Things I've learned from this year of giving up on everything telly that isn't Thai

[elisheva_m]

I *really* like how slow and unhurried Thai movies can be.

The best way for me to watch a lakorn is one episode whenever until it grabs me, then binge to get carried along on its energy. Maximum three episodes a day though. Unless the political enshittification of the world is having an especially bad spasm and somewhere to hide for a few days is useful.

Don't be surprised if a seemingly weak woman in a lakorn turns out to be skilled in martial arts or shooting a gun.

The number of episodes it takes for a lakorn to grab me is not necessarily an indication of how much I will enjoy it by the end. Episode 7 is the current record.

If it feels like a Thai series hasn't completed certain plot lines with the correct sort of detail to satisfy western audiences, that just means the real story was elsewhere.

The real story will probably be centered in the emotions. Get those right, give them some grounding and the rest can have as much nonsense as they want to give it and it will still work.

I really like GMM singing to camera or into the distance OSTs circa 2016-17.

My mental health is significantly better when my viewing is majority Thai and minimally everything else, with some exception for Japanese films. This probably has to do with cortisol and how different cultures pace or mitigate tension and stress in their stories.

This is not what the majority of western viewers want or expect, so my only successful Thai recommendations have been ones which went up to or crossed my limits. Except for Moonlight Chicken. This is very isolating and complicates or excludes me from most conversations.

If there's a ghost it may be vengeful but it may mean grief is a significant theme somewhere along the way. This does not mean it will be a sad story.

Or maybe they just wanted to include ghosts. Thais will never meet a genre they can't put a ghost in.

MDL's "horror" genre tag is uselessly broad to suit Thai media.

Series with trauma and grief narratives don't have to be dark and traumatic.

Did I mention how much I like the refuse to be rushed pacing of Thai movies? They will get wherever it is they're going when they get there and it will be the right place for the story and the right time.

Comments

[shipperslist]

If it feels like a Thai series hasn't completed certain plot lines with the correct sort of detail to satisfy western audiences, that just means the real story was elsewhere.

Oh, I think this is well said and a good reminder.

Or maybe they just wanted to include ghosts. Thais will never meet a genre they can't put a ghost in.
😁

[elisheva_m]

thanks :)

[adore]

Oh, this is so familiar to me. I watch almost exclusively Asian dramas (a few Thai & Chinese, but majority Korean) for similar reasons - benefits my mental health and gives me joy (and doesn't rely on bad things happening to characters or 'relentless tension' to keep viewers watching).

It's certainly different from Western media expectations and it has influenced my writing too. Now if something difficult has happened in my story, my characters take time to talk about it, comfort each other, and that feels distinctly like Asian drama influence to me.

[elisheva_m]

You might like more Thai then. It's what I turned to as kdrama's emotional rollercoasters and cdrama's long drawn out ones became too much for me. (And forget US or even European and UK ones.)

[alterkrmn]

"If it feels like a Thai series hasn't completed certain plot lines with the correct sort of detail to satisfy western audiences, that just means the real story was elsewhere."

As someone who's just starting his journey watching Thai media, I think I can say this resonates with what I've experienced. Yes.