reefpicker

That makes two of us hahaha

You didn't get what I said. That's ok. We are now all on the same page, which is what matters :)

Sorry, wrong Title. You are talking about Champ and I was talking about Name :O

I just checked and realized there are two Titles here LOL

He could be a progressive selective mute, but I don't think the person who wrote this script had a phd in speech therapy or psychology, so I am going to say that whether real-life selective mutes behave like this or not (progressive or not), I don't know and I don't think it matters. It would be better to describe Name as a psychogenic mute. He clearly can speak in some situations, but he can't in most. I agree with you that it would be more realistic if he only spoke with his mom (when no one else was present) and with Em (also only when the two of them are alone). It seems that real life selective mutism is a manifestation of social anxiety. Thus, social anxiety should trigger it. But I digress...

So, maybe it is progressive, maybe it is a rare form of selective mutism or maybe it is just what the screenwriter wants to happen. In any case, it drives the plot forward and makes for a very interesting story arch, so I left the realism at the door and I am here for the fluff and the cuteness and the tear jerking moments. :)

Title is not in My Only 12%

LOL This is why we use capital letters to refer to drama names. Also, you don't need the phrase vice versa.

Should I watch Move To Heaven first?

There, fixed it.

I think someone is falling in love with Nam's wig and trying to catfish him for it. In the next episode, his Wig will get kidnapped. I wonder if he will give up the ransom money. :D

that's not always how selective works: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_mutism

I agree however that the mom would have developed a way to communicate with him, whether it is signals or some other way...

I wonder if the episode count is wrong... or the tags.

Hello Kajirae! I too married an Asian person, and like you I live in the USA. We actually have a small Facebook community of USA-based fans (living abroad but being American counts).

This link should take you to the group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/333441421474451/

Please answer the questions and make sure you agree to the rules.

We have our first meet up on Saturday. I think I have to invite you to it once you join, so give me a tap on the shoulder if you are interested and I will send you the invite. The meet up is completely online. The main topic of the meet up (besides trying to get to know each other!) is "What is BL? How is BL different from other types of queer media".

It is a very fun group and very peaceful. A guy like SnowTroll would have gotten kicked out already hahahaha ;) [IMO I don't think he/she is American but who knows. He/she is probably just a teen].

If you knew anything about me or Nolan, you would know you are not talking to the usual BL fans, but I digresss. Ad hominem arguments aside, you are very confused about the ending of Love of Siam and also the historical and cultural context of this movie.

Still, I am glad you enjoy BL. Its awesome. I hope you keep finding BLs you like and that you remain such a passionate fan.

"the hated Love of Siam "

Hated by who? You?

Facts:
Love of Siam dominated Thailand's 2007 film awards season, winning the Best Picture category in all major events.

Love of Siam was a sleeper hit. It debuted at #1 and stayed on the top #5 for three weeks. It is safe to say that a great majority of Thai people loved the movie. It grossed closed to $1M dollars. That's a lot in Thailand.

Most film critics PRAISED the movie. The movie is generally considered to show queer love in a positive light.

The movie is generally considered a precursor to Thai BL.

I always say bittersweet. Hmm... I know that's also the name of a Thai author. Oh yeah, the lady who wrote SOTUS, right? :)

The ending of Love of Siam is bittersweet, not sad.

The ending is not open ended, but hopeful.

It is easy for you to judge the ending as homophobic, considering that this movie was made 15 years ago when the idea of two boys kissing in mainstream Thai movie was very foreign. This director was bold, if anything, for portraying such a tender and homoerotic moment in the big screen.

When Tong tells Mew that he can't be his boyfriend but that doesn't mean he doesn't love him, and then he gives him that piece of the doll, he is handing Mew the last thing Mew needed to be happy: to feel loved. When Mew comes back to his room and cries, he is not sad. He is happy because he finally knows he is not alone.

I don't think the director choice to end the movie this way was homophobic, anymore than LGBQT American movies from the 80s are homophobic. He was being realistic. Love of Siam is not a BL movie. It is a queer movie about the struggles of being queer in Thailand, where family comes first. This is what Tong choose.

You are jumping the gun. Watch the whole thing first and then judge if it is "another one off [the assembly line]".

I have high hopes because this comes from the guy behind Triage, Love of Siam and Slam Dance, among others. I think he is a pretty respectable storyteller. He is also pretty respected in Thailand. I mean, his movie was Thailand's submission to the 81st Academy Awards.

Not saying it could be crap. Just because he puts his name behind something doesn't make it great. He may just be helping a friend or someone he likes. Or wants a quick buck. So, who knows.

I wonder if the episode count here is wrong

That's a good point. I think it depends. For me, if a series is either so bad, I can't stand it, OR it is not "my cup of tea", I will drop it. However, if a series is "mediocre", sort of middle of the road, I may continue watching to see if towards the end they redeem themselves. Does it ever happen that my opinion changes with the very last episode? I don't think so, but I have found myself liking something after 3 or 4 episodes (e.g. My Secret Love) and also loving the series only after I watched the ending (e.g. My Friendship). There are also ones that I hated because of the ending (e.g. Ben x Jim) and ones that the ending made me mad and it took me a while to appreciate the series (The Shipper).

I think that you never know why someone will stick to watching something even if they don't like it, but it happens. For example, I watched Cutie Pie, all the way to the end, and Vice Versa, all the way to the end, even against my better judgement. I think the reason was because a) My friends were watching and I wanted to know what they were talking about (FOMO), and b) Because I run a podcast together with a friend and we will probably do an episode on Vice Versa, just like we did with Cutie Pie.

Which series were so bad (or not my cup of tea) that I dropped? Not me, Rainbow Prince and My Boy are the only ones I have officially dropped. I also put on hold 2Moons and Dont Say No. I am not sure if I will retake them. It is very rare that I drop a series. I will stick to them even if inside I am fuming over the directorial choices or screenplay ;)

Why is it that if someone disagrees with your taste in BLs, you feel the need to go on the defensive and say they are "wannabe" writers? Also, your faith in screenplay writers is quiet something. Do you really think that writers do everything intentionally? You don't think the director, producers and studio often get a say in what is filmed? Or that writers sometimes have no idea what to do with their characters and/or plot and often write themselves into a corner?

You know, you can like something and still find ways it could be improved. In my case for example, I didn't like this series overall, but I enjoyed some parts of it. I also didn't like Sea and Jimmy's chemistry, but I though Sea wasn't terrible and I would like to see more of him.

I have seen people explain the issue of Vice Versa in so many ways. I am not sure who is right, but I will tell you my simplified view of it: uninspired writing. I think the writing could have been better. The world-building suffered because of it. The romance was sucked out of air because of it. Character development lagged because of it.

Ironically, this series had one of the most original premises I have ever seen in a Thai BL.

Uke reticence.

At The BL Clinic podcast, we did an entire episode about what is Uke reticence, why it happens and what its roots are in Thai BL. Link below.


https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/duUSbhZzNtb