BL Drama Lovers Club

I watched the first 2 episodes of The Promise of the Soul on GagaOOlala. (Also available on iQI.) It starts out very silly. The leads are a real couple who are trying a BL for the first time. Their chemistry definitely shines on screen, but I’m not sure if the story is good enough to make it decent. I will keep watching because the episodes are only 25 minutes, but I don’t know if I can recommend it.
The lead couple is worth checking out on social media, though. Martin Wong is absolutely gorgeous! Here’s a link to him advertising Calvin Klein. (Sorry I can’t post a photo from my tablet.)

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2uUJY-vArJ/?igsh=eTRxN3RjaXJkcTRr

 RXinw:

do you guys agree?

I think at some point I have called western shows queer but then I've just gotten the idea BL is a BL,if I see two men kissing it's just gay and BL is gay. to me I don't really care,but I see where you are coming from and honestly yeah I think just because they both are same category,doesn't mean they are the same in a way.(hopefully you guys understand.)

 dora:

I agree with you. BL is for a certain kind of Asian show that follows romance tropes. The ones about real life, even if Asian, are really LGBTQ/queer content. Western shows about gay male love are gay or queer or LGBTQ content. They are not BLs, even if they’re also romances.

if BL isn’t an exclusive term for the Asian shows we watch our identity as fans loses its meaning.

 Arc en ciel:

thats a good question, its not that you are spoiled, people have different perspectives and thats ok

and i get what you mean 😁

 Ju Moon:

Totally agree with you. I was thinking about this the other day because there are two Latin movies on Gaga listed as BL, but they don’t have any of the elements we love in BL series. At first I thought it was just a mistake, but they’re still labeled that way. The term BL carries a very specific East Asian cultural context and precisely because of the unique style and storytelling that defines it, with a very specific aesthetic and narrative, I don’t really think it’s accurate to call Western shows or films BL, even though I get why some people mix it up.

Good to hear that I am not entirely alone in my thinking.

 RXinw:

I see people referring to western series as BL.

Yes, I do agree with you. I'm not sure what inspired your post, but please note: if it was in reaction to my post on p. 2035, I carefully chose my words so as specifically not to say this: "This is one of the aspects that makes me love Asian BLs, as well as some of the more recent Western series like 'Heartstoppers' and 'Love Simon': They make me feel good rather than crappy."  ("as well as" refers back to "one of the aspects", i.e. the feel-good factor rather than "Asian BLs".)

Even if a Western production were to have the romance tropes and aesthetic of an East Asian BL, I still wouldn't use the term "BL" for the reasons articulated by Dora and Ju Moon. And as Arc en Ciel correctly notes, there are also quite a few gay-themed East Asian productions lumped under "BL" that are, in my opinion, not.

That being said, it's just my opinion. If someone wants to view "BL" and "gay" as synonymous, I can understand that, too.

 RXinw:

The Bangkok Boy - episode 11

The episode 11 curse strikes again!

I look forward to the finale.

Now i really think I might need to wait until next week to finish watching 

 dora:

I hate it when a show i really love like My Stubborn falls flat at the end.

In all fairness, some of us were saying after the first episode that this is feeling like a mess ... a hot mess, but still a mess.  The character dump in the first episode was a particularly telling sign; yeah, Thai BLs generally tend to have lots of characters, but the way that "My Stubborn" dumped so many on us right in the first episode was already an omen. That being said, there's still quite a bit that I really like about the series (e.g.  Oat Pasakorn, pitter-patter goes my heart). I'm not sure I'll re-watch it, but I've been enjoying it.

 p43425:

Yes, I do agree with you. I'm not sure what inspired your post, but please note: if it was in reaction to my post on p. 2035, I carefully chose my words so as specifically not to say this:

It was posts on social media referring to the movie Red, White & Royal Blue as a BL that made me reflect on how many other western content are being referred to as BL, hence my post lol

 dora:

Why is it that some shows lose their momentum or spark once things settle down?

I have just come to terms that is bound to happen with some series, but as you said there are scenes you can re-watch because there was a time when you enjoyed the series.

 p43425:

In all fairness, some of us were saying after the first episode that this is feeling like a mess ... a hot mess, but still a mess.

Yup, but it was a sexy mess though 😏

 RXinw:

It was posts on social media referring to the movie Red, White & Royal Blue as a BL

Phew, I feared that I might have said the wrong thing.

 RXinw:

WARNING INCOMING RX SCREENSHOTS!!! DANGEROUS TO THE INNOCENT EYE!!!

Holy moly. @Art Girl, cover your innocent eyes!