PART1: There is nothing new under the Rainbow.
I don't know if anyone has noticed. The two dramas are very similar. Basically, they both tell the story of a city with a group of non-heterosexual friends.
There are many stories, but there are always a few constant and attractive ones: a pair of Lara wants their own children, an "outsider" (Justin/Jenny) has entered the life of "this side" and was originally a good friend The two of them have become lovers (Ted&Emet/Dana&Alice, are these two groups of characters very similar?) New and old, separate and combined, unemployed and employed, and group portraits are really the characteristics of American dramas.
Although it is a TV series for entertainment, both of them also try to discuss some social issues. The former is like AIDS and drug addiction, and the latter is made up of transgender and ethnicity (the latter has undoubtedly made significant progress in this regard)
PART2: Can you Don't love him/her
What I'm talking about here is Brain and Shane, the souls of the two dramas.
These two are very, very similar, and of course I'm not just talking about the perfect appearance of the gods, the irresistible (both male and female) sexual attraction.
They are so poor and so beautiful.
Of course, if you want to use words like depravity, decadence, and sin, I'm not against it. He/she is drinking, smoking, drug addiction, promiscuity, self-abuse, prostitution (to a certain extent), behind the shadow of childhood, in front of the sinister world. He/she does not dare to have an intimate relationship with people (a word more serious than love and sex), tries to be brave everywhere, and finally one day he/she takes out his heart, as if only to be trampled more severely (this is for Why can Micheal find a doctor and change to a professor, and Brain can only have Justin, and Shane can only have Carmen)
And we all love to see the beauty that has been destroyed and the beauty that has been destroyed: Brain's abuse escalated step by step, he released Micheal in the first season, Justin cheated in the second season, lost his job in the third season, got cancer in the fourth season, to In the fifth season, the club was also bombed. He lost his attic, lost his youth, and even lost his ego for a while, but he was still so proud.
It's a pity Shane's role is relatively small, but you'll notice she's also chased down to that unfinished wedding, and she's despairingly beautiful when she's crying. In fact, Brain's role not only corresponds to Shane, but also Marina is like a goddess, Bette's strength and career (also a mixture of art and business), just as Justin contrasts Jenny and Carmen. But as an artist, Jenny still needs to be herself, a little darker, while Carmen is almost on the bright side.
The man who played Brain said he was self-destructive, and then almost jumped off the building in the first episode. That's really James Dean: the frivolity of career versus money versus love versus society versus life versus the world versus everything, and accepting the price of that frivolity without any hesitation.
Then these men who struggled for success and women who struggled for love in their little days were knocked to the ground by his/her charm with unrecognizable fanatical envy.
PART3: Who is more middle class and who is more reactionary?
After all, a series is not a movie. After five long seasons, changes are inevitable.
QAF is an example of the more and more being assimilated by the values of the middle class. Brain can still roar at the sky at the beginning, and soon he admitted his love, sacrificed for the benefit of the society, "fight the disease", and completely changed after the explosion of the 911-style club, so nauseous that even I can't accept it.
The power of the audience is really powerful. We love watching him who was abused, but also a lonely hero, a good family man, and "ordinary people around him". Of course, the screenwriter must provide it together. That's why a group of good-looking men who wandered in clubs turned into sleazy uncles. To be safe, stable, and mainstream, even if you bend, you have to bend to the middle class. That's why Foucault misses the pre-gay liberation movement so much. , the days of speakeasy.
TLW did not have such obvious changes, although Shane also turned back after the four seasons, uncharacteristically longing for a family, and Bette and Tina, who broke up, were destined to get back together again. It's silly, idealistic and unrealistic, but we love to watch, We insist on the two of them being together, and the main thing is that in the beginning, the women in TLW are more comfortable and safe, have food and clothing, and although they are also unemployed, they are not so anxious to find a job, and a good job will always follow. The romantic encounter came as scheduled. Maybe it was the relationship between the shooting years, from clothing to living room, everyone is in a relatively wealthy state, except for Shane and a few cutscenes, the main characters are in the upper middle class of society, at least have a decent job. TLW Not putting themselves in a position of confrontation with mainstream values, what is the difference between gays and non-gays, so the pair of Lara in the play looks so like a heterosexual couple.
Authorities claim that women, including women Homosexuals tend to choose a fixed mate and form a stable relationship, while gay men frequently change partners, and both shows coincide with this idea, such as Mel and Lindsay. Although not unreasonable, and also evolutionarily correct, but It is sad to find that the traditional heterosexual gender concept is so effective even among gays.
No matter how many gay dramas are on the screen, it will not change this sad fact.
PART4: If you have to condemn, condemn it Male audiences
are all reactionary.
The reason why I like QAF more is because it has many beautiful men, but not only because of this.
TLW's story is a little more fragmented, more characters, more confusing with each other, and less funny , It's not that Lala's life is so boring, Gay men are so attractive, unfortunately Lala's drama was made like that. And why it has to be made like that, is for more men, especially the opposite sex Loved male audience.
In addition to the gay community, QAF's audience includes many non-gay women, so it tells a tragic, heart-wrenching love story: the BJ mainline that lasted for 5 seasons. TLW's ambitions are bigger, the gay community, the general female audience, also Including those old American men who watch Desperate Housewives can also relieve their thirst. What they want to see is good-looking women and their sex, so they want to shoot exquisite and beautiful, it doesn't matter if they are messed up, which can bear more conceptually Too much offense. So give them a tiring network and become very soapy. After watching it, they can still be complacent and say that women are just so rambling, so soapy.
Not a silly love story Which is better, or some messy love scenes, but the latter is not made for female audiences, how can it seem comfortable.
Maybe one day, I can wait for a beautiful movie that transcends the stereotypes and prejudices from the perspective of power The show, whether it's about lesbian or about gay guys, is not very gay.
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