Summerofofelia Thoughts - Tumblr Posts

ROM!! COMS!! ARE!! VALID!! MEDIA!! CONTENT!! SOMETIMES!! SEX!! SCENES!! ARE!! JUST!! SEX!! SCENES!! AND!! THAT’S!! OKAY!! FALLING!! IN!! LOVE!! CAN!! BE!! THE!! CENTRAL!! PLOT!!

I hate it when I see BL fans label BLs with darker themes as, “not just a BL” because it’s very dismissive of the genre as an art form and often comes across as a form of pick me-ism. “Oh, I’m not like those BL fans that just watch romcoms or dudes hooking up. I watch serious content. That other stuff is so cringe ha ha I’m not like other BL fans. Please don’t lump me in with them”. People like this will label shows like 4 Minutes as “not just a BL” because they don’t see BLs as a valid form of media with artistic merit and value. In order for it to be considered good (and essentially, not embarrassing to admit you like it) it has to be considered more than a BL.

I sometimes forget people don’t have the same pop culture frame of reference as me. I was talking to my sister and joked about how BLs had become my coping mechanism bc life’s been kicking me relentlessly lately and mentioned My Personal Weatherman and she was like, “oh, Japan does BLs? Didn’t think they’d do that sort of thing”. And I just…

Because like WHAT DO YOU MEAN? Of course Japan, the land of yaoi, does BLs. Then I was like… oh. She doesn’t know what yaoi is. That is not universal knowledge 🙃

It kinda annoys me when people can’t separate media criticism from their own personal feelings because I wanna talk about screenwriting and pacing in 4 Minutes as someone who loves screenwriting and genuinely enjoys analysing and critiquing media but then people are like, “yeah I know it was fucking shit bleavrhhahajjqjqkq” and I’m like…

I’m not even kidding when I say that one of the reasons I watch BLs is because I can see what’s happening. I’m tired of suffering and squinting my way through the latest Netflix series or Hollywood blockbuster that treats lighting as optional and thinks the only way to build mood and atmosphere is through complete darkness. And it’s not just the fact that I can see what’s happening, it’s the fact that lighting is actually respected as a part of the storytelling process. Lighting is art just as much as writing and acting and cinematography and it makes me so happy and fulfilled when I watch something and lighting is being used to actually help tell the story.

Like seriously…

I JUST LOVE LIGHTING DESIGN SO MUCH AND I HATE THAT IT’S BECOMING A DYING ART AND I LOVE WATCHING STUFF THAT RESPECTS IT AND ACTUALLY USES IT TO TELL THE STORY BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT LIGHTING IS, IT’S AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF VISUAL MEDIA

Here’s the thing: nothing is insignificant if it helps you through life. Nothing is silly if it gives you just the right amount of light you need to take the next step forward. If your hyper fixation or special interest brings you comfort and peace amidst chaos and hardships then you cling onto that, whether it’s a TV show or a song or a football team.

You wanna know a silly little thing that helped me in one of my darkest episodes?

Thai BLs.

That’s right. I was experiencing a particularly dark depressive episode a couple of years ago and I was watching Love In The Air each week, and you know what I found myself saying? “Well I can’t kill myself yet, I need to see how Love In The Air ends!” And then Between Us started airing just as Love In The Air wrapped up and it became, “well I can’t kill myself yet, I need to see what happens to Win and Team!!” And these seemingly insignificant shows became very significant to me because it was their tiny rays of sunlight that gave me the light I needed to keep moving forward, even though all I wanted to do was fade into the darkness.

We all know the “big” reasons to hang on. We’re always told, “it gets better” or to think of our family, our friends, our future selves. But when we’re struggling, sometimes these reasons can seem too big to hold onto and they slip away from us. So often, it’s the little things that help get us through. A song, a book series, a hobby… in my case, it was the Thai BLs Between Us and Love In The Air. Silly as they may seem, their impact on my life has been unforgettable.

I guess what I’m trying to say is this: if you’re struggling and looking for a reason to hang on, the reason can be as small as waiting for the next episode of your favourite BL to air. If it brings you happiness and gives you a reason to keep going, hold onto it. It will get better. I promise. But while you’re struggling and fighting, find solace and peace wherever you can. Lay your head where you find comfort. And sometimes, that comfort can come in the shape of a fluffy little BL.

These beautiful dumb dumbs literally saved my life

Confession time: Cutie Pie was the second Thai BL I ever watched and I spent the first like five episodes thinking Lian and Yi were both named Hia. I didn’t even question it. I was like, “oh, maybe that’s how they became best friends, because they have the same first name”.

I think some people need to learn there’s a difference between a plot hole and something happening in a story that doesn’t explicitly explain itself to the audience and you have to infer it from the actions of characters/sequence of events. Also you not liking something in a story doesn’t equal a plot hole. This may or may not be about 4 Minutes.

Seeing the way some people have reacted to the 4 Minutes finale makes me feel like we’ve lost an important element of media literacy and criticism because there are way too many people throwing around words like “plot holes” for things that weren’t and misunderstanding that their own personal disappointment and bias with the story doesn’t equal bad writing. I blame CinemaSins.

I think it’s interesting that some fans seem to be so ready to condemn Tattoo but will give googly eyes at Hope when he’s, objectively speaking, a right bastard. Like some of y’all love to gush over a bad boy but when flawed characters exhibit flaws THAT’S the issue, that’s the obstacle you can’t get over, the thing that can’t be forgiven. I’m not saying you can’t be annoyed or angry at Tattoo’s actions, I’m just saying have some self awareness. 4 Minutes, Jack & Joker and KinnPorsche have taught me that BL fans have a harder time accepting morally grey, flawed characters who are just regular humans than literal “bad guys” with pretty faces.