The reaction, or perhaps over-reaction, from Vientiane at the weekend towards the Thai comedy film "Mak Tae" (Lucky Loser) was, on one hand, a precautionary measure to avoid a clash of cultures between the two love-hate neighbours, Thailand and Laos.

One the other, it was an indicator of the problematic relations between the two and raised the questions of why and how two such similar cultures can so easily clash.

The Foreign Ministry of the Lao PDR on Friday summoned a Thai representative in Vientiane to express its concerns over the movie, which the authorities considered a humiliation to the Laotian people and the national football team. The ministry demanded the producer halt all screenings and remove all references to Laos from the movie.

"Mak Tae" is a comedy about the Thai and Laotian football teams, in which the Laotian team makes it to the World Cup. The authorities in Vientiane say it mocks Laos and attributes the team's success to its Thai coach.

Several of the Laotian players dye their hair - even their armpit hair - to make them look like Western football stars and the team practises in a refrigerated container to help it grow accustomed to cold weather.

Officials at the Laotian embassy in Bangkok who were invited to a preview of the film earlier this month reported back to Vientiane that some scenes were humiliating.

"Our team is less developed than the Thai team, but it is not fun to see it made into a joke in a Thai film," one official said.

Authorities in Vientiane raised their concerns with the Thai government on the grounds that making jokes on a neighbour might spark anti-Thai sentiment similar to that in Phnom Penh in January 2003 when rioters torched the Thai embassy.

Ordinary Laotian people have yet to see the movie and nobody has offered any judgement about whether it will make them angry. One Vientiane resident told the Thai media he saw nothing wrong with having fun at the expense of the national side.

However, officials at the Foreign Ministry in Vientiane have no need to ask the opinions of ordinary people. Their action aims to avoid conflicts, if any, spurred by the movie, an official said.

At the same time, their complaints have raised their ministry's profile at a time when there are movements in Vientiane to reshuffle the country's leadership and its cabinet members.

If the Foreign Ministry had not blown the whistle on "Mak Tae," any number of other agencies in Laos might have done so because politicians are notoriously keen to exploit nationalist issues for their own gain. Foreign Minister Somsavat Lengsavad might have lost ground if someone else had raised official indignation.

It's happened several times before. The riot in Phnom Penh in 2003 was the result of conflicts between Cambodian politicians who used issues of nationalism to score points against each other. The producer of the horror film "Ghost Game", which features scenes with strong similarities to the notorious S-21 interrogation camp of the Khmer Rouge, was last week forced to apologise.

These situations will continue to crop up as regional politicians are well aware of the superior attitude adopted by Thais who love to make jokes about their "inferior" neighbours.

The producers of  "Mak Tae" might not have set out to insult the Laotian people or their football team, but they cannot answer the big question of why they picked Laos as a subject for fun if they didn't see some cultural basis for laughing at Laotians. It's part of Thai culture to laugh at the weakness of inferiors and spring without question to obey superiors.

The producer of "Mak Tae" has agreed to postpone screenings indefinitely and might even consider re-editing the movie, but that will not solve the problem of the relationship between Thailand and its neighbours as long as the fundamental matter of cultural relations remains unchanged.

Thais need to stop making fun of people they see as inferior, and people in neighbouring states should be proud of, and confident in, their culture and identity and should not allow themselves to be exploited for political gain.

Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation