Heated Rivalry: The Support Group

[LadyxGaGa 2,890]

1 hour ago, ElectricChapelR said:

I mean Rose is THAT female friend we all need 🥲

Svetlana too

NO FR LIKE SHE WAS SO SUPPORTIVE LIKE YES QUEEN 

[LadyxGaGa 2,890]

**** it im rewatching it i didnt kno they were books but im deff reading them 

 

REPRESENTATION MATTERS !!!

 

i hope all my gay friends take away from this what i took away from watching POSE and gave me the gumption to finally transition. LOVE IS LOVE IS LOVE 

 

and love will never look or feel wrong!!!!

 

 

[Gorehound 5,043]

23 hours ago, Bronco said:

Well help me understand your standards then? 
Because I critiqued your standards, as I understand them, based on the examples you gave. And the examples you gave don't, in my view, present healthy queer relationships and actively rely on the standard homophobia we expect from the media in depicting queer relationships as fundamentally toxic and doomed. They arent gay love stories, they aren't justice for gay relationships - with the exception of God's Own Country, they are passive indictments of queerness as being incompatiable with stability and happiness.

If we want to talk visual story telling though - there are loads of small moments, some physically acted other just through set design which are designed to display their deepening relationship. 

Look at the depictions of their love languages. Ilya is depcited as someone who loves through acts of service. In fact, the first emotional jeopardy moment for their story comes as a result of this love language manifesting. We see through out multiple episodes & scenes where Ilya hosts Shane at home or in a hotel room where he has explicitly got Shane's comfort food (Canada Dry) available for him and when he cooks for him, its something complient with diet.  

And that Canada Dry visual metaphor is present throughout the entire story arc set off by that visit to Ilya's home. From that moment on, we see repeated references to everyone around Shane judging his drink of choice or not having it available for him (at the bar where he meets Rose for the first time) and Shane having to alter his own behaviours to fit in (breaking his diet at the bar). (Because that ginger ale obsession in the show is a thinly veiled metaphor for Shane's sexuality). 

As for Shane, we repeatedly see Shane become overstimulated by situations. There's 3 major moments where Shane crashes out due to overstimulation - the first visit to Ilya's home where he panics at the sudden domesticity, the moment his Dad catches them at the cottage and then during the family meal. 

Only 2 of these 3 moments do we see him come back from the edge - and in both of these moments its because of him being able to ground himself through Ilya (partly as an act of submission and primarily as an act of touch). When he's freaking out after they are discovered, he physically grounds himself through Ilya as an emotional rock and takes comfort from entering a submissive pose with Ilya. And then when he's freaking out at his parent's house, its again an act of touch that allows him to ground himself through Ilya -with Ilya gently turning him to face him and talking him back from the edge. 
And Ilya is depicted in the show as the only person, even including Shane's parents, who thoroughly understands Shane's neurodivergence and accepts and accomodates it without reservation in a number of ways. He's the only character who allows Shane to be himself without putting any expectation of how he should be throughout the show.  

There's other things as well - our first visit to Russia, Ilya up until this point is presented as a ****boi who sleeps around and everything is casual. And yet, at this point in time, when offered it up on a plate he refuses it. The next time we see Ilya (because ep 3 is the Scott Hunter ep), it's when he makes his first declaration of being in love to Shane. 
Or in the famous All the Things She Said scene - we get the juxtaposition of Shane being nervous/reluctant of going up the apartment steps with Rose, the same steps he raced Ilya up before they ****ed for the first time. We also see Ilya yet again choose to go home alone because he can't have Shane in that moment. 

And in the biggest single use of visual storytelling - the frequency of sexual encounters being depicted on screen decreases in accordance with the progression of their relationship. As soon as that first conflict happens in Ep 4, they aren't depicted as having sex on screen again until *after* they've admitted their feelings for eachother (ep 5) and actively chose to be together (the ending of Ep5). Its a deliberate demarkation of the shift in the dynamic from a casual situationship built on hookups into an actual intimate and romantic relationship.  

So yeah, I won't comment on camera work etc because that's just not my fortay. But like, visual storytelling is there. And it's realistically the only way the show actually tells its story. 

 

Ok, please don’t accuse me of having poor standards when it comes to depictions of gay romance. I’m happy that Heated Rivalry portrays gay romance in such a healthy, just and relatable manner, and I appreciate just how essential this is to queer media and we definitely need more of it. My argument with this show is with aesthetics, not thematics. I apologise that I was vague when I said “I've seen gay romance done so much better than this”, as I should have emphasised I was referring to visual design, and really I could have listed any stylish romance film, not just queer, to make this point.

 

Most of the examples you have given here all come from the actors and how they chose to depict their characters and their interactions. I said in my initial post that “the actors are excellent I've gotta admit”. I agree that they conveyed their emotions, their passion and conflicts very well and yes that is the leading factor in the visual storytelling. There I have very little notes. (And I like the point about the ginger ale being a veiled metaphor for Shane's sexuality, I hadn't noticed that).

