#dew the movie meta

[waitmyturtles]

Turtles Catches Up With Old GMMTV: Dew the Movie Edition

[What’s going on here? After joining Tumblr and discovering Thai BLs through KinnPorsche in 2022, I began watching GMMTV’s new offerings -- and realized that I had a lot of history to catch up on, to appreciate the more recent works that I was delving into. From tropes to BL frameworks, what we’re watching now hails from somewhere, and I’m learning about Thai BL's history through what I’m calling the Old GMMTV Challenge (OGMMTVC). Starting with recommendations from @absolutebl on their post regarding how GMMTV is correcting for its mistakes with its shows today, I’ve made an expansive list to get me through a condensed history of essential/classic/significant Thai BLs produced by GMMTV and many other BL studios. My watchlist, pasted below, lists what I’ve watched and what’s upcoming, along with the reviews I’ve written so far. Today, I’ll cover Dew the Movie, screenwritten and directed by the seminal Thai BL artist, Ma-Deaw Chookiat, and starring Ohm Pawat and Nont Sadanont.]

Before I get started, I want to note that I’m publishing this review out of chronological order from the list: I owe you all a review of 3 Will Be Free, which will drop next week, but I just watched Dew the Movie this week, and felt the strong urge to get out my thoughts sooner rather than later.

Why? 

I have had a number of quick conversations about Dew the Movie with some of the around-the-block mentors on Tumblr, particularly with @absolutebl Sensei, who very kindly answered my question last week about where Dew stands by way of the trajectory of BL in Thailand (and just to note, as ABL Sensei says in their answer: Dew is most definitely NOT a BL, but an important piece of queer media to consider for the BL-driven OGMMTVC). 

The (small sample size) majority of people I’ve spoken to about Dew have actually not seen it, which is utterly understandable from the perspective of the tragic circumstances of the film. 

When I first planned on watching it, I put a caveat note on the OGMMTVC list on my blog’s pinned post that Dew wasn’t an official part of the Challenge. I change my tune on this: I would argue, at least from my perspective, that it was a *must for me* to watch.

Again, why? 

As ABL Sensei writes, Dew fits into a stage-checklist mold of queer cinema, where, at the time of its release, it potentially NEEDED to check off certain boxes in order to get produced. It very well may have NEEDED a tragic end (arguably, multiple tragic ends) to get made. It may have NEEDED to kill off a gay character (arguably, multiple gay characters) to be ripe for consumption by a wider audience. It may have NEEDED some amount of equivocating about those deaths within the art itself.

I was aware of this when I was watching Dew, aware of watching Brokeback Mountain again, aware of death and disappearance and erasure.

What I didn’t expect from Dew, possibly as strong a punch in the gut as the impact of the death(s) themselves, was how Asian the movie was.

This sounds silly, coming from an Asian-American towards a Thai movie made in Thailand, about Thai young men, as based on an original story from South Korea. But having visited Malaysia, one of my home countries, a whole bunch in the 1990s, at the same time when half of this film was situated -- I was absolutely struck by how the film did not shy away from the Asian experience of discrimination and the destruction of Asian family systems by way of homophobia and other explicit biases throughout the film.

The depictions of homophobia and discrimination in Dew were so raw that I caught myself actually gasping-crying at certain points. Before I get there, let me offer a quick summary of the film, since I believe not very many people have seen this:

Dew and Phop are two high school classmates in the late 1990s, in an extremely rural town called Pang Noi, adjacent to Chiang Rai. As the wonderful @shortpplfedup kindly noted for me, the timing of Dew and Phop’s engagement took place right before the onset of the 1997 Asian financial crisis that first emanated out of Thailand, and was also set as military dictatorships had given way to democracy in Thailand. 

In their rural town, young men who are either out or presumed to be gay are sent to training camps. Accusations about the spread of AIDS are made vis à vis the LGBTQ+ population. Students who are out are rejected at school and in their homes. 

I’ve written previously about how certain BLs, mainly in the MAME realm (Love By Chance and TharnType), have touched upon a kind of bigotry and bias that I have described as being particularly Asian in nature, reflective, word-for-word, of the kind discriminatory language and ideas that I was exposed to as a kid from my Asian parents. 

To see that kind of discrimination and homophobia orchestrated on a community-based level -- in Dew and Phop’s school, when children are rounded up by teachers and soldiers to be sent to a training camp -- was brutal to watch.

It immediately introduced a level of dystopia to the entire film. And I ended up appreciating that the film went that far, so immediately at the beginning of the film, after we had seen an otherwise happy-go-lucky young man in Dew beginning to engage with Phop. 

We needed that element of dystopia to kick off the film, because: Dew faces rejection from his school and, potentially, from his single mother, to be an out and gay young man in Pang Noi.

More brutally, arguably, is the rejection of Phop from his EXTREMELY patriarchal Thai-Chinese family, led by an almost despotic father, who is ready to take down his son at a moment’s notice, with a helpless mother present as Phop is progressively rejected by his father, his brothers, and the patriarchal family system that keeps that family together. (@shortpplfedup, as I wrote to you, this was Double Savage x 10, maybe x 100.) 

The reason why I liked the juxtaposition of the community-level discrimination vs. the micro, family-level discrimination is that both experiences of this kind of discrimination are dystopic. As humans, as mammals: we crave community, family, and companionship. 

To be rejected by your community is unnatural. To be rejected by your FAMILY is unnatural.

This is not a message that’s limited to Asian media or Asian cultures -- this exact kind of discrimination flourishes in America and elsewhere, including conversion therapy (Dew reveals that his own mother sent him to behavioral therapy). In rural Thailand, this kind of existence... simply cannot exist. That’s dystopic to queerness, to the LGBTQ+ community.

I brought up Malaysia earlier to make a quick mindset comparison. Around the time of the setting of Dew and Phop’s high school days, I remember hearing on Malaysian radio, riding in a car with my family, that the singer Sting (STING, y’all -- vanilla STING) had been banned from performing in Malaysia for his music being “too rhythmic.” 

Malaysia, unlike Thailand, is an Islamic nation. But borders are only lines on a map, and as I’ve spoken at length with the amazing @telomeke about, the cultural flow between the countries is strong and present. It doesn’t surprise me, therefore, that rural Thai towns WOULD engage in this HIGH LEVEL of discrimination and exclusion, as unbelievable as it might seem to Westerns not familiar with either Asian or Western styles of dystopic discrimination, as I’m calling it here.

To try to survive: Phop runs away to Bangkok. And begs Dew to come with him. And Dew dies in the process.

Phop lives. He becomes an adult, a middling adult, with only middling success in his life. After a life in Bangkok, he moves back to Pang Noi, broke, married, reminiscing about Dew.

And he discovers, after becoming a homeroom teacher, that Dew has been reincarnated in the body of a young female student. (This is one of a few times that ideas of ghosts, spirits, the reborn, and the reincarnated are introduced in queer Thai media in 2019, along with Until We Meet Again and He’s Coming To Me.)

We then get the presence of an actual controversial filmmaking trope in age gap, between a young student and an older teacher. Age gap is certainly a present trope in BLs, past and present. 

In lightly peeping the MDL reviews for Dew, I saw quite a bit of consternation about this age gap, and honestly, as a mom, I certainly felt the wibbles as well. But I thought it was an interesting filmmaking device to use, in putting Dew’s spirit in the body of a young student.

Because -- of course -- this inclusion forces us viewers to confront OUR OWN BIASES. Besides the community-level and micro/family-level discrimination we see in the film, we’re also forced to truly dig into what we, as viewers, are biased against. AND, the film very much digs into the controversial nature of teacher-student relationships as well, and Phop is condemned for his closeness with the reincarnated Dew through the student, Liu, wonderfully acted by Pahn Riety of 10 Years Ticket. 

This film is fucking brutal. But the fact that it forces us to CONFRONT OUR BIASES, on so many levels -- it does a wonderful job at that. 

To the end. To the end of the loss of Phop and Liu, so that Phop and Dew can be together in the afterlife. 

The film leans on Thai-Chinese Buddhism in the second half, again, so reminiscent of He’s Coming To Me, leading to ANOTHER non-happy ending that brings two people together in unideal circumstances. Phop and Dew’s spirits will be together, not in this world, but where, exactly? Certainly not in the world of 1990s rural Thailand, a world that wanted them extinct. 

When I say that this film is rooted in its Asianness, I really mean it. I think one needs to have an appreciation for how these themes tie together -- the community-level discrimination, how general sexuality and queerness were treated with such a hands-off/ignoring approach in the SEA region in the 1990s, and why Thai-Chinese Buddhism was chosen as a means of bringing Phop and Dew back together, just like Thun and Med in HCTM. There is an acknowledgement by the Asian filmmakers of these pieces that queerness was brutally unacceptable during these times in Thailand and elsewhere, and these pieces do not shy away from that reality. 

I’m tremendously glad I watched this. I feel like crying right now while watching this, but I’m really glad, as someone with SEA roots, to have watched this, and to have seen discrimination at that level that I have seen previously, and to know it exists. If one takes up the OGMMTVC and feels like they can’t watch this, I can totally understand. But I think Dew the Movie is a tremendous gateway -- as He’s Coming To Me was -- to a very particular Asian mindset around collectivist living that does not jive with individual expressions of sexuality and queer acceptance. 

Those realities are brutal -- I hate thinking about them, I HATE IT. The acceptance gateway that I have discovered vis à vis Thai QLs is a salve to my soul that was subjected to HEINOUS discrimination against ANYONE deemed different from my Indian culture growing up. But that discrimination was also VERY REAL. I’ve broken out of being exposed to it, and I’ve tried to become the best ally I can be. But the acknowledgement, through art, that that level of discrimination can exist, in my Asian cultures, is also a reality that I have a responsibility, as an ally of Asian descent, to reckon with. 

