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chickenstrangers · 7 months

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thinking more about alan and wen and jim and beam in parallel because while alan and wen's story is heartbreaking by itself it's really when the two are contrasted that it truly devastates me and I don't think that I can really just consider either in isolation.

moonlight chicken is a story of juxtapositions. specific shots are returned to repeatedly with different meanings. the theme of community cannot be separated from the pain of loneliness. the betrayal jim experienced with beam, he superimposes onto wen and alan even though the situation is different. wen's desperate loneliness that leads him to seek jim out so determinedly, versus jim's loneliness that he has built up like walls to protect himself.

the guilt wen feels, I'm sorry for being the one who fell out of love with you, versus the guilt jim feels for not being able to stop beam from dying. both things they can't control, both things that scar them. jim's grief wrapped up in the pain of the betrayal, the loss of everything they built together.

alan and wen's engagement rings juxtaposed with the documents and accounts all in beam's name. both reminders of the lack of legal protections they have.

alan and wen both hurt each other. wen's fault was in staying, alan's fault was in asking him to stay. it's so incredibly mundane, so incredibly sad. it's more complicated with jim and beam, beam betrayed him, but that doesn't mean he never loved him. we never get to hear his story, really, not that it would absolve him. but the show is incredibly sparse with a lot of its storytelling. we don't get the opportunity to see his backstory, just like jim doesn't get the opportunity to really understand beam's choices.

alan and wen get their closure together. they talk about their breakup at the restaurant, they choose not to rekindle the fire. they're able to move on, exist around each other, start to be friends. wen moves out, finds a place of his own, and a home with jim, but alan is still a part of their community.

jim never gets that closure with beam. the closest he gets is the conversation with beam's partner on the beach. and he never moves out. he's surrounded by reminders of beam, the house they lived in together, the diner they built, the diner he both hates and loves. but he makes a home in that memory.

jim and beam never break up, beam dies in the middle of a fight. and it's a different type of pain than what alan and wen go through, but it's so painful that jim never gets to fully hate beam because it's wrapped up in this incredibly complex grief.

but sometimes you don't get that closure you don't get answers you're just left with love and pain and grief and nowhere to put it.

#anyway it's thinking of moonlight chicken hours again #when is it ever not though?#moonlight chicken #alanwen #jimbeam #moonlight chicken meta #thinking thoughts #more of a ramble i suppose

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liyazaki · 1 year

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I have zero place commenting on today's episode (I've only seen the first 2 eps), but from what I'm seeing? Moonlight Chicken has ascended into the rarest category of BL content: showcasing nuanced, highly-complex, grown-ass-people-in-relationships issues.

no one goes into a relationship thinking it's going to end. with that heady cocktail of hormones coursing through your veins, you can't even fathom a world where you don't feel this way forever. you might even think, "when the initial high fades, I'll choose to love this person." and hopefully, you can.

but sometimes, you just can't. not because it wasn't real, or because they aren't wonderful, or because it isn't healthy. you could have the most loving, supportive relationship in the world- but things never stop changing. you will never stop changing.

the grief & guilt over outgrowing a relationship can be unspeakably devastating. it doesn't make you a horrendous human being. it doesn't make you a failure, even though it sure as hell might feel like it. it doesn't change the reality that it just doesn't fit anymore.

the hardest thing? knowing when to fold. in being able to discern between actual hope & desperately clinging to a dead or dying thing. to what isn't anymore & will likely never be again.

if we just gave ourselves a little more grace to be human, to not be infallible- we'd hurt others (& ourselves) so much less. we wouldn't overstay when we should've left, or try to twist & contort ourselves into something we aren't anymore.

endings will always hurt. how much they hurt- & who they hurt- is (at least partially) up to us.

#moonlight chicken #moonlight chicken the series #moonlight chicken meta #midnight series #i didn't have 'write meta about an ep you haven't even watched' on my 2023 bingo card & yet

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waitmyturtles · 1 year

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Moonlight Chicken: Big Themes

March 4, 2023: UPDATED FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES (EPISODES 1-8) IN THE REBLOGS!

Inspired by a conversation last night on @respectthepetty‘s excellent observation about the meaning of the upcoming Marina food court development on Jim’s diner in Moonlight Chicken, I’m going to try to list out all the macro themes we’ve seen so far in the show. I’m doing this because.... my mind is blown, BLOWN, at what I think Aof has already referenced so far, in only two episodes. Like, I’m shook. This guy’s a GENIUS. And I think I need to help myself by keeping track of what I’m seeing. And I’m sure I’m missing things, too, so please correct me if I missed something obvious!

I may try to keep up with this list as the show goes along, to help keep my deteriorating brain in check.

Episodes 1 and 2:

- Thai queer culture - The lunar calendar and associated mythologies (and this link, too) - Big nostalgia (I think, I hope) - The impact of macroeconomics on street culture in Thailand - The tug of older cultural mores, such as dowries, in modern times - How life differs for Jim and Wen in the light and in the dark - Food culture in Thailand (of course)

If anyone’s reading this, tell me what I’m missing, and I’ll add it to the list!

#moonlight chicken #moonlight chicken meta #backaof noppharnach #where else is this show going to go #moonlight chicken big themes

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heretherebedork · 1 year

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Moonlight Chicken is about moving on, about finding community, about learning to love, about learning to let go, about realizing you were never alone, about trusting in love, abut overcoming your internalized prejudices, about the power of relationships (romantic, platonic and familial) and how they are shaped in day and in night and in life and in death and in loss and in gain and in change and in choices, it's about your family and it's about what family means and it's about loving with your whole heart and smashing down your walls and opening up even when you know you might get hurt again.

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chicademartinica · 1 year

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I bet my bottom dolla that Jim is really 32 and he says that “he is almost 40” because he tired.

#moonlight chicken meta #moonlight chicken #jimwen #let me see some ID sir

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bengiyo · 1 year

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It’s so important to me that Li Ming shared his first beer with his uncle. You can see it in his expression that Li Ming appreciates the significance of the gesture. I’m a boy; I had my first beers with my uncles on both sides of my family. It is very much a rite of passage that you learn about this with your elders.

Jim is standing up for his nephew again. He’s telling him very plainly that he sees him. He’s willing to trust him with vices, and he’s wiling to trust him with his worries. These are the kinds of things men share with each other over beer. He told his nephew directly, “I worry that I may have been a bad influence on you.” Li Ming reassures his uncle in his own way that he does love him.

