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elisheva_mGaga is a good, sometimes excellent, resource for queer indy films, including titles which are very hard to impossible to find elsewhere, legally or not. There are gems, but finding them does mean weeding through a fair bit of dross. Also, the gay is gay not BL gay, which was a welcome change of pace.
I am far too susceptible to Last chance to watch. Also the need to see for myself to form my own opinion. Which isn’t helped by me being so far out of the mainstream amongst reviewers I have language-access to.
Letterboxd watchers of indy gay films can be quite cynical, especially regarding gay coming of age. MDL watchers tend to be kinder and more generous. Both of which means it can be difficult to get a handle on what a film will be like ahead of time, or to know when reviews can be trusted and it really is as they describe. Many describe their experience watching it more than the film itself, and there are so many externals which shape that. Including things like conventions and expectations conditioned by other viewing or the state of the US.
But for lesbian indie films, it tends to run opposite on both sites.
8 - 10 episodes at 20+ minutes each doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for story and character development if it’s also going to meet fan demands for the expected romance beats to get screen time as well. Japan is good at sliding it in, though it does require paying attention and remembering a line here, a look there. Which, in all fairness, is easier for post-airing watchers like myself than those who have to keep each one in mind over weeks whilst also having to remember details from everything else they’re watching. That is more than I am capable of these days.
The above means I have a better appreciation for the dilemna of BL-only watchers and how excited they get for something different within the genre. Though for some it seems a paradox of wanting something different whilst also wanting their precise expectations serviced. That’s a big ask, especially for the countries which make short duration BLs. 2.5 to 5 hours isn’t much.
Gaga’s selection of Thai series is idk 80% either legally available for free elsewhere or the lower half to bottom of the barrel in quality.
I took my subscription to catch 180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us before it left the platform, and then Shadow. Both of which I loved. And then mostly farted around for nearly the rest of the subscription until I finally stumbled onto some good films. Probably would have been happier with a shorter sub, though I did get to see a Channel 8 lakorn (aka The Interminable Lakorn of Intense Emotions and Infinite Tropes) which are hard to find with English subs, impossible legally.
Gaga’s definition of LGBTQ+ seems to be that a title has at least one character depicted as gay, lesbian, bi, or trans. (I didn’t come across any other representation, but it might be in there somewhere, maybe in shorts.) I saw a short and part of a feature length which were very male gaze/male porn fantasy ‘lesbian’. That was disappointing. Though given how much of their money comes from female gaze ‘gay’ it does fit.
Japanese introvert BL takes me back to that young hope someone might see what’s worth loving in me. Touching that wound again while it’s still tender from one though, that’s not good.
The giant tongue aesthetic of Japanese pink films is not to my taste. That alone overwhelmed my curiousity and interest in learning about new things or gathering data for my hypothesis that the giant tongue aesthetic comes from censorship of what viewers really want to see.
Gaga’s algorithms suck and their prolific e-mail suggestions are pants. Utterly pants. The number of titles I bailed on that it decided to send me “You watched X, you’ll LOVE Y” notifications for was silly. Also annoying.
I really didn’t expect to come away from six months of Gaga so painfully aware of the way even the best BL reinforces heteronormative conditioning about women’s place in society - relegated to second place at best, or barely there at all, and always always prioritising men’s happiness over everything else.
My mental health is markedly better when my viewing is majority Thai. This is the second time in two years my choices have demonstrated that to me. VPN to Viu here I come =D =D =D So many unsubbed Channel 8 lakorns though.
tl:dr Gaga is sub-par for Thai series but good for queer independent films, although it takes a fair bit of trial and error to find them.
If you’ve skimmed this, or even read it in detail, and have decided that it is in any way a criticism of you or others who have different preferences, please refrain from that. Please also be careful on what you’ve decided I dislike. (Cocks good, giant tongues not for me.) Please allow this to be solely an expression of my own. It’s not fair to me, or to yourself, to read into it things which aren’t here.
I am far too susceptible to Last chance to watch. Also the need to see for myself to form my own opinion. Which isn’t helped by me being so far out of the mainstream amongst reviewers I have language-access to.
Letterboxd watchers of indy gay films can be quite cynical, especially regarding gay coming of age. MDL watchers tend to be kinder and more generous. Both of which means it can be difficult to get a handle on what a film will be like ahead of time, or to know when reviews can be trusted and it really is as they describe. Many describe their experience watching it more than the film itself, and there are so many externals which shape that. Including things like conventions and expectations conditioned by other viewing or the state of the US.
But for lesbian indie films, it tends to run opposite on both sites.
8 - 10 episodes at 20+ minutes each doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for story and character development if it’s also going to meet fan demands for the expected romance beats to get screen time as well. Japan is good at sliding it in, though it does require paying attention and remembering a line here, a look there. Which, in all fairness, is easier for post-airing watchers like myself than those who have to keep each one in mind over weeks whilst also having to remember details from everything else they’re watching. That is more than I am capable of these days.
The above means I have a better appreciation for the dilemna of BL-only watchers and how excited they get for something different within the genre. Though for some it seems a paradox of wanting something different whilst also wanting their precise expectations serviced. That’s a big ask, especially for the countries which make short duration BLs. 2.5 to 5 hours isn’t much.
Gaga’s selection of Thai series is idk 80% either legally available for free elsewhere or the lower half to bottom of the barrel in quality.
I took my subscription to catch 180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us before it left the platform, and then Shadow. Both of which I loved. And then mostly farted around for nearly the rest of the subscription until I finally stumbled onto some good films. Probably would have been happier with a shorter sub, though I did get to see a Channel 8 lakorn (aka The Interminable Lakorn of Intense Emotions and Infinite Tropes) which are hard to find with English subs, impossible legally.
Gaga’s definition of LGBTQ+ seems to be that a title has at least one character depicted as gay, lesbian, bi, or trans. (I didn’t come across any other representation, but it might be in there somewhere, maybe in shorts.) I saw a short and part of a feature length which were very male gaze/male porn fantasy ‘lesbian’. That was disappointing. Though given how much of their money comes from female gaze ‘gay’ it does fit.
Japanese introvert BL takes me back to that young hope someone might see what’s worth loving in me. Touching that wound again while it’s still tender from one though, that’s not good.
The giant tongue aesthetic of Japanese pink films is not to my taste. That alone overwhelmed my curiousity and interest in learning about new things or gathering data for my hypothesis that the giant tongue aesthetic comes from censorship of what viewers really want to see.
Gaga’s algorithms suck and their prolific e-mail suggestions are pants. Utterly pants. The number of titles I bailed on that it decided to send me “You watched X, you’ll LOVE Y” notifications for was silly. Also annoying.
I really didn’t expect to come away from six months of Gaga so painfully aware of the way even the best BL reinforces heteronormative conditioning about women’s place in society - relegated to second place at best, or barely there at all, and always always prioritising men’s happiness over everything else.
My mental health is markedly better when my viewing is majority Thai. This is the second time in two years my choices have demonstrated that to me. VPN to Viu here I come =D =D =D So many unsubbed Channel 8 lakorns though.
tl:dr Gaga is sub-par for Thai series but good for queer independent films, although it takes a fair bit of trial and error to find them.
If you’ve skimmed this, or even read it in detail, and have decided that it is in any way a criticism of you or others who have different preferences, please refrain from that. Please also be careful on what you’ve decided I dislike. (Cocks good, giant tongues not for me.) Please allow this to be solely an expression of my own. It’s not fair to me, or to yourself, to read into it things which aren’t here.