(A quick side-note. Once more: Ohm Pawat shines. This man is a CIPHER of queer pain and queer joy. The acting, directing, and cinematography of this film was stunning. Two hours went by in a flash. If you avoid for the content, that makes sense, but if you’re a film buff, you may enjoy this film just for the devotion it pays to rural Thailand and the spectacular expanses that it captures.)

[Yow. My heart is aching, not just for Dew the Movie, but I’m also recovering from a crazy week of Step By Step, HA. 

But anyway: my review of 3 Will Be Free will be up early next week. WHAT A GODDAMN AMAZING SHOW! The OGMMTVC is definitely ruining me for great content, up against what I’m watching that’s airing now (....side-eyes to SBS, hmph). 

And: I’m digging into Until We Meet Again. IT’S FABULOUS SO FAR. Come AWN, Fluke and all of ‘em! I’m traveling for the holiday next week, but hopefully my watch schedule won’t get too messed up. But with this review of Dew and 3WBF next week, I’m holding all y’all down if you’re looking forward to these reviews!

Here’s the status of the watchlist. As ever, I’ll take any feedback ya got!

1) Love Sick and Love Sick 2 (2014 and 2015) (review here) 2) Make It Right (2016) (review here) 3) SOTUS (2016-2017) (review here) 4) Make It Right 2 (2017) (review here) 5) Together With Me (2017) (review here) 6) SOTUS S/Our Skyy x SOTUS (2017-2018) (review here) 7) Love By Chance (2018) (review here) 8) Kiss Me Again: PeteKao cuts (2018) (no review) 9) He’s Coming To Me (2019) (review here) 10) Dark Blue Kiss (2019) and Our Skyy x Kiss Me Again (2018) (review here) 11) TharnType (2019-2020) (review here) 12) Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey (BL cuts) (2016 and 2017) (I’m watching this out of order just to get familiar with OffGun before Theory of Love -- will likely not review) 13) Theory of Love (2019) (review here) 14) 3 Will Be Free (2019) (not a BL or an official part of the OGMMTVC watchlist, but an important harbinger of things to come in 2019 and beyond re: Jojo Tichakorn pushing queer content in non-BLs) (review coming) 15) Dew the Movie (2019) 16) Until We Meet Again (2019-2020) (watching) 17) 2gether (2020) 18) Still 2gether (2020) 19) I Told Sunset About You (2020) 20) YYY (2020, out of chronological order) 21) Manner of Death (2020-2021) (not a true BL, but a MaxTul queer/gay romance set within a genre-based show that likely influenced Not Me and KinnPorsche) 22) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) (review here) 23) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake Of Rewatching Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS 24) Lovely Writer (2021) 25) Last Twilight in Phuket (2021) (the mini-special before IPYTM) 26) I Promised You the Moon (2021) 27) Not Me (2021-2022) 28) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) (thesis here) 29) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) and Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (2023) OGMMTVC Rewatch 30) Secret Crush On You (2022) [watching for Cheewin’s trajectory of studying queer joy from Make It Right (high school), to SCOY (college), to Bed Friend (working adults)] 31) KinnPorsche (2022) (tag here) 32) KinnPorsche (2022) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake of Re-Analyzing the KP Cultural Zeitgeist 33) The Eclipse (2022) (tag here) 34) GAP (2022-2023) (Thailand’s first GL) 35) My School President (2022-2023) and Our Skyy 2 x My School President (2023) 36) Moonlight Chicken (2023) (tag here) 37) Bed Friend (2023) (tag here) (Cheewin’s latest show, depicting a queer joy journey among working adults)]

[lt-kaollumn]

more alien fashion- this time, from my original planet Kha-El (or Kha II, of the Kha system). modeling is my character Yuros, a member of the dominant species.

Members of this race experience the change in seasons through the changing of their own skin and hair. Over the course of a local planetary year (over twice as long as terran years), they shift from the lightest shade on the left, to the darkest on the right, and back again. For some kha-elians the process can be quite grueling at times, as more rapid shifts in color may result in heavy shedding or molting.

The rest of the planet shifts color, too. Everything from the flora and fauna, to the dirt, sands & muds they walk on will shift color as the weather changes, thoroughly embedding color into their culture.

The most popular fashion on kha-el usually involves some kind of iridescent or otherwise color-shifting fabric (see image). Solid color, with no texture, sheen, or shifting property, is often seen as quite sterile.

This proud race of people has a rich history of vibrant colors and powerful emotions. Like many races, they were once far more militaristic and conflict-driven. Since their warlike days, they’ve evolved to value personal dignity, respect for others & healthy competition.

Socially, it’s popular to bond over small tests of skill, wit, dignity, and endurance. In some occasions, simply entering one’s space can be considered a challenge- and will surely be met with enthusiasm. It’s equally popular for people to take bets on these contests, therein participating in the bonding themselves.

This combination of a violent past and a modern culture of respectful competition are reflected in their high fashion today- with many garbs and gowns including a built-in personal-space-bubble. They serve as both a proud statement of boundaries, encouraging respectful distance from others, and as an elegant (if not impractical) accessory.

i have much more to say about this race- particularly in their anatomy, skills, and culture. (note to self- expand on how militaristic past reflects in current culture) for now, have this!

in meta, i was inspired a lot by the filaments of flowers like lilies. theyre so bold and dramatic and alien, but dainty and elegant all the same.

the floral inspirations are pretty obvious in the coloring of the first one, what with it looking like pale petals.

the coloring of the second one was inspired by that swampy rain color, and the pattern by drops of dew on spiderwebs.

third one was inspired by…. the epic movie from 2013. and also the cups they serve moscow mules in. they can’t all be insightful, i guess.

[cosmicellis]

My homie challanged me with Yuma in Character ask game. The ultimate ADHD child

My first impression of them  -That he was one weird looking boi even by yu-gi-oh standarts. Not to mention, at first he gave me strong “lol randumb” energy

When I think I truly started to like them  -Through the seson progression the antics and very lively attitude kinda got to me. Plus I do dig characters with positive attitude and being a bit... dim XD 

A song that reminds me of them - Fall Out Boy - The Last Of The Real Ones

How many people I ship them with -Canon: Astral, Mist... sometimes Shark -OC... Machi >u>

My favorite ship of them -I like Keyshipping, but I’m weak for Tentacle\lockship even if I can never make it healthy :v I like keyshipping because it feels like had the most development and it feels like these worked out their relationship from hating each other to sacrificing their faces for each other Lockship... Sometimes my inner sadist is whispering: yeee, make everyone suffer in this relationship, dew it

My least favorite ship of them -Skyship. No hate on this ship, nor on Tori, I always had a personal dislike towards “childhood friend” stuff

A quote of them that you remember -Aside from Kattobingu is a very cute “Ye” he did in the manga in a very beggingng, when Tetsuo said :You can also put spells face down

Your favorite outfit of them -His school uniform is a chef kiss

Your least favorite outfit of them -That fancy official one. Not my aesthetic choice...

Describe the character in one sentence -WILD

What’s the first thing you think about when thinking about the character? -Explosive positivity and hunger...FOR everything

Sexuality hc! -Uh I guess Yuma, as a true golden retriver, loves everyone

Your favorite friendship they have -With Shark. Because only Yuma can annoy somebody enough to become friends with them (Manga including)

Best storyline they had -The plot with him going to Astral world was pretty narly

Worst storyline they had -Barrian onslught. I can only take so much of Yuma crying and being sad

A childhood headcanon -He seemed to be pretty normal, until his dad decided to invite him into a cult of Kattobingu

What do you think their first word was? -I say “mom”, cause it feels like she was around him more when he was smaller (You know, work and all)

How do you think they were as a kid? (Like, were they shy, noisy, wild, etc) -I believe he was norm, up until certain point. He would like something, loose interest, get sad, get happy, but then... The key happened (when his dad gave it to him) and he decided to exclude “giving up” out of his vocabulary

The most random ship you've seen people have with them -You can’t surprise me. He was shipped with everyone under the sun

A weird headcanon -Yuma can cook pretty good, he’s just lazy

When do you think they were at their happiest? -I feel like when he reunited with Astral.

When do you think they were at their lowest? -Uh yes, 3 episodes of depression when Astral died

Future headcanon -He will become a Duel champion, but then quit, because of constantly changing meta and the fact that you can’t play your favorite deck forever. Power creeping and exploits would be just an end of fun

What do you think is a secret they have that they never told anyone? -That in the beggning he felt lonely, even with friends around (But then Astral canceled his personal space and Me time)

When do you think they acted the most ooc -Yuma is a wild-child. Whatever he does can be explained with “He felt that way” cause that’s how he operates. He just feels that he had to do it... das it solid logic

When do you think they were being "themselves" the most? -When he was trying to save vector from Don Thousand. Cause he clings to his friends like a gum to hair

If they could meet a character from another show/movie/etc, who would be the most fun for them to meet? -I’ll be boring here and say Yusei

The most unnecessary thing they ever did? -Trusting Vector. I know Yuma trust people like Tokonoske, but with Victor it felt bit much, but that’s my perspective

How do you think they would be as a parent? (and if they are a parent, how do you think they would be if they weren't?) -Probably would try mimicking his dad

The funniest scene they had? -There are too many. But the one I like is where he has conversation with Astral about takoyaki and it perfectly represents how my two last braincells work. Source: https://www.tumblr.com/ask-games-from-a-weird-girl/673569359300640768/character-ask-game

[saintkeaton]

L u n a t i c H e r o 💀

(overstimulated)

we really are just one big organism 

my kids & me & the cats & the trees

there’s very few rules to follow

it only looks like a million paths 



but it’s one big road man 

& there’s no yesterday & there’s no tomorrow 

in the present moment with Alan Watts 

what a lunatic hero 

read a few Kerouac books & now I think I’m a scholar

thank Christ for another lazy Sunday 

I’m nervous & have the typewriter blues 

can you run out of things to say? 