 

My main issue with this show is with the director, cinematographer and general visual design.

To me, this show is inherently styleless. Most scenes, (especially in the first few episodes), are all mainly shot from one point of view, static and flat. There’s a major lack of creativity and visual intrigue. This show felt stylistically closer to the likes of Coronation Street or Hollyoaks than it did to a professional looking, artistic piece of filmography.

When I watch this show I just see such wasted potential. I understand that, (and with such a minimal budget), they were going for standard realism, and for some that’s enough as it’s easily digestible and relatable (and perhaps it’s power is in its simplicity), but it’s a shame to me when there’s such an intense, passionate and complex dynamic unfolding in the story with great actors that the director didn’t accentuate it with a creative visual aesthetic. I’m not saying make it full on Art House, but at least make it something striking and alluring. I listed those handful of films not because of how they portray gay romance thematically or ethically, but because each one has a pretty unique and stylised visual design. Each one depicts the characters interactions and their situations through very imaginative and magnetic cinematography and aesthetics.

 

Take Shane and Ilya’s first sexual encounter for example. We as gay men know exactly how our first gay sex experience felt. The complex and conflicting array of emotions and sensations - the intensity, the fear, the awkwardness, the shame, the lust, the breathlessness, the excitement, the incredible release etc. The book depicts this pretty well tbf, especially since it’s all experienced through Shane. But in the show, it’s executed in only two or three static shots, set feet away. The actors do a good job, but the scene itself does noting to capture the magnitude of this moment. The whole thing felt distinctly unremarkable and flat. They could have incorporated extreme close-ups of their faces, their intense eyes, their lips touching, their fingers brushing against their skin, the hairs on Shane’s arm standing on end at Ilya's first touch. The camera could have been hand-held at times, and jostle around them as they wrestle to the bed, then a high focus camera could have moved in slow-mo closely over them, exploring their bodies as they explore each other. Overhead shots, blurring, intricate and expressive editing etc. It would make the watcher really feel what they are feeling. The body heat, the sweat, the haze and deliriousness of the experience, the adrenaline… a real sense of importance. And the lighting and sound design; I know the hotel room is only lit by a bedside lamp, but they could’ve gotten creative with it. As they’re lost in the moment the lighting could’ve changed colours, moved around them to cast a play of shadows, flashed or blurred.. and the sound - incorporate echoes of heavy breathing, moans, a racing heartbeat….

The same can be said for most of their sex scenes. I think it’s a missed opportunity to help convey to the casual hetrosexual watcher that gay sex is not just smut and something to cringe away from, but something beautiful, natural and emotional. There have been many cinematic sex scenes in film (mostly straight), done in creative and almost surrealist ways, or in brutal realism… all of which are so effective and visually exciting.

 

Then, other than the sex scenes, you mentioned the use of touch as an essential part of the visual story telling. The tender, tactile nature of their interactions (which you’ve rightly praised), are often very subdued and the director could have really emphasised them by allowing the cinematography to hone in on these subtle yet vital moments. Touches, glances, body language etc.

 

Then the hockey! Tbh the hockey matches feel like they’re barely a part of this show the majority of the time, which again is such a waste of potential considering how vital they are to the story. Hockey is a high action, often violent and intense sport. The matches could’ve been filmed in such a fun and exciting way similar to the sex scenes. They could have mirrored each other to depict the characters tumultuous relationship - on the ice they are rivals, in the bed they are lovers - both are equal battles and two sides of the same coin.

Take ‘Challengers’ for example and the tennis scenes. Incredible and imaginative camera work, clever use of slow motion, hyper-close ups of their faces, eyes, muscles, fingers, sweat… It emphasises and heightens the sense of intensity. The use of first and third person perspectives, birds-eye views, ground views, fish-eye lenses….hell, sometimes the camera is even the tennis ball itself. The matches are no longer just a basic, bland tennis matches, but high energy, chaotic, vigorous battles that both reflect and build on the characters dynamic. The overall design is incredibly playful and effective.

 

Since most of Heated Rivalry consists of characters standing around and talking, having these highly stylised and creative depictions of the sex and hockey scenes would’ve added some much needed contrast to the show and would've accentuated them.

 

The same can be said for the general disregard for things like effective lighting, locations and music. The scores and song choices in the films I listed are all striking and stunning, whereas the music used in Heated Rivalry often sounds like cheap stock music from ArtList. Again, an issue with a low budget perhaps, but they could have had better taste with it. And the locations; multiple iconic, visually striking places in America, and Russia; yet we barely get a handful of basic establishing drone shots. Idk the show just felt distinctly un-cinematic to me. The lighting also does very little to accentuate the scenes, often rendering them visually uninteresting and dull. The nighttime cityscapes from their hotel windows and rooftops are a recurrent feature of the show yet they barely seem to factor. Whereas take ‘All Of Us Strangers’ - dazzling neon lighting, use of blurring, shadows and reflections in windows.. a similar thing with Moonlight. They were clearly both inspired by surrealism; the cinematography is sweeping. It feels alive and breathes.

