LOOKING — Page 26

^^^ I liked that article.


"It might be a fair question, might even come off as somewhat libertine, if it weren’t so paradoxically finger-waggy: gays should think this way, which is no way at all."

Yes.

"the condition in which these bland video game designers and ambitionless artists find themselves."

DEAR GOD YES

"Jonathan Groff’s perpetual smile disarms even the most offensive statements"

agreed

"as gay anxiety about its relationship to the larger world subsides, anxiety about gay peoples’ relationships to each other rises."

I call BS on that. This is the second specious causal argument in the article. The first being that looks-centered subcultures have arisen in the wake of "everybody" being able to get married now and Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal.

"It’s rather sweet to watch a repressed Patrick, a confused Dom, and a frustrated Agustín try to come into themselves and that feels modern or, at least, modernly gay."

It's "sweet" in the way that watching a developmentally delayed person achieving a new task is "sweet".

"Richie’s mumbled delivery"

The poor writer shouldn't mention this, or risk being labeled a hater or somebody who watches TV ironically.

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It's not that you can't hear him. It's that it's such an obviously phony choice for a character voice.

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To me it sounds like Opposite World Michael Jackson.

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No it isn't.

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Oh yes. It isn't...because you said so.

It is...what it is.

I didn't see the post where you were referring to Michael Jackson when I posted my response.

Crystal.

And Horsey, thanks for the link--it's a good read. The only place that lost me was about how now that gays have more rights they have segmented themselves into increasing "subgroups..." based on body type. I mean, maybe this is true, but I don't really know too many people who actually segment themselves to any of those groups and he doesn't exactly give much convincing evidence that, Grindr profiles aside, this is a new thing.

Ehh... I'm with him. The hot guys travel in packs just like the pretty girls did in high school and if you've never noticed it it's probably because you're one of the hot guys.

Things always go like this. The hype, the backlash, the backlash to the backlash, everyone shuts up and the show quietly continues until it stops, then the essays about how great it was.

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If season 2 is a failure, you can bet there will be even more online pieces about how a perfect show was ruined.

You of all people, though Namo, and I mean this in all seriousness, knew that no one show would ever fill even your personal requirements for that. I like the show--a lot. I admit, if it was not about gay people it probably would not have even been on my radar. (OMG, can you imagine the episodes with straight characters? ugh.)

It is lame, from my own personal perspective, that now I actually wonder what show with gay characters I want to follow is out there until this is back... I liked Please Like Me, the Aussie show which has a US/Aussie second season in August, and I am looking forward to Russell Davies' Cucumber/Banana one two in the UK this fall, which I hope takes what he did with (the UK Queer as Folk) and expands on it 15 years later.

But doesn't the US have *two* gay networks?? Canada has one, which is completely lame programming wise. There obviously is a market for shows based around primarily gay characters, and it's depressing that Looking, as much as I love it, has been the only one in a decade (if you include Noah's Arc which I found unwatchable just because it felt like a cheap webseries) or longer.

I think Please Like Me is perfect, in its own creation. I had two annoying reactions when I recommended it to friends online: One was from a friend in Australia who keeps in touch with most pop media there, and he had not heard of it. I guess because it was an ABC2 show there, with low expectations, its prospects looked grim until Pivot, in the US had their first relative hit with it.

The other was from a friend who was complaining that he didn't have any shows to watch. So I recommended it to him and as soon as I mentioned the one character was gay he said he had no interest in another "gay show." And that was that.

I think they are portraying three messed up characters. Full stop--I don't think their current scenario would have all that much difference in any other major city.