I am so glad that Fourth has a strong jawline like Earth, because they resemble each other enough that it works so well to see them sitting next to each other outside of the restaurant.

For those who’ve been with me a while and know how much I lost my mind over Cheep and Dej from My Ride, and Uncle Man from 21 Days Theory, I am so here for the specific relationships between gay uncles and their nephews. It’s not easy being the queer elder and feeling this enormous responsibility for them, but sometimes it’s as simple as giving your nephew his first beer and telling him that you got his back.

#moonlight chicken #moonlight chicken meta

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syrena-del-mar · 3 months

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BL Meta Masterlist

Hello! If you've landed on my page, it's likely that you came across one of my various BL metas that I've posted. I watch way too many for my own good and I try to write as much as I can when a show captivates me (though half of them become half-finished drafts rotting away). The actual number of meta that I have written in the last year, since La Pluie aired, has increased so much that I've have started to lose track of what I've written. So I'm compiling them all onto this list, which will be regularly updated with the new posts that I write.

Be My Favorite

Embracing the Waters of Uncertainty

Exploring Enclosures and Privacy in 'Be My Favorite'

Folklore of Flowers: Wisterias in 'Be My Favorite' Episode 6

Kawi's Journey with Self-Worth and Pisaeng's Reassurance

Dead Friend Forever

An Ode to Older Siblings: New in Dead Friend Forever, Episode 9

Celestial Pleasures: Miscellaneous Thoughts on PheeJin's NC Scenes

Dead Friend Forever is More Than Just A 90s Slasher Film Imitation

Echoes of Guilt: Exploring the Thin Line Between Tee's Redemption and Salvation in Dead Friend Forever, Episode 11

Examining the Use of Movie Posters in Dead Friend Forever, Episode 8

On Non's Medications: Lorazepam

On Non's Medications, Part 2: Quetiapine Fumarate

Selfish Desires and the Class War: Dead Friend Forever, Episode 10

The Nine Circles of Hell: Dead Friend Forever, Episode 7

KinnPorsche

Interlocking Narratives: Exploring the Chains of Kim and Chay

La Pluie

A Jungian Perspective on La Pluie

Balancing Self-Absorption and Love in La Pluie

La Pluie: A Tale of Tender Hearts

La Pluie meets Nora Roberts

The Depths of Inner Turmoil: Exploring Isolation, Connection, and Vulnerability in La Pluie Ep. 10

Third-Child Syndrome: Birth Order Theory in La Pluie

Last Twilight

Blind Spots of Motherhood: Last Twilight, Episode 10

Moonlight Chicken

Alan, the Textbook 'Nice Guy'

In Support of Uncle Jim

Only Friends

Boston, the Machiavellian Prince?

Notes of Desire: Sand's Possible Soundtrack

Threads of Boston's Intimacy: Crochet, Cotton and Connections

Very Rarely Do Men Know How to Be Altogether Wicked or Altogether Good

Step by Step

Carnation Flowers: Motherhood, Weddings and Juxtaposition of Sexualities

"Foliage, Flowers, and Feelings, Oh My!" in Step By Step Ep. 8.

The Birth Order Theory: The Only Child in Step By Step

Shorter Dive on Birth Order in Step by Step

Twins

Volleying Hearts: Navigating Love and Insecurities in Twins the Series, Ep. 10

Miscellaneous Metas

Revisiting Houses of Thai BL: Dead Friend Forever and Deep Night *NEW*

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telomeke · 1 year

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MOONLIGHT CHICKEN – SOME PRELIMINARY RAMBLINGS ON POSSIBLE META

We're only two episodes in (soon to be three), but noting that Moonlight Chicken is an eight-parter – that means we're already a quarter of the way through. 👀

So (based on Director Aof's previous work, like Bad Buddy) I'm fully invested in believing that the first few episodes (at least the first two) are going to be reasonably heavy with planted elements that will reveal their true significance as the plot unfurls.

It's a bit of a guessing game at the moment what these elements are, but there are already some leading contenders. And how they'll be relevant to later plot developments remains to be seen, but we should be finding out pretty soon! 😍

Top of everyone's list so far has got to be the moon, of course. It's in the title of the series, in the theme song, it's the brand of Jim's favorite beer and it's the central element of the Mid-Autumn Festival (which is exactly when Jim meets Wen).

According to Chinese belief (remembering that Moonlight Chicken is set within a Thai-Chinese context), the moon is at its roundest and brightest on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The moon in Chinese culture and tradition is referenced in various ways, but its chief significance at the Mid-Autumn Festival is that it represents the concept of reunion, especially reunion of the family (paralleled by the belief of the moon returning to its fullest and most complete form at this specific time of the year). And I think this conception of the moon as a metaphor for idealized completeness (whether in home or family life, or even in your own heart) is especially relevant to Jim and Wen.

What we see in Episodes 1 and 2 is that their lives are still incomplete in some ways. Wen's home life is marked by emptiness, with his partner Alan most notable for his absence than anything else. The lack of even a household animal for companionship in the residence they share is made all the more stark when we see how naturally and immediately affectionate Wen is with Jim's pet cat at Ep.1 [2/4] 1.11. (Part of me wishes Jimbo was a rabbit though! Because in Thai and Chinese belief it's a rabbit that lives on the moon. 🐇🌙💖 You can see a bunny on Jim's beer can because of this.)

Jim, on the other hand, does have (found) family all around him – Saleng and Li Ming read like his surrogate children to me, and he's also somewhat of a patriarch to the neighborhood (everyone calls him Loong, meaning Elder Uncle). But Jim's is a one-parent family that is rambunctious, needy and sprawling, and in giving so much of himself he's finding it tough to cope alone (while at the same time mysteriously rebuffing all efforts to shift him away from his state of singlehood).

I think this point about the incompleteness of Jim's family life is also underscored right at the very start of Ep.1, when he steps out of his diner into the street at the end of the opening scene – in the forefront of the shot is a makeshift altar for Mid-Autumn offerings, which you can logically expect to be the focal point of a family's rituals during this season of reunion.