I’m thinking maybe you can’t 

now there’s splinters in my feet 

& I’m looking through the neighbors window 

borderline copyright infringement 

daydreams of a bear in a 10 gallon hat 

my mind goes to goofy places 

looking through old vacation photos 

that early 90s brown filter 

feeling mortal & aged in my skin 

placing sentence over sentence 

in an attempt to clean house 

in an attempt to stay alive 

the cars drive too fast on this road 

nightmare thoughts of Pet Sematary 

I remember every movie I’ve ever seen 

wrote them all down in a list 

you don’t need a rhyme or reason 

freedom is the key component here 

could go on for days in the same fashion

as my mind turns like a wheel 

a broken splintery wheel mind you 

my sons plastic sword lay in the yard 

& 100 cans of cat food 

& the homemade wreath my mother made 

how do you stop thinking about death? 

how do you pretend life is normal? 

there’s nothing here but the ticking clock 

a few game shows to watch 

the beer & weed always run out 

& you’re secretly mad at me

as I dump my thoughts on Tumblr like a therapist 

a blind injection of no love 

maybe this will get a few likes & keep me hanging on 

I’m thinking of a new poem 

called “JESUS IN THE TRASH CAN”

& she promised to make breakfast this morning 

I smell no bacon cooking 

& there’s nothing wrong with how I feel 

I got too stoned______early in the day 

now it’s the motor mind salsa 

& I probably don’t need this hoodie anymore 

& I feel like jerking off 

all the trash is piled up in the spare room 

& the cats ate some raw chicken 

people keep recommending that I read Dostoyevsky 

man, I’m reading the Goosebumps books 

I’m reading the backs of cereal boxes 

my brain has stopped developing 

my brain is set in concrete 

just one big organism really 

time time time time 

glorious feelings

knowing there’s nothing to do today

I crave boredom 

I crave numbness 

so sick of the ultra meta-thinking 

folding the universe into a cube 

don’t be so depressing dude 

there’ll always be forest fires and mud floods & bullshit to watch on TV 

having entertainment is not the problem 

overstimulation to the fucking max 

so I return to my throne of shame

poisoning my soul through my eyes

my heart beating out my chest

my god! I can’t even make it one day

most of what I feel happens on accident

tired of the human race  

tired of the rat race 

but I really shouldn’t be complaining 

there’s breath in my lungs 

(choked out cigarette lungs)

it doesn’t matter what medium I have to use

I’ll get my point across one way or the other 

my own little psychological torment 

alpha beta delta gamma sigma omega 

what hides outside the spectrum for us? 

what curses have we not uncovered? 

I bet your mommy still gives you milk money 

I bet your mommy still tells you “good night”

I bet your mommy still loves your daddy

fuck all the rules that you think are rules 

& lay out the mind dump 

in an orderly fashion of course 

I bet your mommy follows the rules

for most of my life, I didn’t apply myself. the kid sitting in the back of the classroom, trying not to fall asleep. I couldn’t comprehend math, but I could fill a sketchbook up in a couple of days.

I never drink water

I only drink Mountain Dew 



I’m going to write a bunch of poems & bury them under the house 

I’m gonna turn myself into a lunatic hero for nobody 

eyelids keep closing

losing my consciousness 

in full bloom of 10,000 onlookers

& a bathtub full of nickels & dimes

I’m burnt out

I’m landing the plane

still, just one organism sitting here, waiting on breakfast 

10/29/2023 1:29 pm

————————————



[masterserris]

lmao just beat a guy in ranked double battles in scarlet and his team was flutter mane, iron hands, roaring moon, and amoongus. fuckin meta'd out team and i wiped the floor with him lmao

by meta'd out i mean everyone EVERYONE uses these pokemon and they are broken good. like click button and win good type of thing.

me and my dusknoir, milotic, scizor, and krookodile outta left field beware hehe

---------------------

dusknoir set: min speed, max sp def. holding safety goggles

ability: frisk (shows me enemy items when switched in)

tera: electric

moves: ice punch, trickroom, shadow sneak, will-o-wisp

(trickroom reverses the speed of pokemon, so slow pokemon move first for 5 turns. shadow sneak always goes first. will-o-wisp burns opponents and halves their attack too)

---------------------

milotic: min speed, max sp atk holding flame orb

ability: marvel scale (buffs def when under a status (burn) without hurting my fire power since burns half your attack. milotic uses only special attack.)

tera: dragon

moves: life dew, coil, hydro pump, dragon pulse (could be switched for ice beam or moonblast)

(life dew offsets damage from burns and attacks and is a tank with coil as well to boost accuracy and defense for hydro pump to never miss)

----------------------

scizor: min sp atk, max atk, holding clear amulet

ability: technician (boosts power of "weak" moves. moves under 60 base power)

tera: dragon (wanna switch for flying maybe i need more tera shards)

moves: swords dance, bullet punch, bug bite, aerial ace

(swords dance is a 2x attack buff, bullet punch always goes first, bug bite, bullet punch, and aerial ace are "weak moves" so they actually get a power buff from technician ability. bug bite can also eat an opponents berry if they are holding it. aerial ace never misses. on top of all that, clear amulet means its stats can't be lowered. so as long as it stays in battle, it can keep all of its attack boosts)

----------------------

krookodile: min sp atk, max atk holding covert cloak

ability: intimidate (attack debuff on opponents when switched in. stacks.)

tera: ice (wanna switch it for fairy or smth i need more tera shards)

moves: protect, stone edge, crunch, high horsepower

(nothing to say, coverage moves with a lot of power and protect for defense. covert cloak protects it from the additional effects of moves. like debuffs or statuses)

-----------------

bonus pokemon in my team that i didnt use that time:

dragonite: min sp atk, max atk holding bright powder

ability: multiscale (first attack taken does less damage than normal)

tera: water

moves: outrage, dragon dance, aerial ace, extreme speed

(dragon dance to boost speed and attack, extreme speed always goes first, aerial ace for flying coverage and never misses. outrage just hits like a truck. bright powder means that moves have a chance of missing dragonite. even if they are normally 100% accurate)

------------------

gastrodon: min speed, max sp atk holding leftovers

ability: storm drain (draws in all water moves and heals from it)

tera: water (wanna change it for grass tera)

moves: earth power, protect, ancient power, ice beam

(coverage hard hitting movies. heals every turn with leftovers. protect for defense and extra healing from leftovers)

------------------------------------------

i wanted to make a "non-meta game" team with solid pokemon with no legendary or paradox pokemon and it's a solid team!

weak to grass and ice, but that is where steel and flying moves come in and water types.

fairy is also a bit of an issue but bullet punch and tera changing dragonite and krookodile can save them

no issue with fire types or electric. i have coverage and defensive options. same with ground type. and fighting. the bases are mostly covered.

[jphagger]

Cross Country Trip Entry #3

On Thursday I woke up from the stale air of the canopy and a thin film of sweat from the hot surroundings. My side was apparently the eastern end of the Walmart parking lot, and a hand to the canvas confirmed it by the heat. The roof was cool from the evaporating dew and Jeffrey lay awake next to me browsing the internet on his phone. We packed up our small camp quicker than the morning prior and headed to Cuyahoga Valley National park.

Jeffrey looked up a few trails on the way over and we decided on a waterfall hike that was 8 miles long and promised views of three different falls. We had a quick breakfast of frosted mini wheats and packed a pair of granola bars each, somewhat stoked at the idea of being out on the trail before 10AM. 

The hike was interesting, winding through unmarked trails along a river and delivering on the promise of waterfalls, though it was made slightly less serene than a similar New York scene by the emanating, inescapable sounds of Interstate 80 the whole way. We passed a “ski slope” that couldn’t have been more than 300 feet of downhill and cracked quite a few “what’s there to do in Ohio? Nothing.” jokes. These were later confirmed by a handful of people that happen to be from Ohio without much prompting. 

After our first hike, which was assisted by a very nice park ranger that provided us with paper trail maps, we drove to another section of the park called The Ledges for lunch. Jeffrey boiled 4 perfect hardboiled eggs and we threw together an avocado, bean, egg, and Rotel spicy tomato salad with toast. Road food thus far has been both healthy and delicious. 

I was enjoying the sunny day and the quiet rustling of the wind through the trees when an inconspicuous black SUV pulled into the shady spot next to our truck and idled for a few minutes. After a few more minutes of idling and then two levels of fan blowing stepped-up noise I decided to politely ask the driver if they would mind opening their windows rather than using the A/C. Jeffrey was worried (and so was I, really) that I wouldn’t handle the situation properly, but after a bit of thought I approached him and we had a very pleasant conversation. 

We sat for a few more minutes and I jotted down some of the key points of the day for later before embarking on the short Ledges hike. It turned out to be more beautiful than I had expected from the pictures posted in the trail reviews. We certainly are spoiled in that regard- being able to look at reviews for hiking trails... Along the way we scrambled on rocks and looked at the cool sandstone pockets in the boulders.

