People in our community (I mean the whole BL community, not just this Amino) are sometimes funny. They are getting angry about storylines and behaviours of the characters. They hate specific controversial topics with a passion and can get really agitated about it.
How much heat did TWMNC get because of the cheating plot? How many people didn’t like Gu Hai because of his sometimes extreme behaviour? How controversial was it to still ship Wai and Apo after this one specific scene, where Wai just took matters way too far?
I think you get my train of thought. In a lot of our shows and movies people do problematic things. They do things that are not okay, sometimes even things that are illegal. Violence, sexual assault, rape and other morally questionable topics are part of our culture and I know that a lot of us have an issue with these topics.
But I don’t think that controversial topics are generally speaking bad. Or that it’s wrong to show them. But stay with me for a bit. I will try to make myself more clear.
If you look at the medium of film (tv and webseries obviously fall into that category), you first of all need to find the reason why it is so popular. Because it’s an escape from reality for most people. It’s a show, it’s not real. And that’s why people like it so much. But does this mean that I am a bad person because I like horror movies and enjoy people being cut in half?
No, of course not. I know it’s not real. I know that it is a show that people put on for me to enjoy.
Sometimes movies and series are suppose to make you laugh. Sometimes they are suppose to scare you or make you angry. But they always are suppose to make you feel something.
The Greek had the theory of katarsis. Where they believed that the viewer would be able to get rid of unwanted emotions by seeing them play out on stage. I guess thats the reason why there are so many dramas out there and why they are popular. But again, it is not real.
So where does the moral threshold lie? Is it okay to watch a guy rape another boy? Or does it make me somehow an accomplice in the crime?
I don’t think it does. It is what I said before. It is an illusion. An illusion created to provoke feelings in me. Is the director, the writer, the actor allowed to use these things to achieve these emotions? I think they are to a certain extent.
I don’t believe in using extreme violence (physical or sexual) and other controversial things (like mental and psychological abuse) just for the shock effect. But if you can show me in your storyline that this aweful, disgusting thing is important for the development of the story, for making me understand something, then I don’t think that it’s wrong to use these topics.
But let’s look at it from another point of view. Other then making you feel movies and series also should make you think. They can give you a lesson. They can show you that this kind of behaviour is not okay and that you shouldn’t do that ever as it will have dire consequences.
That’s why I don’t agree with BL storylines to just be perfect love stories. If I want a perfect love story I will go to the fairytale section at the library and stay there. That’s fine if people just want that, but for me, I don’t think that’s what drama is all about.
If we look back at TWMNC and the whole cheating for example we get so many lessons out of it, it’s crazy. We learn that everyone can make mistakes and that love alone is just not enough for a successful relationship (Korn/Knock). We learn that sometimes you tell yourself one thing, but your subconscious already has complete other plans for you (Farm). And we learn that sometimes it’s harder to forgive yourself then for others to forgive you (Yiwah).
If everything would just be perfect all the time, then we wouldn’t get this food for thought. We wouldn’t think about matters and maybe come to conclusions that are relevant to our own life.
Gu Hai was definitely so much over the top that he was borderline risking of not being able to come back from it. All the times that he pushed Bao Lou Yin and don’t get me started on the kidnapping. But he is a young guy who is in love and has no clue what he is suppose to do with it. Is that an excuse for his behaviour? Of course not. But do we need an excuse? No, it’s not us he is having the relationship with, it’s Bao Lou Yin. And he is no doormat. He gives as good as he gets (in a different way, but his behaviour is quiet tricky as well).
Just because we wouldn’t want this kind of behaviour or relationship for ourselves does not mean that it’s not okay to show it in a show. It is food for thoughts and it helps us broadening our horizon in a way that we wouldn’t be able to do so otherwise.
As I said above already: don’t get me wrong. There are points of no return for characters and storylines. I will never be able to agree with Roundtrip to Love Part 2 as I just really can’t see any redeeming factors in the whole thing whatsoever.
I can’t see any lecture or food for thought, other then love even conquers rape, which I find extremely problematic.
And there are other movies and shows that are just not able to make proper use of controversial topics. The Sky of Khanh is coming to mind all over again (please, my brain, just let it go). Again there is no lesson, no uplifting end. There is just one hard topic after the other, used to only shock the viewer. And I don’t agree with that. These controversial topics are too sensitive to be used for that purpose.
If you want to use a controversial topic, do it properly. Otherwise don’t bother at all.
But I still think as well that sometimes we as a community are a bit too harsh when it comes to these topics. I think sometimes we need to see our beloved BLs for what they are: Entertainment with a nice side of life lessons.
*Repost From BLDA
Your Heart's Content 