But Jim stands there alone, and contemplates the moon, the altar and the street with no one by his side. 😥

This moment of solitude is referenced yet again in the scene at Ep.1 [1I4] 11.58, when the kindly neighborhood auntie reminds Jim to pray at another moon festival altar, and then speaks of his (or his and Wen's? 🤔) future children – once again the idea of completing one's family is being evoked (with the subtext being that Jim's own family life has yet to achieve completeness).

I also think Auntie mistakes Jim and Wen for a couple, and Jim plays along by taking Wen's joss sticks from him to plant into the holder together (which is why Wen looks a little taken aback at his forwardness, but this moment nevertheless foreshadows their coming together later):

So far, so obvious. But for me the one element in Ep.1 that absolutely crackles with parallels and sparks of potential future significance was revealed at Ep.1 [2/4] 3.20, when Wen looks at Jim's DVD:

The subtitles are a bit of a mish-mash here, and do not match what Wen reads off the DVD cover.

The English title for this 1996 Hong Kong movie is Comrades: Almost a Love Story (and it's a much-loved classic of contemporary Chinese cinema). But its Thai name is very different: เถียน มี มี่ 3650 วันรักเธอคนเดียว, which translates to something like Tian Mi Mi 3650 Days of Love for You Alone. (The Thai title is what we hear Wen reading.)

The Tian Mi Mi part is actually a nod to the movie's Chinese title (甜蜜蜜, pronounced tián mì mì in Mandarin, and this means something like sweet as honey, i.e., very sweet). But it's not the literal meaning that's being referenced here – Tian Mi Mi is also the title of an iconic Mandarin pop song by the singer Teresa Teng, and indeed the extensive repertoire of the late Taiwanese chanteuse is heavily used in the movie Comrades: Almost a Love Story, not just as background music but also as a feature around which a lot of the plot revolves.

Significantly, Moonlight Chicken's own theme song is another of Teresa Teng's greatest hits – The Moon Represents My Heart (月亮代表我的心/yuè liang dài biǎo wǒ de xīn) and it's no coincidence that Moonlight Chicken's creators have chosen it.

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Among all of Teresa Teng's recordings, The Moon Represents My Heart has also acquired an unexpected queer connection (see this explanation linked here). This surprising relevance to (Chinese) LGBTQ+ history and romance thus makes its use in this Thai-Chinese BL especially appropriate, in addition to the lunar reference. (Interestingly, the lyrics aren't so much about the reunion of loved ones, but more about the authenticity and unchanging nature of true love, with the moon here symbolic of that which is profound, constant and without guile.)

But the inclusion of The Moon Represents My Heart in this BL is also a nod to the songs used in Comrades: Almost a Love Story. I think they're making it clear that there will be other parallels between this movie and Moonlight Chicken, and so we should watch out for them too.

With that mandate in mind – Comrades: Almost a Love Story is about two very different individuals from mainland China (northerner Li Xiaojun and southerner Li Qiao) who move to vibrant 1985 Hong Kong in pursuit of their dreams for a better future. After a brief dalliance, their lives take them in different directions, and they only reunite, in New York City, after 10 years have passed. Their old feelings having remained true, and we are shown not just them getting back together, but also (in a flashback) that their pairing was always cosmically meant to be.

Moonlight Chicken's lunar symbolism at the Mid-Autumn festival (that of reunion) and its theme song are certainly called to mind by Xiaojun and Li Qiao's inevitable reunion at the end of the film. And the 10-year interval in their relationship explains why Comrades: Almost a Love Story's Thai title mentions 3650 days (approximately 10 years).

My Big-Brained Sweetheart (the other beloved BBS in my life) is watching along with me, and thinks that Wen's misreading of "3650 days" as "365 days" is signaling Moonlight Chicken's own trajectory for its two main protagonists – their proper coming together (or coming together again, if it is to be a reunion or reconciliation) may happen after a year, not ten. And I can't say I'm not intrigued by this idea.

So maybe they'll tie up Jim and Wen's story at the following year's Mid-Autumn Festival? With a resolution that calls to mind Li Qiao and Xiaojun's? The series' short run of only eight episodes means that this will precede 2023's actual festival by more than six months (taking Moonlight Chicken's timeline out from the past and into the future). Unless there's more of their story planned for broadcast when the Mid-Autumn Festival rolls around again in September 2023... 🤔

Anyway, that's not the only connection Jim's DVD movie has with Moonlight Chicken.

In Comrades: Almost a Love Story, the character of Li Xiaojun is played by the singer-actor Leon Lai (a superstar of the period). Leon Lai is better-known as Lai Ming (黎明) among Cantonese speakers (his surname is pronounced Lai in Cantonese, as it also is in his dad's Hakka dialect), but in Mandarin his name is pronounced Li Ming – and it's exactly the same name as that of Fourth's rebellious, restless character in Moonlight Chicken.

So Moonlight Chicken's Li Ming is named not after Li Xiaojun, but after the actor who plays him – I wasn't sure before, but now that the Mandarin subtitles are out I can confirm that this link is true. (There are many different Chinese characters that are phonetically rendered as li and ming – the only way to be absolutely sure of Li Ming's name is to see the actual characters themselves.)

But Leon Lai himself has acknowledged (in a Cantonese interview, cited on Wikipedia at this link here) that Xiaojun's story also parallels his own (they share the same surname 黎, and Leon was also uprooted from his Beijing birthplace in the north and moved to Hong Kong during his youth, when his Indonesian Hakka father shifted them there).

So Li Ming's story in Moonlight Chicken may well have parallels with Li Xiaojun's in Comrades: Almost a Love Story. I can certainly see how his yearning for a different life, possibly in the faraway west (when he was drawn to the Work/Travel scheme in Ep.2 [3I4]) could match how Comrades: Almost a Love Story's Xiaojun ends up in New York.

And there's still more. 👀

Li Ming's Chinese name (黎明) also plays off themes involving the moon, glinting with variously shaded meanings depending on how you illuminate it. This may have been why the writers chose to use Leon Lai's name instead of the character Li Xiaojun's – the layers of meaning are off the charts. 👍

The Li part of Li Ming (黎) on its own can mean muchness or plenitude, but it can also mean darkness or blackness. The Ming part (明) means brightness (and can mean both well-lit as well as intelligent, just like it does in English).

