My School President: "It's a trap!"
I sat down to watch "My School President" as a light, entertaining palate cleanser between more serious BLs, and as surprisingly high-quality fluff, it worked beautifully. The high school setting, the band, the great music, the broad comedy, the sound effects, the adorbs versus the dorks all worked together to create a surprisingly well-thought out, well-written, well-acted, cohesive series that was light entertainment at its best.
I was fully, happily, unguardedly charmed, but then, it introduced … issues. Sincere, genuine, mature issues that work within the world the series creates: the difficulty of some parents coming to grips with having a Gay child, the ever present threat of homophobic violence, a couple trying to decide how to come out to their friends, how a Gay couple establishes a relationship with each others’ parents, the clash of people coming together from two vastly different socio-economic backgrounds, the importance of friendship, and more, and I am left with a new understanding: fluff can be important.
Conflict is often introduced in BL as an excuse for writers running out of ideas. Instead of furthering character or plot, conflict therefore often serves as filler. This “conflict for conflict’s sake” is so common that BL fans even have a term for it, the “Episode 11 Curse.”
That is almost never the case in "My School President." Tinn's mother (Pim Pympan) hesitates because of genuine concern for a Gay child in a homophobic world (not a cartoonish knee-jerk rejection) and she gradually grows in her understanding and acceptance. And yet, the introduction of a homophobic character proved her concerns were not only valid but unfortunately relevant to the real world - the world beyond the protective, sheltering BL bubble.
The Episode 11 Curse still occurs, however, in, yes, Episode 11. The conflict is relatively minor, but that’s not the problem. Rather, almost all of Episode 11 is filler. It could have been cut by 3/4 and still made its points. Once again, writers seem to approach a series’ end, run out of ideas, and tread water until Episode 12. To their credit, however, the writers did not introduce shock value and kept the padding within the tone already established by the series. It may have been boring and unnecessary, but it wasn’t a tonal whiplash.
The fact that I remained invested even during a slow section is due largely to an outstanding performance by Fourth, who anchors - no, carries, almost singlehandedly - the entire series. Acting since he was a child and with GMMTV since he was 15, Fourth brought a grounded naturalness, a mature professionalism, energy, and a sense of being fully present in every scene despite the fact that he was only 17 when filming started. His group of close friends (the adorbs) complement the high-energy joy Fourth brings to the series.
In contrast are the student council members (the dorks), led by Gemini, who are more tightly-wound. The dorks include some well-known GMMTV stars, such as Mark Pakin (outstanding in both "Moonlight Chicken" and "Only Friends") and Aun ("Only Boo!," "Perfect 10 Liners"). The high-personality supporting actors are needed to balance Gemini’s woodenness.
I first saw Gemini in "Moonlight Chicken," where he played a withdrawn hearing-impaired teenager being gently introduced to the larger world by his sensitive and caring new friend, played by Fourth. Being hearing-impaired can impose its own special kind of isolation, leading sometimes to a noticeable decrease in the outward expression of emotion (low affect). When Gemini displayed a limited emotional range, I therefore thought he was in character. After seeing him now in three series playing three different characters, each of whom had contained emotions, I’m no longer so sure.
Whatever the source of Gemini’s controlled performance - character choice or natural register - Fourth more than just compensates for it; he transforms it into something that works. Gemini and Fourth together are truly more than the sum of their parts.
The overwhelming reaction to "My School President" was that it was an exceptional example of BL fluff at its best, and it certainly is, but that, I think missed the point. My School President proved that sheer fun and social meaning do not have to be mutually exclusive. As entertaining as it is, it carries an important, mature message exemplified by Mark’s question to Fourth, "Why can’t people be as kind as the series we watch?” That question lingers with me.
I was fully, happily, unguardedly charmed, but then, it introduced … issues. Sincere, genuine, mature issues that work within the world the series creates: the difficulty of some parents coming to grips with having a Gay child, the ever present threat of homophobic violence, a couple trying to decide how to come out to their friends, how a Gay couple establishes a relationship with each others’ parents, the clash of people coming together from two vastly different socio-economic backgrounds, the importance of friendship, and more, and I am left with a new understanding: fluff can be important.
Conflict is often introduced in BL as an excuse for writers running out of ideas. Instead of furthering character or plot, conflict therefore often serves as filler. This “conflict for conflict’s sake” is so common that BL fans even have a term for it, the “Episode 11 Curse.”
That is almost never the case in "My School President." Tinn's mother (Pim Pympan) hesitates because of genuine concern for a Gay child in a homophobic world (not a cartoonish knee-jerk rejection) and she gradually grows in her understanding and acceptance. And yet, the introduction of a homophobic character proved her concerns were not only valid but unfortunately relevant to the real world - the world beyond the protective, sheltering BL bubble.
The Episode 11 Curse still occurs, however, in, yes, Episode 11. The conflict is relatively minor, but that’s not the problem. Rather, almost all of Episode 11 is filler. It could have been cut by 3/4 and still made its points. Once again, writers seem to approach a series’ end, run out of ideas, and tread water until Episode 12. To their credit, however, the writers did not introduce shock value and kept the padding within the tone already established by the series. It may have been boring and unnecessary, but it wasn’t a tonal whiplash.
The fact that I remained invested even during a slow section is due largely to an outstanding performance by Fourth, who anchors - no, carries, almost singlehandedly - the entire series. Acting since he was a child and with GMMTV since he was 15, Fourth brought a grounded naturalness, a mature professionalism, energy, and a sense of being fully present in every scene despite the fact that he was only 17 when filming started. His group of close friends (the adorbs) complement the high-energy joy Fourth brings to the series.
In contrast are the student council members (the dorks), led by Gemini, who are more tightly-wound. The dorks include some well-known GMMTV stars, such as Mark Pakin (outstanding in both "Moonlight Chicken" and "Only Friends") and Aun ("Only Boo!," "Perfect 10 Liners"). The high-personality supporting actors are needed to balance Gemini’s woodenness.
I first saw Gemini in "Moonlight Chicken," where he played a withdrawn hearing-impaired teenager being gently introduced to the larger world by his sensitive and caring new friend, played by Fourth. Being hearing-impaired can impose its own special kind of isolation, leading sometimes to a noticeable decrease in the outward expression of emotion (low affect). When Gemini displayed a limited emotional range, I therefore thought he was in character. After seeing him now in three series playing three different characters, each of whom had contained emotions, I’m no longer so sure.
Whatever the source of Gemini’s controlled performance - character choice or natural register - Fourth more than just compensates for it; he transforms it into something that works. Gemini and Fourth together are truly more than the sum of their parts.
The overwhelming reaction to "My School President" was that it was an exceptional example of BL fluff at its best, and it certainly is, but that, I think missed the point. My School President proved that sheer fun and social meaning do not have to be mutually exclusive. As entertaining as it is, it carries an important, mature message exemplified by Mark’s question to Fourth, "Why can’t people be as kind as the series we watch?” That question lingers with me.
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