An older couple was walking in front of us and as we passed them we made small talk. The man ended up being from the Stony Brook area and they were on a trip visiting three more national parks out of their current 42. We talked about Acadia and traveling through Utah and they recommended parks to see; the woman said her favorite so far was actually Acadia. At the overlook part of the trail I found it amusing that they seemed just as unimpressed as we were by the fairly normal landscape view of green trees and high tension wires coupled, of course, by Interstate music. 

We meandered back to the car and started the drive to Brendan’s house in Michigan, stopping almost as quickly at the sight of a climbing gym and outdoor store pair on the route. The gear in stock was beautiful, but also highly priced so I stuck with just getting a chalk refill and some nice conversation with the cashier. 

On the highway Jeffrey browsed the internet for a while and kept us awake with good music. An hour or so in I suggested that we look for odd jobs on Craigslist, sort of as a longshot but also semi seriously. Jeffrey found an Ad by a man named Greg. He was in search of a pair of “street teamers” to promote his new movie, which sported a picture of a crazy looking man dangling two knives, the title Hectic Knife and the description “a crazy new meta comedy parody of comic book movies... all of ‘em!” Jeffrey responded that we were a pair of hip millennials travelling cross country, and that our experience posting “Lost dog” posters and interacting with people along our travels surely qualified us to advertise for his event. 

He never texted back.

Further down the road, after a few similar responses, including one to a man looking for furniture to be moved, we focused back on the music. Jeffrey requested that I ask Katie, one of our mutual friends from back home, what that song was with “Peaches” in the title. She didn’t respond quickly enough, so we spent the next hour listening to every song on spotify with the word peaches in it. 

At Brendan’s house we were greeted by a familiar warm smile and highly infectious laughter. Brendan told us about his job and introduced us to the other interns living in the apartment and we loosely discussed our plans for the next day. Jeffrey received a text back from the guy looking for moving help on craigslist, and we were very excited until the request of a 7AM meeting time. 

We went to sleep fairly early with the 5:45 AM alarm looming in our minds and woke up feeling refreshed and nervously curious about this curious person promising $40 to move furniture. On the drive over we discussed a few things including how much money to leave in our wallets should we be held at gunpoint, how much we were willing to give before going down with the ship (i.e the truck and bikes) and whether or not I had theft insurance on the bikes. The situation came to a climax when a white truck rolled up to the storage unit place we had been told to meet at and a man got out. He was more of a kid, really. At 19, Henry runs his own antique furniture business in Alabama and was genuinely looking for a pair of people to help him move and reorganize the pieces he had collected up in Michigan. It turns out we had been the only people to answer his add as a pair ( I had pushed Jeffrey about this- he wanted to answer for just himself the scoundrel!) and we worked for two hours, getting everything cleaned and reorganized back in his storage unit. Good on his word, Henry gave us our payment and said to let us know if we decide to come back through Alabama on the way back east. You can check out his website at magiccityfinds.com 

We headed back to Brendan’s apartment in no rush, and stopped at AAA to grab some maps of the local area and for the rest of the trip. The receptionist gave us tips about the local nightlife and I took a few maps. Later on, while looking at the maps I noticed a $5.95 price tag on each one... hopefully they’re free for members! Our next stop was home depot to get a spare trailer lock key made and for some scrap wood to use as a shim for the trailer spare holder. The spare was originally under the tongue of the trailer, but all the bumpy roads have been taking a toll on it with small clearance. The wood was easy; Ben helped me out by cutting up a few pieces of spare 2x6′s but the key line was long so we opted for a locksmith after getting groceries. Michael at the grocery store reminded me of Father’s day, so happy Father’s day Dad! Without you there’s no way we would be on the road doing this trip. 

The locksmith was very nice, and after looking at our key and lock for a minute or so and informing us that it was a cheap import and there was no way he could make a key he gave us a free inexpensive padlock. We chatted about motocross for a few minutes and he gave a few tips about local areas to check out before we headed on our way back to Brendan’s. 

At Brendan’s we both enjoyed long hot showers and I had a frosty beverage. Michigan is the first place there seems to be dry apple cider available in stores and it is infinitely more enjoyable than the fake sweetness of standard Angry Orchard and the like. The early morning work had us both pretty sleepy, and it was time to nap for an hour or so. 

There had been limited parking the night before, so we’d pushed a concrete parking barrier out of the way and did a bit of sketchy parking halfway under a carport and half in a patch of grass. We were notified quite effectively by way of a large neon green sticker on my windshield that our parking job was not in fact acceptable, and that my truck would be towed the following day at noon if not moved. 

As I was scraping the stubborn remnants of sticker stickiness off of the windshield a maintenance worker from Brendan’s apartment complex profusely apologized for having to put it there and very nicely told us where we could park to avoid any issues. 

Brendan rolled back into town around 4PM and the three of us decided to have nachos and head to the lake for the evening sunset. Jeffrey semi-pressured us into swimming in the lake, which turned out to be very fun. It was about 2 feet deep for as far out as I dared to go, and we would have kept going if our stuff wasn’t sitting by it’s own on the shore. 

We took the long way home and hung out with a few of Brendan’s coworkers before turning in for the night in the truck. 

[aion-rsa]

Gremlins 3 is Inevitable if HBO Max Series Succeeds, Says Zach Galligan

https://ift.tt/3bi6Xr4

In an age of reboots and long-gestating sequels, Gremlins 3 remains oddly unrealized. While over thirty years have passed since 1990’s celebrated-but-divisive Gremlins 2: The New Batch stumbled at the box office, there’s been no shortage of fruitless teases ever since. Yet, the property still has a pulse, with an HBO Max animated prequel series in the works, and this week saw Zach Galligan reunite with Gizmo for a commercial that might provide the blueprint—story-wise and production-wise—for the threequel, as the star seems to hint.

The Mountain Dew Zero Sugar commercial (seen below), chock-full of franchise-evocative Easter eggs, shows movie protagonist Billy Peltzer (Galligan) hyping the soda before unwisely giving Gizmo a gulp (as if he didn’t know any better), leading to an all-too-familiar population outbreak. Subsequently, his revealed daughter (along with a similarly goth-groomed mohawk Mogwai resting on her shoulder,) reacts with an exasperated sigh. While the clip is hardly canon, Galligan explains to EW how the puppets-teeming commercial might become the template for finally getting Gremlins 3 off the ground.

“These puppets were just as good as the original, if not better, which is funny because that’s the Mountain Dew Zero Sugar tag-line: ‘Just as good as the original,’” explains Galligan. “If Warner Bros. decided to do Gremlins 3, my feeling was that it would be exponentially easier this time around than it was the first time. The first time, if there was a wire or a cable or something [showing] you had to scrap the entire take. Now, if you got a great take with a wire or a cable you just CGI it out. So, my guess is, it would be five to ten times easier to do it than we did [for 1984’s original Gremlins] in ’83.”

While the idea of Gremlins 3 has always been defined by starts and stops, original screenwriter and franchise creator Chris Columbus—who has long-claimed to have written out a script—has always been emphatic that it would utilize puppets and animatronics in lieu of CGI. The commercial clearly stuck to that mandate, providing an organic aesthetic that flows from the films, which Galligan seems to have embraced. Yet, nostalgia aside, the commercial’s utilization of technological advances—specifically, the convenient ability to digitally erase puppet wires—could be the practical-minded motivation that studio Warner Bros. needs to greenlight the threequel, especially given the franchise’s notoriety for being a difficult production, and the industry’s cost-fixated COVID period. This aspect, more than anything else, is the main takeaway from the commercial.

Of course, as mentioned, the once-lucrative Gremlins IP is already getting dusted off from decades of dormancy via HBO Max animated series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, with a 10-episode inaugural season set in the 1920s era Chinese countryside, focusing on a young boy named Sam, who eventually becomes the old man known as Mr. Wing, who fatefully (some might say inexplicably) sold the responsibility-laden Gizmo to Billy’s bumbling father in the first film. Thus, the property is not only being revived (rather than rebooted), but its mythology is actually set to be expanded, which seems to lay further groundwork for a prospective third film; a notion that’s clearly not lost on Galligan, who seems to envision big things for the HBO Max series.

“You just simply have to look at the nature of the way large entertainment corporations deal with franchises and properties over the years and decades,” says Galligan. “It’s not difficult to make an educated guess that the cartoon is a way of seeding the younger generation that’s not aware of it. If it is successful, if it gets like Mandalorian-big, then I think Gremlins 3 is inevitable.”

Read more

Movies

Gremlins 3 Was Almost a Legacy Sequel

By David Crow

Movies

Why Gremlins 2 Is Better Than the Original

By David Crow

Contextually, the original Gremlins earned $153.6 million at the worldwide box office back in 1984, which was one of the most consequential movie years of all time, in which it resided in rarefied air at #3 behind heavy hitters in Ghostbusters (#1), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (#2) and was actually ahead of The Karate Kid (#4). Indeed, each one of this Murderer’s Row quartet of pop culture-permeating properties are quite relevant in 2021, with long-awaited threequel Ghostbusters: Afterlife currently scheduled to hit theaters on Nov. 11, Harrison Ford confirmed to once again don the fedora for a fifth Indiana Jones film, not to mention the ongoing resurgence of The Karate Kid as its continuity continues on acclaimed Netflix series Cobra Kai. Thus, Galligan’s usage of a potent word such as “inevitable” regarding Gremlins 3 seems warranted, especially as the Class of ’84’s top films continue to maintain their pop culture ubiquity.