So one reading of his name is an abundance of brightness, but that's not the usual connotation. The words li ming together (黎明) actually mean dawn. Aside from signaling new beginnings, the dawn is logically (and poetically) also one time when the darkness of the night (li/黎) meets the brightness of day (ming/明). It is thus also a time when polar opposites (night and day, but also moon and sun) meet in a shared moment of reunion, echoing one of Moonlight Chicken's (possibly) central themes. 😍

This coming together of contrasts is also reflected in the Ming part of Li Ming's name. The character 明 (ming) that means brightness is itself made up of two characters that denote the two brightest elements in the sky – 日 (ri, that used to mean sun but is now more identified with day) and 月 (yue, that means month or moon – to refer to the moon formally it's usually combined with the character 亮/liang to form 月亮/yueliang, which is what we see in the Moonlight Chicken theme song title.)

So the Ming in Li Ming's name quite literally encompasses the conjoining of opposites (sun and moon) as well.

I've not fully decided who or what all this refers to yet, but a post by @respectthepetty (linked here) has more to say on the significance of the dawn in Moonlight Chicken and certainly helps point the way. 👍

For the moment though, the characters of Heart and Li Ming seem to me to be as much kindred as they are contrasting, despite their obvious differences in station. Both boys are trapped by circumstances in settings from which they long to break free – Heart within an oppressive, non-communicative family, and Li Ming in his uncle's world, where he feels he doesn't belong. In this, the plight of Li Xiaojun and Li Qiao as outsiders in Hong Kong and later New York also parallels Heart and Li Ming's fish-out-of-water situations.

And reading in tandem with parallels from Comrades: Almost a Love Story, Li Ming's name is undoubtedly signaling certain directions.

Both Heart and Li Ming are from different worlds (like Li Qiao's Guangzhou in the south and Xiaojun's Tianjin in the north, and also the dark night and bright day referenced in the dawn meaning of Li Ming's name).

But they are similar too, just as the sun and moon (that we can see in Li Ming's name) are both bright celestial bodies, and like how Li Qiao and Xiaojun are also bonded in their shared love for the songs of Teresa Teng. Like both sets of examples, (Li Qiao and Xiaojun, the sun and moon) it could be that Heart and Li Ming are destined to come together at some special point, in spite of their differences (as difficult or unlikely as this may be).

To escape the constraints of their vastly differing worlds, they'll need to find that secret third place (their own dawn) where their own union and new beginning can happen, and for their light to shine together. (I can see this perhaps applying to Jim and Wen too, so... nothing is confirmed! 😊)

Sorry to ramble, but they've given us a lot of food for thought. 🤔Now on to the rest of the show, and to see how much of this pans out (and how much will fall by the wayside). Episode 3 is taking us to Loi Krathong, so hopefully we'll get to see more of the Thai side of things as well. 🤩

#moonlight chicken #moonlight chicken meta

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itsbinghebitch · 1 year

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just as Moonlight Chicken comes to a close, i have the chance to find myself reading a book very relevant to its themes. How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell, discusses the notion of what it means to be useful in free market capitalism and felt very poignant as I was watching MLC, both book and show placing emphasis on rootedness and responsibility to our home/ecosystem in a world where, increasingly, our space and relationships are determined by the logic of capital.

throughout the show, Uncle Jim’s arc deals with the impending closure of his chicken diner due to corporate development in the area. we soon find out the pandemic has taken a toll on businesses in this neighborhood, and that Uncle Jim offers unlimited chicken to his customers after midnight. this is later questioned by Wen, who thinks Jim could be making a bigger profit if he ditched the all-you-can-eat after midnight business model, and notes that “other diners do that.” Uncle Jim disagrees. he says: “I’m comfortable with the way I’m doing it.” he thinks in terms of the larger ecosystem of his community: of the food waste (where we know big corporate chains like Starbucks have to dump good food at the end of each day), of the usefulness of his economic role beyond bringing him a profit.

Wen’s profit drive and his participation to the development of the Marina food court is shared by a few others in the MLC world: from the neighborhood local landlord to Gaipa’s mom. throughout the show, we feel the pressure of smaller players having to learn to adapt to grow in order to survive.

related to capitalist growth, Odell’s book says, “in the context of health and ecology, things that grow unchecked are often considered parasitic or cancerous. Yet we inhabit a culture that privileges novelty and growth over the cyclical and regenerative. Our very idea of productivity is premised on the idea of producing something new, whereas we do not tend to see maintenance and care as productive in the same way.”

economic growth in the universe of Pattaya, the Marina food court construction, Wen’s promotion, are all intertwined with the challenge of the same capitalist growth mindset at the level of interpersonal relationships: Wen chasing for a confirmation of his status with Jim, Li Ming’s struggle to determine his next step towards economic sufficiency, Heart becoming deaf and his parents’ reaction to essentially hide him away from society (with the implication that disabled individuals are a dissonant surplus in a society that functions by triaging its weakest).

the theme of leaving and starting anew is also important in MLC. Jim and Jam abandon their rural origin for economic prosperity; Li Ming’s wants to do the same with America. Wen leaves his relationship with Alan and Leng discusses the possibility of an abortion for his child with Praew. it stands out, therefore, that almost every character completes their arc not by leaving and starting anew, but by learning how to make use of what they have. Li Ming locks in his plans to leave not out of economic necessity, but out of the desire to help Heart. Leng and Praew stick together to raise their child despite economic difficulties.

notably, instead of cutting off ties, Wen and Alan leave room for friendship based on the mutual recognition of their past together and a relationship based on maintenance and care, which is important especially for queer people who may be estranged from biological family (it’s not lost on the viewer that Alan has no one but his sister-in-law to help with moving out). homophobic members of family are however muted and de-emphasized; MLC is much more interested in spotlighting Gaipa’s mom and Jam coming to terms with their sons’ sexualities.

it’s also no wonder that at the end of the show, we don’t find Uncle Jim overhauling his life to create a different economic reality for himself. he is instead content to be providing for his newly enlarged family, as well as the rest of the community, as he repurposes his diner into a food truck. he parts ways with us on the following note: “I choose to sell Chicken Rice because it’s a simple dish consisted of four components: rice, chicken, broth, and sauce. It might only have four units, yet everyone’s definition of ‘delicious’ differs. Some love to eat chicken skin. Some love chicken thighs. Some don’t eat it with the sauce at all. Some love the hot broth. That’s what makes this simple dish stand out.”

and in a world where capitalism tells us to disrupt and innovate, this is, in fact, counterculture: the idea that a simple dish like chicken and rice shouldn’t be changed. that it is already great in and of its own, though it can look differently for everyone; it only requires us to have the right perspective and outlook to see its value. as Jim contemplates this throughout the show, it could be that the ‘right person’ and the ‘right time’ is right there in front of you, or at least that’s what i think that is what MLC tells us. that instead of fleeing and searching for growth elsewhere, the most radical act you can take against capitalist displacement is to firmly plant your roots where you are; to renew, regenerate, restore and rekindle your relationship to those around you, to your community and, most importantly, to yourself.

