A couple days ago, I wrote about “being aware when shipping on-screen couple or pairing” and last night I saw someone brought this culture up on a Reddit forum. As I have mentioned in my previous post, that I have no problem with this culture of on-screen coupling or pairing because I am aware of the media I am consuming. However, we know that this type of promotion will impact the fans and the actress involved, inevitably, and that’s what the Reddit user brought up in their post.
In China, "CP" is a popular Internet slang that stands for the imaginary lovers or couples in novel, drama or comic. To put it simply, "CP" is an abbreviation of either "couple" or "character pairing". (Source: Reddit) {alertInfo}
Unfortunately, the moderators of that Reddit forum had closed the comment section for the post. So I will make my long-ass comment on that post, here, my own blog/website.
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The blueprint of BL/GL pairings
Let’s begin by talking about the other side of GL genre, that is BL or Boys’ Love. GL genre follows the blueprint of BL, and this is how it goes:
First, they make a series. Then when the series and the main on-screen couple become popular, they will make events for the fans to meet the couple. That event is what we call “Fan Meet”, and usually they travel around Southeast Asia, but mostly the event will be held in Thailand.
Second, after the couple gain more and more popularity, if you are a lucky fan, the entertainment/production house will produce the next series. My sister who is into Thai BL says that sometimes it takes years from the first series to the next. Especially if the couple is newly paired.
The cycle goes like that for years. Sometimes one of the actor/actress will be involved in another project without their BL/GL pairing. As long as the entertainment/production house still wants to “milk” their popularity, there is a higher chance you will find them together once again in another project.
My sister says that the actor/actress of BL/GL pairing are very open about the nature of their relationship. Usually during interviews or when a fan asks them directly, they will make it obvious if what they do with their on-screen couple is merely a fan-service or they simply get along well like best friends. Yet again, their personal life is totally none of our business.
From the business-side of things
My take on couple culture in Thai BL/GL industry is a good way to introduce their artists to the fans. They could accumulate fans through their BL/GL series, and they will surely receive either personal or pairing projects—and the entertainment/production house will profit from it either way.
I’m not against the CP culture. Surely, if people are really into this kind of thing, consuming it day and night, you will get tired of it either way. And I think I have mentioned it in my previous post before, it’s a good chance to take some distance.
I believe that the actor and actress are aware of what they are getting themselves into. One of the Thai BL actor made a vlog that you can check out on YouTube as he answers Thai BL fans burning questions.
You can see they are professional. And whatever happens to them after the popularity of their series, they might have think about it thoroughly for sure. It’s our awareness that they are just doing their job to entertain us is what is most important for us, the fans, to keep in mind.
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