined traditional Buddhist temple painting, the key protagonists are Thai-ified" as they merge into the mural motifs.

The expertise of an array of famous Thai actors, pop stars, fashion models and celebrities - along with the somewhat heavy hand of the Tourism Authority of Thailand - have helped this series achieve a cultural authenticity like no other previous western drama set in Thailand. Things have certainly come a long way since British governess Anna Leonowens (played by Deborah Kerr) waltzed gaily around the royal palace of Yul Brynner's shiny-headed King Mongkut in the 1956 hit musical, based on the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage production, The King and I (perhaps unsurprisingly banned in Thailand for its derogatory portrayal of a highly revered monarch). Gone too are the crass depictions of Bangkok from the 2011 comedy The Hangover Part II; or the classic Lord of the Flies-style narrative that is explored in Danny Boyle's 2000 adventure The Beach. In both these cases, the ill-fated western tourist faces crude symbols of the dangers posed by the tropics - from predatory sharks to kleptomaniacal monkeys and gun-toting cannabis farmers.

Rachel Harrison is professor of Thai cultural studies at Soas University of London