While the story behind why Gremlins 3 has yet to manifest is long enough unto itself, the initial impediment was the underwhelming performance of 1990’s Gremlins 2: The New Batch, which earned a paltry $41 million in its domestic-only release—a mere fraction of its predecessor. However, the sequel’s financial performance belies its perception with posterity, which has come to embrace the decision—of returning director Joe Dante and screenwriter Charles S. Haas—to ramp up the more madcap, satirical aspects of the original film, which resulted in an artfully over-the-top effort that utilizes consistent meta self-deprecation referencing its own status as a cash grab picture. It was a hilarious film that was too ahead of its time for its own good; an aspect that has lent The New Batch a legendary status of sorts, further contributing to the prospective third film.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Sure, it’s doubtful that the upcoming HBO Max Gremlins animated series will, as Galligan speculates, end up having an impact even close to the level as Disney+ live-action Star Wars series The Mandalorian (Baby Yoda’s Gizmo-evocative status aside), his statement on the purported inevitability of Gremlins 3—even without the cartoon’s success—seems to have razor-sharp teeth akin to the franchise’s chaos-causing green metamorphic monsters.

The post Gremlins 3 is Inevitable if HBO Max Series Succeeds, Says Zach Galligan appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[thedesperatehousehusband]

The Super Bowel

So I had committed to blogging at least once a month and here it is February 8th and this is my first post of year. But, y’all, 2021 has been like a shot out of a cannon. Motherfuckers, January was SOMETHING.ELSE. But I’m not here to talk about that. I’m going to talk about the big deal of February.

THE SUPER BOWL. Or in this instance the Super Bowel (Movement).

The game was a turd. There’s nothing left to say about it. Tom Brady is such a douche nozzle. I cannot deal with him and his mouth kissing monkey business. I was so hoping Patrick Mahomes could pull it off. Because I love Patrick Mahomes. As well as Travis Kelce. He is delish.

Let’s talk pre-game musical stuff. H.E.R did a good job. Subdued until she tore it up on her guitar. I really like her (aka H.E.R.) Now I don’t want to call anyone’s baby ugly but that national anthem was not good. Eric Church and Jasmine Sullivan really lost their way. They lost the melody pretty early on and never got it back. And, let’s be real, it’s a really recognizable melody.

Shifting gears to the halftime show, oof. I give credit to the Weeknd for singing live. We can say that much. He sang live. Unfortunately he did not sing live well or good or even mediocre. Ooooof. I really like the Weeknd and think his songs are great but he is very clearly incredibly enhanced and autotuned. I said very quickly that JLo had nothing to worry about if she was concerned. Her show remains the best in years. And I will NEVER, EVER understand the controversy surrounding that show. People are lunatics.

OK. Let’s talk advertisements. One caveat. We quit watching the game in the 4th quarter because it was so awful so we missed some commercials. My gut tells me that there weren’t amazing spots at the 2:00 minute warning but if I omit your favorite that’s why. Here we go:

·       Old, the new M. Night Shyamalan movie. This looks quite interesting. And it will be available ONLY IN THEATERS so mask up, fuckers.

·       M&Ms. There was Dan Levy, there was mention of “Karen”, there was mansplaining. It was clever and I appreciated it for the cleverness. Who doesn’t like M&Ms?

·       Paramount+ Streaming. Snooki, Christine Baranski, Bryce DeChambeau, some level of animated programming, that judge from All Rise, Cedric the Entertainer, Star Trek: Discovery. Jesus. H. Christ. They crammed it all in there and then some. They promoted this shit FIVE times. They’re going to make this service happen or someone will be killed.

·       The Falcon & the Winter Soldier on Disney+. I’m here for it. I’m into it. Bring it on.

·       Doordash. Combing Sesame Street and Daveed Diggs is a wonderful idea. In my opinion, this was the best spot of the Super Bowl. An appropriate nod to the situation that most restaurants are facing with relevant tie ins to their actual business.

·       The Equalizer. Here comes the Queen. This got four promos. If this fails, someone will lose their job at CBS.

·       Doritos 3D. With Matthew McConaughey in 2D. It was pretty fun for about 10 seconds but it lasted much longer than that. Then it got weird. #flatmatthew. C’mon, part of looking at Matthew is seeing him in 3D.

·       GM Engines? I don’t know what it was truly for? Carbon neutral cars? Engines? That’s the sad thing. The good thing it was really funny. Will Ferrell. You just can’t go wrong. Then you throw in Kenan Thompson and Awkwafina and you basically have gold. But I still don’t know what the hell the spot was for.

·       Pringles and astronauts. I didn’t get it.

·       Bud Light. Legends and then also Post Malone. Silly.

·       Chipotle. For Real. So stupid and heavy handed. No one needs that kind of message from fast casual burritos.

·       Clarice. CBS wants this to happen but not as much as they want The Equalizer to happen. Who is the actress impersonating Jodie Foster?

·       Mountain Dew with John Cena. I don’t know what the flavor was. I don’t what the spot was about. I don’t care. Mountain Dew is diabetes in a bottle.

·       Which plays nicely into Dexcom. Now that’s how you use a celebrity. Nick Jonas is a Type 1 diabetic. He’s credible. He’s appropriately aspirational. Smart.

·       Indeed. This had something to do with jobs. Getting a job? Job postings? I don’t know. It was too much and I hated it.

·       State Farm. Oooh. This was funny. “Stand ins don’t talk”. That’s what Jake said to Drake. Paul Rudd as Patrick Mahomes? Yes, please. More of this. I love that Drake was even willing to do this. I suppose he got a million bucks. That’ll do it.

·       Bud Light Seltzer Lemonade. Lemon of the year. Making lemons with lemonade. Or lemonade seltzer. How can there be that many hard seltzers?

·       Scot’s Lawn Care. It was bad.

·       Skechers with Tony Romo. Enough said. Tony Romo, while looking real good, is just kind of grating.

·       WeatherTech. My goodness. This was intense. It was a Benetton ad for all-weather car mats. We get it. Diversity.

·       Rocket Mortgage. This was very close to my favorite. Both executions were very funny. You don’t want to be “pretty sure” about your mortgage. Tracy Morgan was the right person for this. It wasn’t smarmy at all. It could have been. It was just the right tone and the other actors were very funny.

·       Oatly. Wow, no cow. Wow, hot mess.

·       Toyota with Jessica Long. Now THAT’S how you do an Olympic spot. Love, love, love.

·       eTrade. You are NOT the best around despite the throwback soundtrack. Terrible.

·       Hellmann’s with Amy Schumer. This was very clever. Use up the stuff in your fridge by sprucing it up with mayo.

·       TurboTax. So awful.

·       Mercari. What is this? I still don’t know and I even Googled it. I’m unclear. I think it’s an online market of some kind. But for what? Angel dust? Pastries? Tires? It could be anything.

·       Tide. It’s dirtier than it looks but also with Jason Alexander. That tween doesn’t know who Jason Alexander is, does he? I dunno. It was fine.

·       Dr. Squatch. What the fuck is this brand or product?

·       Vroom.com. Why?

·       Jimmy John’s. Does Jimmy John’s have Super Bowl money and enough to pay for Brad Garrett? I guess they think they do.

·       T Mobile with Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani and Adam Levine. This was likely a little meta and you have to understand the history to think it’s funny but I enjoyed it. There was also a LOT of mention of 5G or similar during this particular Super Bowl.

·       Because the next spot was AT&T Fiber with Frodo and a bunch of LOTR superfans. Meh.

·       Fiverr. What in the ever loving fuck?

·       Coming 2 America. Yaaaas. I’m here for this movie.

·       Cheeto’s with Shaggy, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher. We get it. Cheeto’s make your fingers orange. I’m over it.

·       Squarespace. Working 5 to 9. I don’t get it. Were you working 9 to 5 and then a side hustle from 5 to 9. Areyou working 5:00 AM to 9:0 PM?

·       Cadillac Lyriq. I wanted to like this but it just got so stupid.

·       Anheuser-Busch. This was overwrought.

·       Jeep. But THIS was really overwrought. I’m in the minority on this one. I think lots of people were very moved by this. I thought it was too much and, dammit, if I’m going to watch Bruce for 60 seconds, he had best to sing.

·       Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer. I can’t with all these fucking seltzers.

·       Klarna. What in the ever loving fuck is this product or service? I still don’t know.

·       Bass Pro Shop/Cabela’s. Calm down.

·       Robinhood. What is this company? What do they sell? Terrible.

·       Alexa as Michael B. Jordan. The joke ran out of steam. This would be better as a :30 as opposed to a :60.

·       Guaranteed Rate Mortgage. Believe you will or some shit? Whatever.

Hey, at least there was a Super Bowl. That’s the win. May Tom Brady get quinoa stuck in his colon and be unable to poop it out next year. That’s my fervent hope.

[waitmyturtles]

The Old GMMTV Challenge: The Master Post and Explainer

Updated: August 23, 2024

Hello! Welcome to The Old GMMTV Challenge (OGMMTVC), my personal syllabus and journey through the most important, and/or impactful, and/or seminal of Boys Love (BL)/Series Y dramas from Thailand.

I started watching Thai BL series in 2022 with the airing of KinnPorsche. From there, I dallied with shows that were referenced across Tumblr -- but I didn't dig into learning about the genre as a whole until I watched 2021-22's Bad Buddy, and was thoroughly moved by it in countless ways.

I subsequently learned that Bad Buddy was, in large part, constructed to communicate with tropes and expectations established previously by the genre. In order to get to a point where I could appreciate Bad Buddy in all of its historic glory, I therefore decided to start from the top -- to watch Thai BLs in chronological order so as to help me better understand the tentacles of this young genre. I was also impacted by a post from a BL Tumblr lifer, @absolutebl, who talked in 2022 about current shows by the GMMTV network, the biggest producer of BL dramas in Thailand, that were answering for mistakes made in the early Thai BL days.

