More of an outline than a full documentary
Put simply, it's an outline of a BL industry documentary. Lots of relevant points were brought up, but in such a brief and unspecific way that only really early newcomers might see as useful.
Topics included:
- History and rise of Yaoi, Y series, and BL
- Fan club opinions of the appeal of BL series
- Popularity in the novelty of the illegal
- Romanticized and normalized portrayal of sexual harassment and rape in BL
- Homophobia among BL crew members during film shootings (apparently some may have turned around and puked afterwards)
- The separation of actor and character when filming
- How controlling the industry is over the actors
- How some activism needs to stay backstage in order to avoid collateral damage to the actors
- Shipping culture and the tendency to see characters (and by extension, the actors/idols that play them) as their metaphoric children
- BL actors' activism and presence in society
I suppose this information could prompt curiosity in newcomers, but the trick would be to get it in front of them.
I did however enjoy seeing cameos and interviews from some familiar faces, as well as several clips and references to shows and headlines I remembered or missed.
I do think that another documentary should be done on this topic - to elaborate on the topics, give more testimony, and (no hate intended) find better fan club spokespersons (it's not that they particularly said anything wrong, it's just that they really didn't add much to the conversation - despite being in an excellent position to do so).
Topics included:
- History and rise of Yaoi, Y series, and BL
- Fan club opinions of the appeal of BL series
- Popularity in the novelty of the illegal
- Romanticized and normalized portrayal of sexual harassment and rape in BL
- Homophobia among BL crew members during film shootings (apparently some may have turned around and puked afterwards)
- The separation of actor and character when filming
- How controlling the industry is over the actors
- How some activism needs to stay backstage in order to avoid collateral damage to the actors
- Shipping culture and the tendency to see characters (and by extension, the actors/idols that play them) as their metaphoric children
- BL actors' activism and presence in society
I suppose this information could prompt curiosity in newcomers, but the trick would be to get it in front of them.
I did however enjoy seeing cameos and interviews from some familiar faces, as well as several clips and references to shows and headlines I remembered or missed.
I do think that another documentary should be done on this topic - to elaborate on the topics, give more testimony, and (no hate intended) find better fan club spokespersons (it's not that they particularly said anything wrong, it's just that they really didn't add much to the conversation - despite being in an excellent position to do so).
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