#some thoughts on the anticapitalism/community care in mlc #moonlight chicken #moonlight chicken meta #long post #bl.txt

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distant-screaming · 1 year

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There's a really interesting parallel that's swirling around in my brain after watching ep 5 that isn't fully formed but I'm going to try and explain it, so please bear with me!

Essentially, there's a really interesting situation happening with Heart's parents + Jim - wherein Heart's parents are deaf to their son, and Jim is blind to Li Ming.

Heart's parents don't hear him, they don't make any effort to listen to him - or even talk to him. As many people pointed out, in one of the previous episodes Heart's mother comes to his room and then leaves with the notepad, so there's quite literally no way for her son to say anything to her. In episode 5, his parents don't even bother trying to ask for Heart's input in the conversation, not even via notepad. They just... talk around him. They're completely deaf to any sort of opinion that Heart might want to give. And in return, at some point, Heart has given up trying to communicate. He doesn't attempt to say anything during the discussion because he believes/knows he won't be heard. In fact, he only steps into the discussion because he knows Li Ming will hear him, will translate for him. There's just a complete lack of communication between Heart and his parents.

And on the other side of the parallel, Uncle Jim doesn't see Li Ming. Jim is so blinded by his own worldview and what he thinks is best for Li Ming's future (and there's a whole separate discussion here about that and how it plays into their personalities and environments but I digress) that he doesn't see what Li Ming is trying to show him, is trying to become. This is shown really clearly when, even after it becomes obvious that Li Ming is the only one that can translate for Heart, Jim still berates his nephew for being out of line. And in return, Li Ming (who is already struggling with the terrifying prospect of the future) turns away from his uncle. When there's an emergency, the first person he calls is Leng. He doesn't tell Jim about being friends with Heart, or about learning sign language, or - anything, really. Li Ming looks away from his uncle, says he would rather be cleaning someone's home than go to the diner. There is communication between Li Ming and Uncle Jim, but it's being blocked by both of them because, in their eyes, the other refuses to see them.

And this parallel is then contrasted in the way Heart and Li Ming treat each other, and it's so good - Li Ming listens to Heart. He learns sign language and, even before that, actually pays attention to what Heart wants. Similarly, Heart sees Li Ming, he acknowledges him. Probably the most obvious example of that is the water hose scene, in which Heart sees that Li Ming is upset, and tries to cheer him up.

Of course, there's a dynamic of relationships and age that comes into play as well, but that would make this a different tangent entirely.

#does this make sense?? it makes sense in my brain aodifjef #this is vaguely incoherent but. heartliming are taking up so much room in my brain fr #mlc #moonlight chicken #moonlight chicken spoilers #moonlight chicken meta #heartliming #distant screaming screams into the void

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chickenstrangers · 1 year

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Wen as Observer in Moonlight Chicken

Something that really stood out to me on this rewatch of Moonlight Chicken is that Wen is always looking. He's always watching, very intently, and with so much yearning and vulnerability.

I remember being struck by Wen's eyes the first time I saw Moonlight Chicken, but on rewatch I realized it's because he's always looking. Unwavering. The camera is always watching Wen and Wen is always watching others. We are introduced to Wen with an extended shot of him gazing at Jim and Jim gazing back, and from that moment on, Wen does not stop looking.

Wen acts as the audience's surrogate in a lot of ways. He's new to the chicken diner ensemble, he's an outsider, he meets the rest of the characters along with us. The emphasis on Wen watching the other characters also underlines how Wen can be read as the point of view character, though not the main character (to the extent that the show has a single main character, which as an ensemble it doesn't really but Jim is the cornerstone for all the other characters). Because of this, there's a lot we don't get to know about Wen, a lot of the details of his life before coming to Pattaya and meeting Jim are vague, but we get to see a lot about the other characters through Wen's eyes.

Wen is often placed on the outside, watching. He is sometimes physically separated from the rest of the chicken diner family, looking on from a distance when he's with his other coworkers or watching while cleaning from the other side of the diner as Jim talks to Gaipa or Saleng. He's isolated, separate from the group, an intruder even. He wants community, a home, but also doesn't feel like he can have it yet, due to his job, due to Alan, and so he has his own walls up, casting himself as observer.

But the moments that really stick out to me are when he's looking at them close up, while sitting with them, or in Jim's case, often about two inches from his face. He's so blatant about it. But no matter how close he is to them, for a long time Wen still feels like an outsider looking in, wanting to be part of it but often just on the edges. There's a lot of loneliness and longing in these glances, wanting to see but also wanting to be seen in return. Wen asks Jim outright, teasing, "Can't I look at you?" but Jim just smiles and looks away.

Because he has that outside perspective, Wen's the first one to know about Li Ming and Heart, seeing them together in the food court and instantly recognizing their connection. He takes a photo of the two of them when they ask, highlighting his role as observer, acting as the camera lens. He doesn't tell Jim about seeing them together, and when Jim asks, he tells Jim he needs to pay more attention and listen more. Jim is too close to the situation to fully recognize what is happening, what his nephew is going through, but Wen notices.

Wen is always looking at Jim, and at the rest of Jim's (found) family, which is starkly contrasted by how he acts around Alan. The first time Alan is introduced, Wen can barely hold his eyes for most of the scene. The tables have turned and now Alan is the one looking, searching for the connection that has been lost. Looking back would reveal too much vulnerability for Wen, the love that isn't there anymore, and the guilt he feels. Until Wen gets mad, and then he locks eye contact. By the end of the show, however, as their relationship starts to heal and they are able to maybe actually be friends, they both look at each other more, without the intensity of before, but with comfort and familiarity.

