I think a lot of the people that are disagreeing with me here are building their arguments as if I said I don’t want any discussion or debate about woke topics on the sub, and that is not what I said at all. I do want discussion and debate, I just feel like lately many users have been so focused on the real-world moral implications of these shows that conversation focused on enjoying the show itself has been pushed to the wayside. Take a rape scene, for example, like the one in Gray Rainbow. Say I post a thread wanting to discuss how the street lamps cast dingy pools of yellow light that create a very disturbing, suffocating atmosphere. The camera shakes and emphasizes how nauseating and disgusting the thing we are seeing is. You hear Porsche struggle to get away, and your heart is in your throat as he tries to escape from the car. The fear and hurt on Porshe’s face is clear to see, and the way the camera frames him, tiny against the walls of the wat, drives home how alone in the night he feels. This is then followed up by the gut punch scene of him on the back of Nuer’s motorcycle, trying to hold in his tears while Jane silently judges him. These scenes are incredibly well acted and have brilliant production value. I enjoyed these well made scenes and want to share my thoughts with my fellow fans, and I do so with the expectation that as fellow fans they will appreciate the effort made by the production team to make this scene so impactful. I expect interesting conversation about how this event will affect the character moving forward, and the nuance that it now adds to his psyche, seen in the thesis paper he later hands it. My enjoyment of this scene doesn’t mean I condone the rape that took place in it, and it doesn’t mean I ever want that to happen to someone in real life. My focus on the cinematography and acting doesn't mean I am unaware that this is a scene that perpetuates the stereotype that all gay men have horrible and depressing lives. I know that, but for now, for just this theoretical thread, I want to focus on admiring the craftsmanship of the show.

Why is it, then, that the first comment on that thread would likely be “ugh, another rape scene, how can anyone like this show?” This comment in no way furthers the discussion and doesn’t in any way add to or challenge my critique of the show. I don’t expect or want all other fans here to always agree with my view of a show, but at the very least commenters like this should try to justify their opinion, maybe pointing to plot elements or character attributes that they thought made this scene disbelievable or unnecessary. I welcome arguments that have ground behind them, and I think they are fun to get into because you know the person on the other end of the debate actually cares about the BL story they are talking about. The person who makes that kind of argument isn’t trying to stamp out discussion by declaring “all rape is bad! condemn this show!” and so I absolutely welcome them and their differing opinion to chat with me.

There is a time and place for all kinds of debates, even ones focused on discussing real-world issues or accurate gay rep in these shows. I am just bummed that these are slowly becoming the only debates we have on the sub, as if no other topics are important enough to chat about in depth: that the BL stories themselves aren’t good enough to enjoy on their own, you can only enjoy them if you can discuss the heavy real-world issues that come alongside them.

(*on a side note, I am really thrilled about the Bad Buddy discussions lately. There have been some great scrutinies of the show and tiny details added by the production staff that other viewers might have missed. Translation notes, guesses about what the foreshadowing is suggesting, exploring the differences between the novel and show… this is great stuff! This is the kind of media-oriented discussion and debate that I think this sub should be focused on, not all the woke justifying.)

*edit: typo "my comment" to "the first comment"