Bad Buddy is a GMMTV show -- but in order to learn fully about the genre, I've created a syllabus of shows and movies that spans well outside the GMMTV network and sphere of influence. In the spring of 2023, I crowdsourced information about Thai BLs from the INCREDIBLE BL community on Tumblr, and came up with the syllabus below.

This syllabus is ever changing, especially as this young genre (which was arguably born in 2014 with the airing of Love Sick) continues to explore itself outside of its male-and-male romance genre boundaries, by centering women and/or non-binary individuals, and even leaving romance behind for horror, suspense, mystery, crime, and more.

Besides watching dramas on this syllabus, I'm also in the process of reading English-language books and articles about the Thai BL genre and its influences in Thailand and across Asia on queer and non-queer communities, as well as on the most marketed-to BL audience in young women. Links to reading materials are below the syllabus.

If you're looking to learn more about BL, this is but one resource to use. There's an incredible community of bloggers here with vastly more knowledge than me about the history of this genre. This is only my path, and I encourage you to explore the corners of Tumblr to create your own Thai BL journey!

The Drama Syllabus and Review/Meta Links

1) The Love of Siam (2007) (movie) (review here) 2) My Bromance (2014) (movie) (review here) 3) Love Sick and Love Sick 2 (2014 and 2015) (review here) 4) Gay OK Bangkok Season 1 (2016) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 5) Make It Right (2016) (review here) 6) SOTUS (2016-2017) (review here) 7) Gay OK Bangkok Season 2 (2017) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 8) Make It Right 2 (2017) (review here) 9) Together With Me (2017) (review here) 10) SOTUS S/Our Skyy x SOTUS (2017-2018) (review here) 11) Love By Chance (2018) (review here) 12) Kiss Me Again: PeteKao cuts (2018) (no review) 13) He’s Coming To Me (2019) (review here) 14) Dark Blue Kiss (2019) and Our Skyy x Kiss Me Again (2018) (review here) 15) TharnType (2019-2020) (review here) 16) Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey (OffGun BL cuts) (2016 and 2017) (no review) 17) Theory of Love (2019) (review here) 18) 3 Will Be Free (2019) (a non-BL and an important harbinger of things to come in 2019 and beyond re: Jojo Tichakorn pushing queer content in non-BLs) (review here) 19) Dew the Movie (2019) (review here) 20) Until We Meet Again (2019-2020) (review here) (and notes on my UWMA rewatch here)

21) 2gether (2020) and Still 2gether (2020) (review here) 22) I Told Sunset About You (2020) (review here) 23) YYY (2020, out of chronological order) (review here) 24) Manner of Death (2020-2021) (review here) 25) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) (review here) 26) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake Of Rewatching Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (re-review here) 27) Lovely Writer (2021) (review here) 28) Last Twilight in Phuket (2021) (the mini-special before IPYTM) (review here) 29) I Promised You the Moon (2021) (review here) 30) Not Me (2021-2022) (review here)

31) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) (thesis here) 32) 55:15 Never Too Late (2021-2022) (not a BL, but a GMMTV drama that features a macro BL storyline about shipper culture and the BL industry) (review here) 33) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) and Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (2023) OGMMTVC Rewatch (Links to the BBS OGMMTVC Meta Series are here: preamble here, part 1, part 2, part 3a, part 3b, and part 4) 34) Secret Crush On You (2022) (review here) 35) The Miracle of Teddy Bear (2022) (watching) 36) KinnPorsche (2022) (tag here)  37) KinnPorsche (2022) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For the Sake of Re-Analyzing the KP Cultural Zeitgeist (part 1 and part 2) 38) Honorable Mention: War of Y (2022) (for the sake of an attempt to provide meta BL commentary within a BL in the modern BL era), with a complementary watch of Aam Anusorn’s documentary, BL: Broken Fantasy (2020) (thoughts here) 39) The Eclipse (2022) (tag here) 40) The Eclipse OGMMTVC Rewatch to Reexamine "Genre BLs," Along With a Critical Take on Branded Ships (review here)

41) GAP (2022-2023) (Thailand’s first GL) (review coming) 42) My School President (2022-2023) and Our Skyy 2 x My School President (2023), Coupled With a Speed-Watch of My Love Mix-Up Thailand (2024) to Comment on GMMTV Trying to Make Magic Happen Twice 43) Moonlight Chicken (2023) (tag here) 44) Bed Friend (2023) (tag here) 45) La Pluie (2023) (review coming) 46) Be My Favorite (2023) (tag here) (I’m including this for BMF’s sophisticated commentary on Krist’s career past as a BL icon) 47) Wedding Plan (2023) (Recommended as an important trajectory in the course of MAME’s work and influence from TharnType) 48) Only Friends (2023) (tag here) (not technically a BL, but it certainly became one in the end) 49) Last Twilight (2023-24) (tag here) (on the list as Thailand’s first major BL to center disability, successfully or otherwise) 50) Cherry Magic Thailand (2023-24) (tag here) (on the list as the first major Japanese-to-Thai drama adaptation, featuring the comeback of TayNew)

51) Ossan’s Love Returns (2024) (adding for the EarthMix cameo and the eventual Thai remake) 52) Dead Friend Forever (2024) (thoughts here) 53) 23.5 (2024) (GMMTV’s first GL) (thoughts here)

Additional Reading Material

Dr. Thomas Baudinette, Boys Love Media in Thailand

Dr. Peter Jackson, Queer Bangkok

Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific -- Issue 49, Thai Boys Love (BL)/Y(aoi) in Literary and Media Industries: Political and Transnational Practices, June 2023

[biointernet]

The first dew

I am long on ideas, but short on time. I expect to live to be only about a hundred. Thomas Edison

The first dew art glass

glass-blowing, diamond-cutting, gluing Art Glass Online Exhibition by Anton Fokin on MHC Online Museum

Symbol of Time is The Hourglass

time traveling symbolism

MHC Exhibitions – Dynamic Vision Board meta-models

Welcome to Exhibitions at MHC Virtual Museum! Authors: Adam Pierce, Oleg Bazhenov, Lena Rhomberg, Kirill Korotkov, Anton Fokin, Petr Mihailov, Rustam Adyukov and other MHC Exhibitions:Personification of Time – Father Time ExhibitionBeauty Bio Net – Dynamic Vision Board Mental ModelHourglass and Cards – Die Welt als Wille und VorstellungArt Glass by Anton FokinThe Full History of Time3D Hand Made – 3DHM ExhibitionHourglass Figure Sophia LorenHourglass Figure Marilyn MonroeDead Sea Collection Exhibition

See also:

Time symbolism

Time is… The Full History of Time Time in physics and time Science Symbolism of Melencolia I by Albrecht Dürer Time and Text

DADA Time

Text, Time, MHC Extinction Rebellion – Time against Life The End of Time Hourglass and Death on St Thomas’ Church Hourglass – symbol of Death Death does not Exist Hourglass and Skeleton “Hourglass and Cards” Exhibition Father and Mother of Time Time Hub Time Philosophy Time synonyms

Qualia and Time Sense

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The Hourglass Figure:

MHC Exhibitions: Hourglass Figure Sophia Loren by Adam PierceHourglass Figure Marilyn Monroe About Hourglass Body or Hourglass Figure Hourglass body measurements – body shape online calculator Hourglass Figure Celebrities on MHC Hourglass Figure, the movie MHC hourglass figure workout by Marten Sport Hourglass Figure Department on MHC Virtual Museum Read the full article

[archifists]

do it for raminn, you horrible goblin

screeches

1. Who's the one who's reckless and always getting into trouble while the other gotta pull em out: why does ramona get into so many fights. why is she so fight-y. dewey can’t fight. dewey is afraid.

2. Who's the one to send the other "I love my gf/bf" memes: they both do, but dewey might do it more often.

3. Who's the one who listens to a music genre the other doesn't like and how does the other react: ramona is into like? k-pop and stuff like that. dewey is into one (1) genre and it is Not That, but he deals with it. even listens to it on his own accord sometimes, too ( but don’t tell ramona that ).

4. Which one spoils the other more and do they ever get competitive to show the other more love: dewey tries to spoil her sometimes, because now he has the money to be able to. it gets a little competitive but nothing too extreme.

5. How many years did it take to get married or was it just not for them: they were engaged a year or two after they started dating. the actual wedding came about a year or so later.

6. What was their wedding like: very pink and flowery ( which dewey found way too hilarious ). he let ramona really plan the whole thing, so.

7. Is their friends/family supportive: ramona’s friends are pretty supportive ( even wallace --- shocking, i know ). the schneebly family is also supportive, mostly because dewey is actually leaving them alone now.

8. How does one comfort the other when the other is in distress/having a panic attack/crying: dewey doesn’t really have panic attacks or anything like that, and he has absolutely no idea how to help ramona with stuff like that.

9. Which one dissociates: it’s ramona. dewey is pretty neurotypical.

10. Which one stares at the other's booty like "damn" and how does the other react when catching them: they both do this and they both know.

11. When they live together what kinda place do they live in? What does their home look like?: they live in a decent-sized apartment at first, but probably move into a bigger place later on in life. their place is always very messy, instruments and records and clothes everywhere.

12. What do their dates look like: they’re pretty chill? sometimes it’s dinner, sometimes it’s a movie date, etc.

13. How does each act when getting drunk: dewey gets loud(er) and obnoxious, and I’m not really sure for ramona.

14. Which one rolls over in the morning to wake up the other one just to give kiss them: they would both do this, but ramona would probably do it a bit more often ( only because dewey doesn’t wanna wake her, she’s so cute when she’s sleeping ).