Jim avoids long periods eye contact with Wen for much of the show, and though he looks back at Wen, he often quickly glances away. He can't look at Wen for too long because he has put up so many barriers between the two of them, not letting him get close. The way that Wen looks at Jim is completely open and inviting, begging him to look back, which Jim doesn't let himself do until the last few episodes. Gong warns Wen to just not make eye contact in order to avoid any emotional intimacy, but throughout the show we see that Wen is physically incapable of that. Wen doesn't want to put up those barriers between himself and others, and especially Jim, in just the same way that Jim is desperately clinging to those walls to protect himself, not ready for another love that might destroy him.

It isn't until the end, when Jim starts to open up and let Wen into his life, that Jim consistently looks back. Before this, it often became painful to see Wen looking so intently at Jim, putting it all out there, but not being fully seen in return, reciprocated. But they both desperately want to look. They're both lonely, even when surrounded by people, but they're unable to let each other in or be let in. There's so much yearning for that closeness, on both of their parts. They just need to be vulnerable and look back.

#moonlight chicken #mix sahaphap #this post got too long but it can't be helped #wen's eyes have bewitched me body and soul #moonlight chicken meta #thinking thoughts #mlc meta #wen mlc #jimwen #earthmix #wen 👀

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chawarin-panich · 1 year

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the episode title 'wrong you right time' combined with the fact that by their 5th anniversary they're no longer touching sends me to a special level of alanwen hell like damn they really were genuinely in love and wanted to be with each other for a vast majority of their relationship. So how can two people who tried, who used to work to the point that wen proposed, suddenly stop making sense?

I think it's likely their engagement that catalyzed wen's dissatisfaction with their relationship. Waking up every day and going on with his life probably didn't feel bad, he might have even been content, he might have even been happy enough that he had proposed. But it's one thing to go through life thinking of only today and the next and a whole other to see your days being every day for the rest of your life. There's a lot of outside factors that can contribute to the dissatisfaction with one's everyday life. And I think it's those factors that led to their ultimate demise. We've all clocked Alan's demanding schedule but there were likely things Wen was dissatisfied with in his own life/career/routine that nothing to do with Alan.

Wen telling Jim that he wants to come home and be at peace has been interpreted by a lot of people (including myself) as Alan being the one actively disturbing that peace. The more likely scenario given ep. 5 is that there were other things in Wen's life that was disturbing his peace and when he'd come home Alan couldn't give him the comfort he sought.

I've joked about Alan processing his breakup the way i processed my phd (genuine highs but also very devastating lows from the same source) but...i think it did work a little bit like that where when other things in their life were happy and stable, they could be happy and stable together. When other aspects of their life went wrong, they were unable to comfort each other and be there for each other.

And I'm fairly certain, something like this - it ran both ways. Wen knows Alan even though he didn't know what to do with him, leading to their long messy breakup. I think it's likely he could tell that he wasn't very successful at being Alan's home either, leading to even more feelings of inadequacy and dissatisfaction.

I was really shocked at hearing Wen say 'i don't want to go jogging with you' and 'i don't want to go to shabu with you' like how can you kick a man who's down because you've broken up with him and ridicule the things he likes doing. But no, I've realized that it's less that Wen didn't like doing activities that Alan enjoyed and more that Wen had been reduced to just those activities by Alan himself.

Eventually, the balance between them being roommates over lovers tipped beyond a point that Wen could tolerate. Alan likely never really opened his heart to Wen and it made Wen realize that he hadn't opened his heart to him either. This was likely always true of them but they couldn't see it till they were tested with their lives growing more complicated.

Wrong You. Right Time.

#moonlight chicken #moonlight chicken meta #alanwen #dont touch me im having feelings #im unraveling at the seams

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waitmyturtles · 1 year

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Well — I can’t believe it’s over. Moonlight Chicken was… I’ll get the words for it. Satisfying is the first one that comes to mind. And MC was my first beginning-to-end fandom on Tumblr. The big brains, the META, the psychological and cultural analyses! I’m a peon in a sea of passionate geniuses here. I love this community so much.

Where do we start. Moonlight Chicken, episode 8/finale thoughts and impressions. As usual, quick hits first, then the big thinks.

1) So much wonderful fan service. And I know that fan service can often take a show out, and when fan service is included in a script, I’m sure that at times, it makes directors and screenwriters grit their teeth. But I’m REALLY THANKFUL for all the fan service with all the couples, and yes, I’m including First and Khao here, because — come awn, the way these two almost OVERACTED their relaxedness at the bank and the food truck at the end, I was giggle-crying. Had we seen Alan smile any bigger at any other point in the show than at the food truck? THE SWAPPING OF THE CHAT IDs? THOSE CUTE LOOKS? KHAO’S little head shakes? THE TURN AFTER RECEIVING THAT MYSTERY CHAT? THANK YOU, AOFFFFF, thank yoooouuuu! Thank you for knowing exactly what you were doing for us and our ships, ha.

A dear anon recommended My School President to me, and I’m gonna definitely watch it, because I’m officially a GemFourth stan. More on this later, but I absolutely adored that their storyline took up a huge chunk of screentime. Besides the storyline interweaving beautifully with the major theme arcs of this last episode, their chemistry just could not be better. It’s been well documented how Fourth has been EATING his role, but Gemini, too! The TEXTS! The knowing looks! How much Gemini is able to communicate just by looking at Fourth. SO SATISFYING AND FULFILLING, GAAAHH.

And, and, and — forgive me for being sentimental. Because I’m still so new to this wonderful world of Aof’s work and Thai BLs, I didn’t have to wait as long as so many of y’all in the family for Earth and Mix to reunite in such a good script. But I was still feeling the nostalgia early in the series at seeing these two together, and I felt it so strongly in this episode. Jim FINALLY breaking out of his shell. Calling Wen his boyfriend. Leaning in to make a move (on the wonderful couch). Holding Wen’s hand and squeezing it in response to Wen. Gah. Too great.

Just, like….. how are these GMMTV couples SO GOOD? HOW ARE THEY SO GOOD TOGETHER? (Yes, not quite accurate to call AlanGaipa a couple, but shhhhh.) Anyway, sighs of happiness.

2) LENG. Gossipy. Luv u. Sneaky b.

3) I know we kinda despise her (and by “we,” I mean all of my inner children who want to grab these guilt-stricken, “what do I do nowwwww” whine-whine parents by the throat), but umm, Jam’s a 10! She cute! I liked her mall outfit, I cannot lie.

