This was beautiful thank you

Asian queer media >>>>>>>>>>>>

I love that lately there have been more happy and fun queer stories, and sometimes I do find a lot of comfort in them, but few things can support me in time of need as much as queer misery stories. and I think that the reason for my special love for such stories lies not in the tragedy itself, but in the moments of happiness and light that the characters manage to find in seemingly dire conditions. As a queer person who has seen things consistently get worse and more dangerous in my country for people like me over the past couple of years, as laws have been passed making our existence outside of closets virtually impossible, I, oddly enough, sometimes find it hard to enjoy sweet and happy modern-day queer stories. I understand their importance and I still love them, don't get me wrong, but it's like watching a couple walking together when you come back from your loved one's funeral. you're still happy for them, sure, but you are unable to see past the fact that you are now robbed from what they have. What consoles me the most are stories of happiness in dark times, hope in hopeless situations, which I see as a very queer concept by itself. A hope that even if I and those close to me don’t get their happy endings, future generations will. I think that people who cannot be themselves openly, who have to fight every day for the opportunity to simply be, need stories about pain and living with this pain to the same extent as stories about happiness. We can't always be miserable, but we can't always be joyous either. we look for escapism in media, yes, but escapism that is just enough like life to be believable. thank you for this video.

ok contrapoints!

I am still upset that the cast of Interview with the Vampire haven't been nominated. The acting from the pilot to the most recent EP is absolutely phenomenal. There are elements of coming to terms with sexuality but it is about characters who happen to be gay vs the struggles of being gay from start to finish. Pretty much everyone can relate to the various characters.

There's nothing wrong with showing queer misery, but there's a big problem when all we get is this, like in the past when we only had this kind of representation, and by the way, this representation was more like a cautionary tale like "look, if you're gay, you're going to die, whether from AIDS or alone" and that's my problem with movies and shows that only portray queer suffering (specially gay). they weren't trying to show real life, they were trying to scare us and I was afraid of dying of AIDS (at that time) or being alone and unhappy for most of my life. we deserve fluffy and innocent stories too.

If you haven't seen them, can I suggest two movies that influenced who I am in different ways? "Longtime Companion" and "It's My Party". Both of them are dramas dealing with AIDS, but both of them are so complex and messy and beautiful.

The queers really seem to be perpetually miserable, which makes me glad that I'm not queer but gay.

This video really made me think about the way we interact with misery. I think i love that for queer people emotions and feelings hold value so we don't relate to flat depictions of our experiences. we can't "just have happy boring films" because we have a complexity that makes that media feel insincere. I think that's beautiful.

Wow this was an amazing video! I agree, "good representation" is so often so boring. I love the angst and weirdness in so much queer media because that's real. Living as a queer person is often weird and messy.

I turned off after the wiping out of Larry Kramer's title for his novel. I also have a slight nausea about films that are supposedly ' supportive ' of same sex relationships aimed at straights. You named many. Independent cinema and theatre is for me far more interesting. Very often made by US and not them. Films lost to most people but treasured and brought out detached from straight ' approval. ' French cinema divorced from mainstream concerns has made many. One example of REAL gay misery is ' Stand ' in Russian made outside of Russia for obvious reasons.

I love this video about our community’s rich culture. Also, I think that this is how I want intellectual material delivered to me from now on: by a cute guy in a tank-top. :)

omg. loved this and loved this channel.

I love love love this. And I was just saying this to a friend. I'm tired of gay people complaining about how they only want to watch or read happy gay stories. It's true that for decades the few gay love stories to get mainstream release ended tragically--and we needed diversity. But, you know, I like sad and miserable stories in general, and that includes my gay ones. I am SOO glad queer teens now have Heartstoppers to enjoy. Truly I am. But you know, when I was in high school, it would have driven me crazy to read or watch a story about other gay teens who already have found perfect boyfriends, encounter only the most minor homophobia, etc. Teens love misery and drama, don't they? I know I did (and still do,) and that was NOT what I would have wanted from the gay fiction I was seeking out and found.

I'm sorry sir but you didn't have business exposing your pits like thatt

Oh, this channel was made for me.

I'm always defending broken, destructive, sabotaging gays. I want to see real, honest, uncensored versions of flawed people. And that is mostly taking place in drama and misery. I dont think it needs to be that way though, but at the time it is. Really great video, thank you!

Now I’m genuinely curious if you knew that Boy Erased was a memoir adaptation. Your comments in the comparison with the Favorite give the impression you think it’s fictional. Edit: apparently no one is this comment section but two people seems to know it’s not a fictional narrative

It is only misery when the ending sucks, knock on the cabin, for example. It becomes bittersweet in context when there is hope in the ending. I want a damn happy and hopeful ending where the couple overcomes all obstacles, otherwise wtf was all that pain for, and what kind of ending is that to aspire to.

Mine is "Parting Glances."

This is a such well thought out, articulate and inspiring video essay with great editing. You just gained a new subscriber from Australia who grew up queer in communist China! Keep up the good work ❤

this video felt like much needed therapy, thank you 🫶🏽 saludos

Thanks for your insights. I don't agree with "Love, Simon." I loved that movie. Great actors and actresses.

Thanks for this superb video essay. Greetings from Boyacá!

