elisheva_m: a water colour rainbow on a water colour sky with the word hope (Default)
Things I forgot because the learning was more in the first half of the year. Brain is not braining well and these are things I have many data points on but struggle to put into words which are understandable to those who aren't familiar. IYKYK I guess and I'm so appreciative of these qualities and glad I found my way in.

When I first started watching Thai BL, I was over-attributing what I liked to it being BL and not appreciating how much of that warmth and caring was just Thai.

Thai comedy is its own thing - unpretentious, unabashed, unashamed, delightfully goofy, free-spirited and full of acceptance - and it really works for me.

Layers of meaning. The countless ways Thais have of embedding trauma and grief narratives in humour and lightness and the way it feels as those layers begin to be revealed. Movies have patterns in how they do this but every series I've seen with it has approached it differently.

Cradling pain. How gently and skillfully they handle big emotions. The time they will give to this. If it seems like there isn't much going on, look there. Or even if there is.

The respect much of the 2016-2020ish youth-orientated programming has for its viewers' intelligence. This isn't unique to Thailand, youth-programming is often higher quality than comparable mainstream fare, but the combination of other Thai qualities works especially well with this.

These are the things I most adore about the way Thais tell their stories.
elisheva_m: a water colour rainbow on a water colour sky with the word hope (Default)
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.

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elisheva_m: a water colour rainbow on a water colour sky with the word hope (Default)
Elisheva

April 2025

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