Thai Gay Themed Movie "rainbow Boys" Very Surprising

[tominbkk]

A search on torrentz for Right By Me has some results.....downloading now.

[Ijustwannateach]

Thanks for the hint!

[tominbkk]

Thanks for the hint!

sure, it took about one day, but am getting ready to watch it now.....as well, I am seeding now locally, so it should be a fast download for anybody out to get it.

[LeCharivari]

.... is anyone aware how common actual support groups of the type portrayed in this film are out there in Thailand? I am aware of a number of HIV/AIDS NGOs, and a few support groups for sex workers. ....

Not "common" at all, IJWT, as "coming out" is very much a Western concept, much as "gay student movement"s and "Homophobes" are - its debatable which came first or if one led to the other.

I have always found the dichotomy between gay rights and gay acceptance in the East and the West to be rather an ironic one. In the West gays have an increasing amount of legal rights and legal protection but although homophobia is on the decline gays are still not entirely accepted as "normal", either socially or in the workplace, while in the East its the reverse as gays have virtually no legal rights or protection but although they have generally been accepted as "normal" before homophobia now seems to be on the rise.

On a separate note, the "support groups for sex workers" in Thailand, such as Swing, Sisters, MPLus and Empower, are more about improving conditions and legal rights for their members and providing sex education as well as general education, rather than "social counselling".

[Ijustwannateach]

I'll take that as a 'no'.

[tominbkk]

Well it was an OK movie, quite simple in storyline and character development, but charming in a Thai soap opera kind of way. Happy endings for all the main characters in the movie, in more ways than one! There's even one fairly sultry nipple licking scene towards the end.

I have worked in public and private schools, and have always found the katoey left to themselves. The gay guys are generally accepted within their peer group (of straight guys), if they are not overly effeminate or demonstrative in their sexuality. This movie's simplistic depiction of the katoey's plight leaves something to be desired. In one scene the main katoey character is out at night in hot pants and tank top walking under a freeway overpass bridge, and starts taunting some drunk construction workers when they whistle at him, talking about how their toothpicks wouldn't be enough to satisfy him. Then when they beat him up nobody seems to care that he was strolling around under a bridge dressed the way he was and taunting drunken simpelton workers. Even the boys who beat up the katoey character at school are really one dimensional and not believable at all.

Honestly, I never saw and never see any gay bashing at school here, like this movie tries to say is happening all the time. I find Thai boys and girls to at least be tolerant of their classmates. They may choose not to 'hang out' with them, but that is their prerogative. To tell you the truth, there have been katoeys I have encountered as an adult, whom are the noisiest and most embarrassing people, and who I wouldn't be caught dead being around. Just like I wouldn't hang around an obnoxiously macho guy or an obnoxiously slutty girl.

Nothing like in the states. I had two friends on different occasions beat mercilessly by young jocks who would bait and bash them (one got it with a baseball bat, was in ICU for 3 days). This was in the 80s, but I assume it still goes on there. Glad I live here!

Overall I would recommend the movie...the two gay guys, their budding romance, and family situations as they face 'coming out' is quite heart wrenching and as well heart warming. Honestly I doubt that very many thai guys who can act straight are coming out to their parents though, this seems to be more of an idyllic notion in a movie than reality, but it is worth it.

[tominbkk]

Something that struck me when I first saw this film (awhile back now)- is anyone aware how common actual support groups of the type portrayed in this film are out there in Thailand?

I think they are non-existant.

[LeCharivari]

In one scene the main katoey character is out at night in hot pants and tank top walking under a freeway overpass bridge, and starts taunting some drunk construction workers when they whistle at him, talking about how their toothpicks wouldn't be enough to satisfy him. Then when they beat him up nobody seems to care that he was strolling around under a bridge dressed the way he was and taunting drunken simpelton workers.

Sounds remarkably like the Coober Pedy scene in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Honestly I doubt that very many thai guys who can act straight are coming out to their parents though, this seems to be more of an idyllic notion in a movie than reality, but it is worth it.

I agree with all your comments, Tom, but I think the whole idea of Thais "coming out" is a bit of a Western concept and even then I think its a bit over-rated; I've never "come out" to anyone, as I've never been "in" - nobody ever asked (OK, twice in my life, in Thailand, and they must have been pretty dumb!), so I have never seen any need to raise the subject.

[tominbkk]

In one scene the main katoey character is out at night in hot pants and tank top walking under a freeway overpass bridge, and starts taunting some drunk construction workers when they whistle at him, talking about how their toothpicks wouldn't be enough to satisfy him. Then when they beat him up nobody seems to care that he was strolling around under a bridge dressed the way he was and taunting drunken simpelton workers.

Sounds remarkably like the Coober Pedy scene in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Honestly I doubt that very many thai guys who can act straight are coming out to their parents though, this seems to be more of an idyllic notion in a movie than reality, but it is worth it.

I agree with all your comments, Tom, but I think the whole idea of Thais "coming out" is a bit of a Western concept and even then I think its a bit over-rated; I've never "come out" to anyone, as I've never been "in" - nobody ever asked (OK, twice in my life, in Thailand, and they must have been pretty dumb!), so I have never seen any need to raise the subject.

Same here, nobody here gives a shit what I do with my partner, as long as I act respectfully outside in public, just like straight people have to do to be respected.

In my early 20s I came out to my brother, and a few friends, but it was usually because I didn't really have a choice in the matter, I just had to come clean more than anything else. My mom outed me, by sneaking into my room when I was home for the summer and reading a couple letters I was writing to friends about my amorous exploits on my trip to Mexico. Man, that pissed me off! We made up quite quickly though and she never had a problem with it thereafter, though my dad took a bit longer to accept the way things were to be.

The scene in the movie is actually quite touching, and what I would expect you would find happen in some Western families. I just don't see it going on that way here in Thailand.

Edited April 14, 2012 by tominbkk

[Jingthing]

The script was based on a Mexican American theme, not a Thai one.

[Ijustwannateach]

Yes, in that sense the film was a very odd though not ineffective 'fusion' work.

[afrodite]

Why are so many of you surprised that tourists/and many expats a like think that being gay Is very much accepted in Thailand? I had been bombarded with tales of this "gay acceptance" being fact a long time before I ever went to Thailand.

Example

Thailand is a highly tolerant country where sexual preference is regarded as a personal choice when it comes to homosexuality. Gays, lesbians and transsexuals are all accepted as part of the Thai way. Thai people - both gay and straight - are also known for their sweet, friendly and polite natures. All of this have contributed to making Thailand a prime gay tourist destination, with Bangkok often being dubbed as the gay capital of Asia.

This is a quote from Bangkok nightlife.

In the years that I have lived in Thailand I have never felt that it wasn't so. This, of course, makes a movie like this an eye opener for many people.

[Ijustwannateach]

It is not hard to find stories about Thai family/friends not exactly being super-enthusiastic over their sexuality. But it is not as bad as many, many, other places.

[pjbradley]

Thanks for the hint!

sure, it took about one day, but am getting ready to watch it now.....as well, I am seeding now locally, so it should be a fast download for anybody out to get it.

As the movie's producer and whose company owns the copyright, I'm less than thrilled at your stealing our intellectual property. God knows we don't get rich (we're lucky to break even) on producing media for Thailand's beleaguered gay population. We do sell the movie, though Forum Rule #10 forbids me from saying much more than that.

I'd greatly appreciate your taking it off from wherever you're passing it out. Thanks, Paul

[Ijustwannateach]

Thanks for the post, PJB. Perhaps anyone who wants to get a real copy of the movie should PM you.