Sgapore broadster MediaCorp slammed for gay character’s portrayal Che drama seri | South Cha Morng Post

Contents:

• I MA SGAPORE’S FIRST GAY BL WEB DRAMA SERI. HERE’S HOW I DID IT.
• SGAPORE DRAMA ‘SILENT WALLS’ PH HARMFUL STEREOTYPE: GAY CHARACTER IS A GROOMER WH AIDS
• SGAPORE’S FIRST GAY BL WEB DRAMA “GETAWAY” FEATUR AN OPENLY QUEER CAST, IS BASED ON AN ORIGAL STORY
• 'PASSAG' DIRECTOR NOUNC 'DANGERO' NC-17 RATG ON A FILM PICTG A GAY LOVE STORY
• WHAT HAS STEVEN LIM BEEN UP TO? GROWG UP ACTOR'S LATT PROJECT IS SGAPOREAN GAY DRAMA
• GAY PORTRAYALS ON SGAPORE TELEVISN

I MA SGAPORE’S FIRST GAY BL WEB DRAMA SERI. HERE’S HOW I DID IT.

In the midst of an unrelated nversatn, I randomly asked Snooker, an alumni of the h gay drama seri ‘Gay Ok Bangkok’, if he miss actg. But that was the night which solidified my sire to produce Sgapore’s first gay BL web drama seri.

BL, short for Boys Love, has bee an umbrella term for any Asian drama centerg on a gay love story. In many parts of Asia where LGBTQ+ rights are lackg, BL dramas have emerged as the primary form of gay media reprentatn. In 2020 alone, Thailand and Taiwan produced over 80 gay BL dramas.

SGAPORE DRAMA ‘SILENT WALLS’ PH HARMFUL STEREOTYPE: GAY CHARACTER IS A GROOMER WH AIDS

That same year, South Korea jumped on the bandwagon by producg s first gay BL drama seri, which was subsequently picked up by Netflix. In fact, one of the most popular gay BL dramas of all time actually me om Cha; Addicted aka 上瘾. Sgapore unfortunately, still do not have a gay BL drama seri to ll our own.

One of the most viral stori I’ve ever told was on Faliqh and Kaal, a gay Malay uple Sgapore. As impactful as they have been, they don’t tug at the heartstrgs the same way that a gay BL drama seri do.

SGAPORE’S FIRST GAY BL WEB DRAMA “GETAWAY” FEATUR AN OPENLY QUEER CAST, IS BASED ON AN ORIGAL STORY

Producg a gay drama seri has been on my bucket list for the longt time. As extensive as Jam’ portfol was, he had never worked on a gay drama before.

The Siam was unr the helm of General Manager Nick Downg, whom I had cintally told about my sire to make a gay drama seri over a sual lunch one year ago. Neher of uld have predicted that we would be workg together on a gay BL drama seri one year later.

Another anisatn that I managed to get on board as a supportg partner was, a programme wh AFA (Actn For AIDs) that provis sexual health-related servic to the gay and MSM muny Sgapore.

'PASSAG' DIRECTOR NOUNC 'DANGERO' NC-17 RATG ON A FILM PICTG A GAY LOVE STORY

Was actually the anisatn that produced ‘People Like Us’, Sgapore’s first gay web drama seri.

Jog the e were 2Eros, Supawear, Ette Tea and FabuloMe, pennt bs that are all owned by gay entreprenrs. The entreprenrs all unrstood the importance of gay media reprentatn Asia.

WHAT HAS STEVEN LIM BEEN UP TO? GROWG UP ACTOR'S LATT PROJECT IS SGAPOREAN GAY DRAMA

Wh the fundraisg procs plete, I was now a posn to actually produce a gay BL drama seri. As popular as gay BL dramas have bee, they have also e unr heavy cricism recent years.

The loust cricism agast BL dramas is that they ph a harmful gay stereotype. BL dramas typilly nta homophobic unrton, and gay men are often portrayed as predators. Scen of the gay protagonist takg advantage of his dnk or unnsc love tert have bee monplace wh the genre.

Another mon cricism of gay BL dramas is that while they pos to reprent the gay muny, they do ltle to reprent the gay experience. ‘Getaway’ featur scen gay spac such as a gay club.

GAY PORTRAYALS ON SGAPORE TELEVISN

No longer nfed to a school yard settg, creators are creasgly phg the envelope of what qualifi as a gay BL drama. ‘Getaway’ sets self apart om other gay dramas by featurg an openly queer st. Siarly, ‘GETAWAY’ sets self apart om other BL dramas by tailorg towards a gay dience.

Based on an origal story om myself, ‘GETAWAY’ featur an openly gay director alongsi an openly queer st om Sgapore and Thailand. After his g out to his nservative father go horribly wrong, Sam jets off to Bangkok search of his exiled gay uncle for guidance, who was siarly disowned for beg gay many years ago. ‘GETAWAY’ may be Sgapore’s first gay BL web drama seri.

Is a programme wh AFA (Actn For AIDs) that provis sexual health-related servic to the gay and MSM muny Sgapore. Sgapore’s natnal broadster Mediarp has once aga phed harmful gay stereotyp wh their latt drama, ‘Silent Walls 密宅’ starrg Aled Sun and Adam Chen. The show featur a gay uple; a young stunt named Kai De (played by Aled Sun) and his dance stctor boyiend Nigel (played by Adam Chen).

The large age gap between the uple is problematic self, as rerc the harmful stereotype that gay men are predators and groomers.

Not only do this problematic storyle strenghten the notn that gay men are all diseased and promiscuo, also suggts that gay upl will always meet a tragic fate. In 2020, cricism was directed at “My Guardian Angels” (单翼天使) for s portrayal of a homosexual basketball ach played by Chase Tan, who is picted as a gay paedophile wh AIDs who sexually ab numero young boys.

However, seems like Mediarp has fotten the past ntroversy, as evinced by the fact that they have once aga, portrayed the gay muny an unncsarily negative light. The only time we see gay characters on TV is when they have AIDs. The elrly populatn typilly already have distorted views about the gay muny.

Watch Getaway; Sgapore Gay BL Web Seri. Produced 2022, ‘Getaway’ ma history as Sgapore’s first gay BL web seri.

Comprisg 5 episos, ‘Getaway’ is based on an origal story om a gay creator that featur gay characters portrayed a posive light. Sean Foo is the creator of Getaway, billed as Sgapore’s “first gay BL drama seri”.

Creator of Sgaporean gay drama Getaway wants to raise acceptance of LGBT muny the cy state. Sean Foo’s web seri Getaway is billed as Sgapore’s first gay BL (boy love) drama seri and lnch on May 23. Set Bangkok, the drama is signed to be ‘an thentic gay voice for a gay dience’ and featur an openly queer st om Sgapore and Thailand.