What do you think of Sotto Sotto strapazzato da anomala passione? It's basically Italian dude discovers lesbians and becomes the Joker. The ex wife of Berlusconi is one of the protagonists

Severely underrated video. This is great information!

LGBTQ people are human beings, and human beings have every right to sadness, tragedy, and heartbreak, as well as every other emotion known to human experience.

I'm gay and I don't speak English, so I don't know how well the translator did. I cannot emotionally tolerate works on the subject of homosexuality. Every time there is tension that I can't get rid of, and feelings that I can't live through. I think that once I watched some of them, but I couldn't survive them and the pain remained in me. So now I don't want to watch them. And I also don't want to watch gay movies because I can't see myself and my personal problems in the characters. I very rarely feel that the author understands me. I think it will be very useful to watch some difficult films that I have already watched in order to discuss them with a therapist.

Disfrute mucho el video! Siento que hoy en dia hay o mucha concentración de odio hacia lo feliz en los medios gays o una sobre critica de lo triste o sufrido. Disfrute mucho como hablas que la necesidad de el dolor en la comunidad existe, pero que también debe de haber esos momentos felices para el escapismo de cierta gente que tal vez vive en su vida suficiente de las adversidades como para relajarse viendo más dolor en la pantalla. Tmb mucha suerte con el fantaslab! No puedo apoyar económicamente pero ojalá les vaya bien!

i should say something thoughtful and intelligent maybe to express how thoroughly i've enjoyed this video and how it's made me cry and i've really loved it but i can't really so this'll do. thank you

I believe the problem arises when the only stories being told are about misery. As a teenager, I struggled to find anything that didn't have a sad ending. I remember coming across lists of happy queer movies and reading comments from people expressing their disappointment and frustration at how difficult it was to find stories with happy endings. Some people seem to have an issue with cheerful, happy stories about teenagers holding hands. I always found it strange-why does a story need to be sad just because it features gay characters? I enjoy drama and sad stories, but I believe it's wrong to deprive an entire demographic of happy endings. Straight people grow up with stories of romance, adventure, and fantasy. I would have given anything to have a show like Heartstopper when I was young, even though it's not my favorite. The Owl House is a cartoon about a girl who goes to a magical world, starts learning magic, and falls in love with another girl. The protagonist is bisexual, and there's even a scene where she comes out to her mother. This kind of representation would have made a significant impact on me when I was younger because the story isn't about her sexuality-it's about adventure, fantasy, and magic. When stories feature main characters who aren't straight, they often focus on their sexuality and the associated struggles. While these stories are important, we also need narratives where the characters' sexuality isn't the central issue, just like the stories straight people have enjoyed for years. There's a reason shows like I Love Victor and Heartstopper resonate with audiences-the only stories many LGBTQ+ people had were about misery. There needs to be a balance. How many people do you know who watch and read drama every day?

Cmbyn does have a bittersweet ending but it was SUCH A GREAT MOVIE Of an Age as well & Moonlight

This is a wonderful essay. Thanks for turning me on to these films. I was averse to Fire Island, but now, I really want to watch!

All these queer films I haven't seen! Of course, I don't have cable or any streaming services (too expensive) and hardly ever go to movie theaters anymore. This video was especially fascinating for me in a different way. I worked for years on a novel which screamed queer misery. Watching the Olivier/Oberon film of Wuthering Heights, I realized the Cathy/Heathcliff relationship was treated very much as gay relationships are treated by the straight world. Changing the leads to men, I set my book in the modern American West where I was born and raised. Then Brokeback Mountain came out and that was the end of that. Interesting you didn't mention that film in your video.

7:39 isn't that what complaining about straight actors playing gay characters is?

What even is a liver digger though? Does that mean something else 😂

I had a bit of an existential crisis a few years ago because I thought Moonlight was about queer joy but everyone was telling me it was a tragedy. Misery helps to make the joy pop for me 😅

as someone who devours sad gay media, i also think that we need more gay joy stories. but it's a fine line for me. i need joy that feels earned. season 1 of heartstoppers was that for me because as unrealistic as i think the story is, there is an incredible lack of stories where we get to see gay people just be happy. recently it's been like what, bros and red white and royal blue that have been the two big releases for gay romcoms. we deserve some fluff too. the world is sad enough as it is.

I disagree about live Simon and love Victor. I grew up Latino, Catholic, and gay so I connected DEEPLY to this show.

I think that…. There needs to be e a balance…. Queer misery doesn’t have to revolve around queerness. At least not entirely… Other People and Skeleton Twins had to do with generational trauma but it was not solely focused on queer trauma but a queer look at trauma. Queering trauma.

True love 💗 *always* hurts a lot. Love stories always need a little angst. If for nothing other than the strength of the emotion making your mind struggle to handle it. Like a dam struggling to hold in a flood. It just happens to be worth the pain it causes. Some of the best love songs are all about true love hurting like Fortnight (Taylor Swift) (it is about 2 people in love, but married to other people).

This is so good i love finding channels before they blow up but also sad that i managed to binge every video in two days

great edit. thank you.

Im so glad im not a conventional gay.

only thing bad about love victor is he is chasing a white boy. yawn, boring, overdone, unoriginal, YUCK!

the sound of hellscape. praise the gods for my wifey. #nomoremisery #freeofsinners

Thank you.

I really like happiest season, but I do wish it had been sad, 🤣