(no subject)

[elisheva_m]

When I asked the question "What can I give that you would like to engage with", profiterole suggested making a list for people to choose from. A lot of these things I've written about here already or in the Thai language and culture comm, so there's evidence being left on my own for this means, well being left on my own. Will try again.

Japanese films, anything on JFF Theatre or from the last two online festivals.
Also, older Japanese films from their 1950s Golden Age. i used to watch a lot from the library media centre and want to get back to doing so now that we have online streaming and DVDs are (sometimes) easier to buy.

The integration of grief and trauma narratives into a storyline without letting it take over, like Thais do so well with comedies and ghost stories.
Exaggeration and the influence of lakorn/melodrama on comedy.
It's proven beyond my capabilities to find a way to talk about Thai comedy which is understandable by those who don't watch much though so that's likely all a wash. It's not a difficult thing, it's just different.

learning Thai through watching two hours of telly a day

how much Thai telly is available free to stream legally and without the limits of a subscription

making custom subtitle files (i do this for OSTs to help with language learning)

Perpetuation of het sexism and sexist tropes in BL and GL series, including romanticised sexism and romanticised abuse.
Sexism and homophobia in Thailand and how these influence BL, especially the more violent and explicit series.
Recognising when harmful tropes are being used as a lazy way to up the tension and stress in a storyline (and could be replaced with something more creative), when they're being criticised through the story, or if it's less trope and more the exploration of a difficult subject.
Finding a balance between a blanket "don't yuck on someone's yum" and recognising the ways romanticised sexism and romanticised abuse continue the normalisation of sexism and abuse.

There's a pile of other things i'm interested in and know more about, both personal (including my own health and situation) and political, but mentioning them here will only bring on misreading, misunderstanding and more stress than i can deal with. If anyone is looking for advice on living with energy-impairment disabilities/chronic illness, i've been doing it since childhoood and have a lot of experience to draw on.

Comments

[profiterole_reads]

Let's go with your methods for learning Thai.

I'm more into learning through reading/writing, so it's interesting to me when people are more into learning through listening/speaking.

[kat_lair]

I find a lot of things on my circle interesting to read even when I don't always comment. The perpetuation of sexism thing is perhaps my top pick from those choices.

[elisheva_m]

My methods for learning Thai are simple :)
Watch telly. When a word or phrase starts catching my attention, try romanisations of it (or translation from subtitles) until I find one which gets me to useful information on that, other words and other aspects of the language.
Chances are high the writer uses the word/phrase a lot, which affords many opportunities to practice hearing it without any extra effort and collect different subtitles translations, usage patterns, etc.
Repeat.
I was surprised how much useful information this got me and how easily. Levels of politeness, what two speakers use for their I/you and what that indicates of how they see their relationship, all the word + particle sentences.
OSTs were very helpful for learning how to distinguish the sounds. Now they're what I have for "speaking" practice. I've also gotten to the point where I can work out romanisations from the singing and Thai lyrics and Thai letters are finally sticking in my memory.
My brain is such conventional methods aren't working for me but the plus is that my understanding is far less translation and far more intuition than with any of the languages I've learned through more conventional means. Like these days I mostly look words up to confirm what I've worked out the meaning for, sometimes without realising it.

[elisheva_m]

yeah, dreamwidth is lacking on other ways to register interest. thanks for commenting :)

do you watch any Thai series? asking so i can tailor a response to where you're at.

[profiterole_reads]

Yes, it's more intuitive because you learn like a native. :-)

[elisheva_m]

it's like i'm the world's oldest and slowest toddler :)

[kat_lair]

I haven't watched a lot of Thai series at all, just peripherally aware of some due to people in the circle watching. The only one I watched from start to end was ลุ้นรัก 12 Percent | My Only 12 Percent - I really loved it though, was such a comfort watch.

Oh, I saw someone on my circle link to this post and thought you might find it interesting: https://www.tumblr.com/absolutebl/771705905064673280

[elisheva_m]

i've started My Only 12% to see if that's useful for any shared point of comparison. i like that sort of slice of life story-telling too.
started on a longer post on gendered stereotypes, including some of the surrounding context.

thanks for the link. the writer sums up half of what i like so much about Thai telly (the other half is the depth of emotion they integrate into this softness)

"Thailand's quintessential softness around theme and character.... Thailand will never lose this soft style and it's one of the most attractive qualities of Thai BL: it's never very harsh with us or its characters."