15. Have they saved each other's lives before: if you wanna get deep, they probably saved each other when they met. if you don’t wanna get deep, then nope, they have not.

16. Does one have an interest the other think is weird but wants to listen to it regardless: dewey has this insane fascination with all things classic rock, I think ramona just deals with it at this point.

17. Which one uses cropped hentai as reaction images: ramona does and dewey is always confused.

18. Does one of them kinkshame the other: not really? if anyone is being kinkshamed, dewey is doing it to ramona.

19. Is one of them self conscious about their body? If so how does the other comfort them: ehhh, they’re both pretty okay with their appearances? dewey isn’t sure how to even comfort ramona if she wasn’t tbqh.

20. Say they were cuddling on the bed while listening to record player playing the background. Which song is playing?: mmmm your guess is as good as mine ( some kinda classic rock shit, but Who Knows really ).

21. What is their song? Like the song that gives them overwhelming feelings?: they don’t really have a song, but I would say it’s jackie & wilson by hozier.

22. What song do they listen to while going on a joyride: again, any classic rock would do.

23. What kinda joyrides do they go on? Relaxing ones or wild ones?: can it be called ‘wild’ if it’s just dewey being a reckless driver, because...

24. Where would they vacation for a honeymoon: ramona would probably choose japan, and dewey would be fine with that.

25. Do people ever get annoyed of their pda: probably, they’re pretty obnoxious with it.

26. Would they live in the city or the country: dewey is a city boy, I think anything else would drive him crazy tbh.

27. Which ones the red which ones the blue: ramona is probably blue, dewey is a dirty red.

28. Are either of them mentally ill, if so how do they help one another cope: ramona has some Issues (tm) and let me reiterate, dewey has absolutely no idea how to help. with anything, ever. 

29. Does one have a spot on them where they would melt when the other kisses them there: don’t tell ramona, but dewey is a Soft Boy who would melt with like, forehead kisses.

30. Do they dance together: yes but they are Not Good at it.

31. Do they sing together: all the time. dewey is actually a pretty decent singer, though, so there’s that.

32. Which one is better at cooking than the other and makes most the dinners: dewey doesn’t cook. his diet consists of takeout, pizza, and fast food exclusively unless ramona cooks for him.

34. Are they a reckless couple or safe: dewey, again, is a Soft Boy, who tries his best to Stay Safe.

35. What be they kinks and do they try each other's kinks: dewey is pretty vanilla in every aspect of his life, so if anyone is kinky here it’s ramona ( but he will absolutely try anything for her, smfh ).

36. What would their valentines gifts be to each other: probably something sweet for ramona, like jewelry or something. she gets dew like, records or something.

37. Do they get into fights often? If so what do they fight over and how do they make up?: they never get into physical fights. they might argue, but it’s never over anything too big --- they’re pretty good about communication, so they have civil ‘arguments’ a lot.

38. Which ones top, bottom, verse: ramona is a scary lady and dewey will let her take charge of anything ever ( unless she wants him to, which is still fine with him ).

39. What kinda sex they be having (gentle rough whatever): they don’t have rough sex because it would probably freak dewey out. it’s usually very soft and gentle.

40. Who would fight in honor for the other if someone would insult them: ramona flowers would kill for dewey finn. dewey...can’t fight but he will try if he really has to.

41. Which one has a favorite movie that they have the other watch with them again and again: I could go meta here and say ‘ha dewey loves school of rock’ or ‘ha ramona loves scott pilgrim’ but y’know, I won’t. dew doesn’t really have a Favorite movie, ramona’s would probably be some disney movie or something.

42. How would one react if the other was to die: they would both be devastated, it’d be bad.

43. Who dies first: probably ramona. I don’t know why, but probably her.

44. Do they want kids: they do. they’re probably going to adopt later on in life, since ramona can’t have kids of her own.

45. How would they spend their last moments together: crying, probably.

[alibraryinmyluggage-blog]

Little India in Singapore is a neighbourhood where you can find a feeling of the “old Singapore”.  Small streets, colourful houses with elaborate decorations, temples side by side with strange shops selling gold and spices, henna and souvenirs.

When you are looking for a feeling from the past, perhaps occasionally shabbier but vibrant, food-oriented and not so much focused on keeping face take a walk in Little India in Singapore.

  Tekka Market the heart of Little India

As you probably know Singapore is (arguably) mostly about the food. As a mixture of cultures has gathered and intertwined on this island city-country, each has brought along their idea of food. 

Start your tour of Little India from Tekka Market. It is hard to imagine a place more packed with various foods. Despite it being a Monday when quite a few stalls are closed, I am being greeted by a smell of basmati rice.  This base smell casually mingles with aromas of different spice mixes, pungent and intense.

The place is hopping and popping. Rows and rows of booths offer hot, spice food or fruity cold drinks. Small tables are filled with people, groups of friends, families and working people. Each with a tray of food. Some trays are covered with banana leaves (in Singapore!) and the food is piled straight on top of it. 

  Food prices on Tekka Market seem to start from S$3.5 and S$6-10 will definitely get you a huge hot meal. Another truly amazing thing about this market is also that most items actually come with a price tag. If you have travelled in SE Asia (or Arab countries) for a while you might appreciate the fact as much as I did. 

  The second floor of Tekka Center

  The second floor is dedicated to Indian traditional costumes and inexpensive clothing. Elaborately embroidered and shining costumes in a full spectrum of colours are on the place of honour. 

    However, next to fancy garments are also the kind of dresses and leggings you can find in most markets around the world.  Stretchy one-size-fits-no one clothes and piles of socks. The kind of one-time wash items. There are some things that seem to be constant throughout the world. 

  Little India in Singapore

As the rain has lessened a bit I decide to walk on and explore the Little India neighbourhood further. 

    A mini-rant about travel blogging

There is one question that has been bugging me for a while about travel blogging, should we write about mediocre experiences as well?

When you read typical travel writing everything is perfect. According to travel blogs travelling consists of things being high phase and fabulous. Photos only have amazing hair days, perfect makeup and hot-dog tights. The food is only ever decorated with butterfly breath, fairy dust and dew drops.  

Or alternatively, everything is horrible. You hear about how the bus smelled like garlic, feet and armpits. Obviously, the intensity of the smell is in correlation with how much the bus ride will take longer than scheduled. Also, the horrible food poisonings and having your possessions stolen. Hostels where your bunk neighbours are having an orgy all night through and you are not invited, etc. All these things seem to be the breaks between everything being absolutely perfect.

However, taking a risk of being called a lier, I have to say that that is not how my travelling usually goes. Sure, there are plenty of awesome things and occasionally some pretty horrid stuff as well. Believe it or not, but a lot of travelling (even to all these exotic locations) actually ends up being somewhere in-between perfect and disaster.  

What inspired this rant? Well, it would not be possible for me to write about food in Singapore and not to mention what I had for lunch, right? As against all the internet odds some of my meal experiences in Singapore have been less than perfect and above a disaster. It does happen! Even in the world of travel bloggers. So let’s talk about it. 

  Blast from the past 

“The History of every major Galactic Civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, those of Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication, otherwise known as the How, Why, and Where phases. For instance, the first phase is characterized by the question ‘How can we eat?’ the second by the question ‘Why do we eat?’ and the third by the question ‘Where shall we have lunch?” ― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

  ‘Old Singapore’ naturally also means places that have been open since the 30s or 40s. Komala Vilas has been here since 1947 and serves traditional South Indian vegetarian food. So naturally, I had to give it a try. 

Food in Komala Vilas. Menu photo (left) and actual serving (right).

With affordable food, one does not expect much. Thankfully, as even with the modest expectations based on the menu photo reality turned out to be different.

Though to be fair, despite the disappointing visual reminding prison food from movies the taste was ok. So I wrote it down as an experience of an S$5 meal in Singapore.

Also, minimalistic tableware helps to cut down on waste (less water on washing dishes, no banana leaves to discard etc) and labour  (people in Singapore look so overworked so yippee). 

  There is an Indian sweets shop by the same name right next door. This gives me an option to finish off my meal on a sweet note. A single square of white I pick out turns out to be absolutely amazing. 

    The second attempt – Gandhi Restaurant

I am not kidding you, that really is the name of a restaurant where I went a few days later for another lunch.  Obviously I could not refrain from a remark implying that wasn’t Gandhi’s “weapon of choice” a hunger strike?

But silly jokes aside, it is possible to go too far with the political correctness. As the place is run by and frequented by Indian people, who am I to tell them that they can not honour their historical figure the way they like.

  It is around the time for a working people’s lunch. The place is busy, with a line reaching out the door. However, on the side is a food hall. You sit down and get served a tray of food, the meal of the day.

No dishes. Food is placed directly on the banana leaf. While you can get cutlery, most people eat with hands. Pile of rice and vegetables on the side. A guy walks between the tables and tops up people on rice.  Another guy walks around with a bucket containing dahl.

While the main meal is vegetarian you can pick an additional bowl to your carnivore cravings (for an added fee). This food is simple, filling and absolutely delicious. Base meal for under five dollars and meat (or seafood added) for another five is a fairly reasonable price for Singapore. 

Of course, a short walk after a meal brings me to another sweets shop. Finishing up my meal with an assortment of Indian sweets. 

________________________

Little India in Singapore is a neighbourhood that is not overrun by tourists (yet?). Part of the Singapore inheritance it is well worth a day visit. Walk around in the neighbourhood, admire the temples, brows (or ignore) shops and find some food to taste.

  If you are looking for a feeling of "old Singapore" take a walk in Little India a neighborhood that still has some of it left. #VisitSingapore #nomadlife Little India in Singapore is a neighbourhood where you can find a feeling of the "old Singapore".  