Jam came full circle. She admits to her shit. She figures out how to come thru in the most sensible way she can. I’ll offer more thoughts in a bit, but I’m actually a little glad that we didn’t get the rage scene that I so WANTED to see in episode 7. She’s ready to pony up for school. That’s the best way she can help, and I’m glad she was written as figuring that out.

What did I see happen to Jam? She leaned into the kind of parenting and family building that she could manage at this point in her life. What she was CAPABLE of, she did. She created a family table for ALL her family. To show that kind of blended family, eating all together, at peace, with a small child in their presence…. to have created a warm environment where Jim could finally, comfortably come out without judgement. She replicated the same table that Jim himself had created at his diner. She’s paying her dues back to BOTH her brother AND her son, both of whom she rejected and abandoned.

I have to hand it to Aof. My inner child’s heart is wrecked at this, but I have to hand it to him. He treats bad parents with compassion. ATOTS, Bad Buddy, and now here. He doesn’t blame bad parents for who they ARE — he instead skewers WHERE THEY CAME FROM, the culture from which these styles of parenting are borne. God, Aof. That’s not necessarily emotionally purging for Asian kids traumatized by the unexplored impact of filial piety. But it’s much more of a realistic artistic meditation, a FAIR one. I see what he did with Jam, and I ultimately have to appreciate it, even if I was dying for a rage episode. I appreciate that Aof, as an artist, will not succumb to base emotion simply because it’s the surface feeling. He will always dig and layer what ends up truly working as an emotionally balanced meditation.

4) Big themes. Once again — a return to the balance between old and new cultures and perspectives, and how us oldies get pulled along into the new age. But also, in this episode, we were reminded of what youngsters bring with THEM, from THEIR pasts, into their future.

This episode focused on Jim’s movement and Li Ming’s movement. Oh, my heart. I’ll start with Li Ming.

Li Ming is really a hero of mine — I think what he demonstrates for me is that youthful FEARLESSNESS towards change that we admire youngsters for so much — while us oldie parents are also worried about them, we fear for them, because we know that there are potholes and pitfalls when change can happen quickly and blindingly.

I think that's what Jim was referring to when he says to Jam that Li Ming helped him (Jim) find his maturity. That was at the core of the night talk that took place in episode 7. I think Jim saw, in Li Ming, what Jim *needed* to see in Li Ming to trust Li Ming with Li Ming's own growth. Jim needed to see that Li Ming could consider his options, and be more emotionally sophisticated and aware than Jim ever has been.

And, I think -- that helped Jim TRUST Li Ming. That wonderful short conversation between Li Ming and Jim, where Jim confirms with Li Ming that Jim is just *worried* about Li Ming, like a parent.

When Li Ming says, "love isn't that big of a deal." When Li Ming talks about other ways that life needs to be sustainable.

Li Ming KNOWS Jim, and knows HOW TO TALK TO JIM.

How brilliant is that, to see that in someone so young, just dominate you, an older person, by way of emotional knowledge and sophistication? Jim had no choice, in my read, but to trust Li Ming -- and, maybe, take some inspiration and take that sophistication, and internalize it, so that he (Jim) could begin to relax and find happiness as well.

5) The other story about Li Ming's movement is between him and Heart, and as I said before, I'm just totally sold on GeminiFourth as a pairing, because their dynamic was really perfect for the growth that needed to be demonstrated between the two of them.

HEART! We saw Heart shoot his shot, dang it! HEART! With his wanting a boyfriend, with his parents learning sign language, with PEOPLE AROUND HIM LEARNING HOW TO TALK TO HIM. On multiple levels, even if we didn't see all of it actively (like with Heart's parents), Heart made demands and shot his shots, just like Li Ming did with his own family.

GOOD GOD -- could Aof have used this motif more wonderfully, so EFFICIENTLY? Young people get shit done! No holds barred, they can bolt through their own obstacles, their own barriers, to get shit done. Young people aren't held down by the past, like some old uncles we know.

And yet. Young people CAN ALSO RESPECT THE PAST, AND BRING LONG-STANDING CULTURE WITH THEM -- as Heart and Li Ming showed at the temple, as Li Ming danced as a lion, bringing in the Lunar New Year (FULL CIRCLE from when the series premiered, y'all!) AND THAT'S GROWTH. That's how the world spins, that's how Pattaya spins -- a place caught in the middle between the old and the new, the historic and the modern. Just like Li Ming and Heart, they are always growing, always maturing, and fast, like young people do, before they get stagnant-ish and older-ish, like Uncle Jim.

6) And then we see the growth paradigm with Jim, as reflected in the mirror of Li Ming. We see Jim -- finally -- loosening up. We see Jim come out as paired up with Wen to his sister. We see them on a date, a romantic date on the beach. (Sure, Jim is still an old dad, complaining about the food or whatever, geez, Jim.)

We see him close the old place, and open a new place. We see that new place as a new and modern way to hold over the old culture -- khao man gai, outside, under the stars, the way it's supposed to be eaten in an equatorial country.

I'm borrowing the following screencap from @hummingbirdsinjune:

We see Jim, finally, reflecting. We see him reflecting on how people were able to move forward, people like Jam and Gaipa, while he reflected on how he was held back. We see him figuring out how he won't hold himself back, and won't LET HIMSELF BE HELD BACK, anymore. He cancels the lease to let go. He, finally, wants to be in control. He sells the car, one of his last links to Beam. And commits to moving forward in so many ways.

And he stays in Pattaya. So we know -- he's still going to be connected to the old ways, the historic culture, of Pattaya.

And when Wen choose to decline the job. When Wen -- AND JIM -- decide to build a home together. Home isn't anything modern. Home is HOME. Home is history. Home is building history together. Jim is both leaving things behind.... and leaving nothing behind. Because he's building all he needs in his life once more.

The building of home with Wen. That's what ultimately took me out about this episode.

7) I believe I finally got the khao man gai analogy to the show that I long wanted before the show premiered. As with Jam's table at her husband's house, when the guys were sitting and eating at the diner before the diner closed. Jim's family, Jim's community. How food brings everyone together. That was a presage, I think, for the home he was going to eventually build with Wen. Y'all know I wanted this, and I'm so glad I got it. Yay, chicken rice.