[lazadashirts]

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The Horror Movies Characters Mountain DEW Shirt news networks that refused to show this are shameful Even now, there is not one radio station in that is mentioning what a wonderful day was shown in.

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New Post has been published on https://lazadashirt.com/trending/horror-movies-characters-mountain-dew-shirt/

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Buy it: Horror Movies Characters Mountain DEW Shirt

The Horror Movies Characters Mountain DEW Shirt news networks that refused to show this are shameful Even now, there is not one radio station in that is mentioning what a wonderful day was shown in.

T-Shirt

Horror Movies Characters Mountain DEW Shirt, hoodie, sweatshirt and tank top

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However, days before July, there was constant negative broadcasting about this event. We have a President who loves our country and is proud of the Horror Movies Characters Mountain DEW Shirt service of all our people who keep our country safe.

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[foursproutwealth-blog]

Super Bowl Ads 2018: What Worked and What Didn't

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/wealth/super-bowl-ads-2018-what-worked-and-what-didnt/

Super Bowl Ads 2018: What Worked and What Didn't

When we reflect on Super Bowl ads of the past several years, certain brands spring to mind, such as GoDaddy, while some campaigns are more memorable than the products and companies they were shilling for (Puppymonkeybaby, anyone?).

But the ads that get people talking in the moment are the real winners, and that’s what the brands and agencies behind this year’s crop of Super Bowl ads set out to do, from drumming up offline engagement with Facebook Live streams and hashtags to promoting values such as diversity and environmental consciousness. There were also a few ads that commented on the very idea of what a Super Bowl ad is. 

This year’s viewers saw fewer car ads than during past Super Bowls and more consumer product ads. There were also some movie trailers, of course, which “don’t really count,” as branding and marketing consultant Miro Copic argues.

Copic is a marketing professor at San Diego State University who specializes in branding and the co-founder of consulting firm BottomLine Marketing. “If there was a general theme to the night it was that, diverse as we are, we are better together,” Copic said in an email to Entrepreneur.

But it’s not enough to have a clear message. An ad also has to leave the viewer wanting more. The following are the ads that accomplished that, according to Copic and other critics. 

The clear favorite was Tide.

[embedded content]

Never mind that people around the country have been voluntarily ingesting Tide Pods. This year, Tide aired a series of ads that made the brand seem extremely savvy, as well as far-removed from the self-poisoning phenomenon.

Related: Brooklyn Pizzeria Nails Viral Marketing With Its Safe, Edible Take on the Tide Pod Challenge 

Actor David Harbour of the Netflix series Stranger Things was the spokesperson, and he appeared in a few settings featuring various TV ad tropes, building suspense about what the first of four commercials was for. A car? Beer? Insurance? Then, Harbour clarified: It’s a Tide ad. Everyone featured in each setting was wearing clean clothes — even a mechanic.

It tapped into a meta sense of humor, poking fun at the very activity the viewer was engaged in — watching cliche ads. Tide hijacked various ad formats and showed that clean clothes are a common thread, no matter what product someone is using or activity they’re engaged in. 

“What made this series of ads even more brilliant is that he looped in other iconic P&G brands like Mr. Clean and Old Spice (by bringing Isaiah Mustafa, ‘The Man Your Man Can Smell Like’),” Copic said.

Trade publication Adweek and The Washington Post also labeled the Tide ads the best campaign of the night. 

There were too many ‘do good’ ads. An altruistic theme was the downfall of many of the night’s ads, according to Michael Belch, a professor of integrated marketing communications at San Diego State University. 

Budweiser explained how it stepped up to help with hurricane relief efforts in the South in 2017. Stella Artois hired Matt Damon to educate viewers about water scarcity in developing countries and encourage them to buy Stella products to fund solutions. Hyundai took the opportunity to showcase its contributions to pediatric cancer research by flagging its customers at the Super Bowl and thanking them for their patronage. 

Simply put, there were too many “do good” ads, Belch said, and they got lost in the mix.

[embedded content]

“The worst, I thought, was the Hyundai ‘hope’ ad. It seemed to me to be contrived,” Belch said in an email. “I realize the country is in a bad way and needs all the help we can get, but too many loses effectiveness.” 

Ads that promoted the product in question succeeded. Casting Danny DeVito as a human M&M made viewers think less about the candy and more about the actor bathing in chocolate.

“It was weak, and the ‘eat me’ concept didn’t come off as truly humorous,” Copic said. “It was hard to watch and didn’t endear M&M’s to the audience like most of their animated ads and movie trailers.” 

[embedded content]

On the other hand, PepsiCo’s Doritos/Mountain Dew rap showdown between Peter Dinklage and Morgan Freeman used well-known actors to drive home what differentiates the two products — in addition to being funny.

“It reinforced the ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ nature of the two products,” Copic said. “Smart. Clever and watchable.” 

[embedded content] 

The Alexa commercial was another spot that underscored the utility of its product while building intrigue. 

“The Alexa ‘Lost Her Voice’ commercial was excellent in telling viewers that a world without Alexa would be a bit unpredictable,” Copic said. “First, it reinforced that Alexa can provide you with information and entertainment that you need, fast. Second, it built more trust in Alexa’s soothing voice as the one original digital assistant.”

[embedded content]

[foursprout-blog]

Super Bowl Ads 2018: What Worked and What Didn't

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/wealth/super-bowl-ads-2018-what-worked-and-what-didnt/

Super Bowl Ads 2018: What Worked and What Didn't

When we reflect on Super Bowl ads of the past several years, certain brands spring to mind, such as GoDaddy, while some campaigns are more memorable than the products and companies they were shilling for (Puppymonkeybaby, anyone?).

But the ads that get people talking in the moment are the real winners, and that’s what the brands and agencies behind this year’s crop of Super Bowl ads set out to do, from drumming up offline engagement with Facebook Live streams and hashtags to promoting values such as diversity and environmental consciousness. There were also a few ads that commented on the very idea of what a Super Bowl ad is. 

This year’s viewers saw fewer car ads than during past Super Bowls and more consumer product ads. There were also some movie trailers, of course, which “don’t really count,” as branding and marketing consultant Miro Copic argues.

Copic is a marketing professor at San Diego State University who specializes in branding and the co-founder of consulting firm BottomLine Marketing. “If there was a general theme to the night it was that, diverse as we are, we are better together,” Copic said in an email to Entrepreneur.

But it’s not enough to have a clear message. An ad also has to leave the viewer wanting more. The following are the ads that accomplished that, according to Copic and other critics. 

The clear favorite was Tide.

[embedded content]

Never mind that people around the country have been voluntarily ingesting Tide Pods. This year, Tide aired a series of ads that made the brand seem extremely savvy, as well as far-removed from the self-poisoning phenomenon.

Related: Brooklyn Pizzeria Nails Viral Marketing With Its Safe, Edible Take on the Tide Pod Challenge 

Actor David Harbour of the Netflix series Stranger Things was the spokesperson, and he appeared in a few settings featuring various TV ad tropes, building suspense about what the first of four commercials was for. A car? Beer? Insurance? Then, Harbour clarified: It’s a Tide ad. Everyone featured in each setting was wearing clean clothes — even a mechanic.

It tapped into a meta sense of humor, poking fun at the very activity the viewer was engaged in — watching cliche ads. Tide hijacked various ad formats and showed that clean clothes are a common thread, no matter what product someone is using or activity they’re engaged in. 

“What made this series of ads even more brilliant is that he looped in other iconic P&G brands like Mr. Clean and Old Spice (by bringing Isaiah Mustafa, ‘The Man Your Man Can Smell Like’),” Copic said.

Trade publication Adweek and The Washington Post also labeled the Tide ads the best campaign of the night. 

There were too many ‘do good’ ads. An altruistic theme was the downfall of many of the night’s ads, according to Michael Belch, a professor of integrated marketing communications at San Diego State University. 

Budweiser explained how it stepped up to help with hurricane relief efforts in the South in 2017. Stella Artois hired Matt Damon to educate viewers about water scarcity in developing countries and encourage them to buy Stella products to fund solutions. Hyundai took the opportunity to showcase its contributions to pediatric cancer research by flagging its customers at the Super Bowl and thanking them for their patronage. 

Simply put, there were too many “do good” ads, Belch said, and they got lost in the mix.

[embedded content]

“The worst, I thought, was the Hyundai ‘hope’ ad. It seemed to me to be contrived,” Belch said in an email. “I realize the country is in a bad way and needs all the help we can get, but too many loses effectiveness.” 

Ads that promoted the product in question succeeded. Casting Danny DeVito as a human M&M made viewers think less about the candy and more about the actor bathing in chocolate.

“It was weak, and the ‘eat me’ concept didn’t come off as truly humorous,” Copic said. “It was hard to watch and didn’t endear M&M’s to the audience like most of their animated ads and movie trailers.” 

[embedded content]

On the other hand, PepsiCo’s Doritos/Mountain Dew rap showdown between Peter Dinklage and Morgan Freeman used well-known actors to drive home what differentiates the two products — in addition to being funny.

“It reinforced the ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ nature of the two products,” Copic said. “Smart. Clever and watchable.” 

[embedded content] 

The Alexa commercial was another spot that underscored the utility of its product while building intrigue. 

“The Alexa ‘Lost Her Voice’ commercial was excellent in telling viewers that a world without Alexa would be a bit unpredictable,” Copic said. “First, it reinforced that Alexa can provide you with information and entertainment that you need, fast. Second, it built more trust in Alexa’s soothing voice as the one original digital assistant.”

[embedded content]