I'm totally going to have more thoughts over the next few days, but this is what I got for now. I'm so in debt to Aof as an Asian fan of his dramas for giving us such unbelievable commentary on culture and family. We are INCREDIBLY LUCKY to have this artist making these shows. They are so important to me as an Asian, as a lover of my culture and Asian cultures, as an Asian child and mother also struggling with the balance of old and new values and cultural rituals. Aof's shows teach me so much, about extra- and introspection, and Moonlight Chicken was absolutely no exception.

#moonlight chicken #moonlight chicken meta #earthmix #firstkhao #earth pirapat #mix sahaphap #first kanaphan #khaotung thanawat #geminifourth #fourth nattawat #gemini norawit #jim x wen #wen x jim #alan x gaipa #gaipa x alan #li ming x heart #heart x li ming #moonlight chicken episode 8

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heretherebedork · 1 year

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One of the major themes of Moonlight Chicken is realizing when the walls you've built to protect yourself are no longer protecting you but instead holding you back. It's about seeing when what you did to keep from falling apart has helped you grow stronger but now you need to stand without them and to open yourself back up to the chance of being hurt because that is simply part of life and part of living.

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chicademartinica · 1 year

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Two things I know to be true:

Leng wanted Alan to KNOW that Gaipa was single AND QUEER. Alan suspected it but now he knows because Leng’s character always demands clarity.

When Alan will be Gaipa’s date to Leng’s wedding, Jim gonna walk up to him with a smile and say “I know we cool or whatever but if you hurt my boy imma kill you. Now smile Wen’s coming.”

#moonlight chicken #moonlight chicken meta #alangaipa #firstkhao #mark pakin

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bengiyo · 1 year

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Moonlight Chicken Ep 8 (Finale) Stray Thoughts

This brings us to the end of finale week, and I couldn't ask for a better show to close us out.

Yesterday, Alan opted to stay with his family instead of compelling Wen to take care of him. Also, Jim and Wen went on a cute date..Jam came to the house to tell Li Ming that she wants to remarry and also wants to be a mother to him now. Li Ming did not want any of this at all because they have never been close, she didn't raise him, and be doesn't want her making decisions for him.

Meanwhile, Jim accidentally outed Li Ming to his mom as Jim struggled with his own fears and insecurities about Li Ming. He and Jam had a not-great conversation about it, and so Jim went to talk to Wen about it. Wen gave Jim some perspective, and Jim gave Wen probably the best sniff kiss we've seen in a very long time.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Hong passed away, and we spent the back half of the episode on her funeral. Khaotung destroyed us with his performances, and the funeral opened up all of the characters to think about where they are. Li Ming and Jim reconciled. Jim cleared things with Alan, who met Gaipa at the funeral. Heart and his family came to the funeral. Jim finally decided to let go of the restaurant and set down his burdens.

We just started and I'm already crying! Jim feels so much lighter now that the restaurant and Li Ming aren't weighing him down. He's also finally acting like a gay uncle. He's helping guide Jam away from Li Ming and assuring her he'll help his nephew.

Chapter 8: The Self-made House and Home

It's such a relief to see Li Ming comfortable around Jim again.

Big fan of the "Person's for Men" hoodie.

I love Wen. I want to be this bold in love.

Fourth has incredible chemistry with Lookwa. I get why they paired them twice. Jam has had a messy romantic history her son has witnessed. I get why she values his approval.

There are so many people like Gaipa, who went on to get degrees that they don't necessarily get to use. I don't think they should be ashamed of the lives they've built.

I like that Wen and Gaipa never turned nasty with each other over Jim.

This party was so sweet. Saleng is being that cousin again. Li Ming taught Heart how to cut chicken. Wen made fuck-me eyes at Jim. Jim basked in the warmth of his little family.

I like how double-speak is a constant character trait of Alan's.

Heart's mom is really trying. I'm glad they told her about the school Heart wants to attend.

Heart and Li Ming are so adorable that it almost hurts. Fourth is all about kissing the homies.

I see Earth and Fourth aren't just gonna give me a break. "When did you know yourself?" is really the question. I don't mind Li Ming not answering, but the way he answers tells me he always knew about his uncle and chose to live with him because he didn't want to figure himself out with anyone else. I'm so glad Jim reiterated that there's nothing wrong with him, even as Li Ming gives the kid answer that getting money is more important.

That hug from behind? I think that was inspired by all of the GMMTV actors hugging Aof that way. Gosh, Fourth is really a special talent.

Big fan of this last minute complication in Wen's promotion.

The "Welcome Back Foam Fest" shirt is foreshadowing Tinn's fantasy in My School President.

First and Khaotung are so powerful. They sailed an entire ship in two scenes.

Kinda like the idea of Jim with a food truck.

Oh, I'm crying because of Mark Pakin again. Leng got the necklace back, and is working well enough that Praew can focus on carrying for their son, Jason.

Jim took Wen to meet his sister's new family and called him boyfriend. Wen is giddy in his seat over it.

I said this earlier, but Lookwa and Fourth work so well together. I like how she immediately tried to use sign to thank Heart. You can see her making the decision to get the money for Li Ming to go with Heart to America.

They really did the thing with Heart and Li Ming. I see why GMMTV greenlit them for Our Skyy 2 even before My School President released.

I really love how Aof's compassion and empathy infuses his characters. Yes, Jam was not a good mother to Li Ming, but she's trying to do right by him now. Life is the future, and she's doing what she can now to help Li Ming the way he wants to be helped.

They saw the shift in demeanor when Li Ming stopped being so angry and knew that Fourth and Gemini could carry a show.

I really love Alan joining their little family at the end here. Of course Saleng is going to tease Gaipa. I also like that Wen is learning sign language as well. What a beautiful final shot.

What a pleasant epilogue. Loved the metaphor about there being nothing wrong with the DVD, and rather it just being the player. You are still capable of love. You just need to try a different player.

Final Verdict: 10, Must Watch. This was Aof's best work so far with his best cast. This show managed all of its threads flawlessly without a single missed beat. Everyone is dialed in the entire time to tell a story about the families we build and the love we bring to our communities. In so many ways this feels like Aof in conversation with Boss from I Told Sunset About You. I have such high hopes for the future of queer storytelling out of Thailand after the last week.

#Moonlight Chicken #midnight series: moonlight chicken #moonlight chicken meta #thai bl #bl series #thai drama #backaof noppharnach #Ben watches

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