 

‘Gods Own Country’ is one of my favourite films. I listed it because it’s an excellent example of how the aesthetics of the film are essential in relating to, and heightening, the story. The visual style of the icy cold, harsh, barren British landscape completely envelopes the entire movie and is essential to emphasising the incredible loneliness and isolation these characters feel. The cold is captured through the washed out, watercolour-like pastel hues used, the fog, the frost…you can feel it biting their skin. There’s almost a home-made feel to the film, yet the whole thing is visually stunning. Every paused frame could be a painting. The composition of where these two characters are stood, sat, lying or interacting is meticulously thought out. And their first sex scene in the mud is all done with a jolty, hand-held camera and jagged editing to emphasise with a gut-punch just how feral and animalistic their passion is in that moment.

 

Another example is the famous club scene. I actually liked this a fair bit and it’s a rare moment where the music choice is spot on! The iconic “All The Things She Said” by t.A.T.u. works perfectly. But even this scene could have been taken to new heights. The only example of a cool effective club scene in film I can think of off the top of my head is the club scene in Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, and it's not the best example tbf. The lighting and use of flairs, the haze and incredibly tight, claustrophobic depth of field, the slow motion, the edges of their bodies blurring into prisms which gives a shock of colour, the sense of heat and sweat, the camera right up close on their faces... these all do wonders in conveying the scene. I understand that the lead character has been drugged and is hallucinating, but these effects could’ve been incorporated to emphasise Shane’s conflict in that moment. The intoxication of the alcohol and the chaotic club scene, the frigidness with Rose and her friend, the triggered jealousy, pain and longing for Ilya etc.

 

I’m just rambling at this point but I hope I’ve put my point across.

There are good moments in Heated Rivalry, and with all these examples and suggestions I've given I wouldn’t want them to be done with a heavy hand because less is more sometimes and it would all have to be executed with good taste. But ye, I couldn’t help but find the overall show to be visually uninteresting and flat outside of the story. I didn’t feel any true creative passion or innovation in its design. The actors are great, the theme and message is great, the plot is ok at best, but very little else follows to really make me like this show. There is emotional depth in the performances of the actors, but the cinematography doesn’t do much to celebrate that. Had the project been given into the hands of a better director and creative team, it could have been sensational.

[ElectricChapelR 2,290]

15 hours ago, Gorehound said:

 

Ok, please don’t accuse me of having poor standards when it comes to depictions of gay romance. I’m happy that Heated Rivalry portrays gay romance in such a healthy, just and relatable manner, and I appreciate just how essential this is to queer media and we definitely need more of it. My argument with this show is with aesthetics, not thematics. I apologise that I was vague when I said “I've seen gay romance done so much better than this”, as I should have emphasised I was referring to visual design, and really I could have listed any stylish romance film, not just queer, to make this point.

 

Most of the examples you have given here all come from the actors and how they chose to depict their characters and their interactions. I said in my initial post that “the actors are excellent I've gotta admit”. I agree that they conveyed their emotions, their passion and conflicts very well and yes that is the leading factor in the visual storytelling. There I have very little notes. (And I like the point about the ginger ale being a veiled metaphor for Shane's sexuality, I hadn't noticed that).

 

My main issue with this show is with the director, cinematographer and general visual design.

To me, this show is inherently styleless. Most scenes, (especially in the first few episodes), are all mainly shot from one point of view, static and flat. There’s a major lack of creativity and visual intrigue. This show felt stylistically closer to the likes of Coronation Street or Hollyoaks than it did to a professional looking, artistic piece of filmography.

When I watch this show I just see such wasted potential. I understand that, (and with such a minimal budget), they were going for standard realism, and for some that’s enough as it’s easily digestible and relatable (and perhaps it’s power is in its simplicity), but it’s a shame to me when there’s such an intense, passionate and complex dynamic unfolding in the story with great actors that the director didn’t accentuate it with a creative visual aesthetic. I’m not saying make it full on Art House, but at least make it something striking and alluring. I listed those handful of films not because of how they portray gay romance thematically or ethically, but because each one has a pretty unique and stylised visual design. Each one depicts the characters interactions and their situations through very imaginative and magnetic cinematography and aesthetics.

 

Take Shane and Ilya’s first sexual encounter for example. We as gay men know exactly how our first gay sex experience felt. The complex and conflicting array of emotions and sensations - the intensity, the fear, the awkwardness, the shame, the lust, the breathlessness, the excitement, the incredible release etc. The book depicts this pretty well tbf, especially since it’s all experienced through Shane. But in the show, it’s executed in only two or three static shots, set feet away. The actors do a good job, but the scene itself does noting to capture the magnitude of this moment. The whole thing felt distinctly unremarkable and flat. They could have incorporated extreme close-ups of their faces, their intense eyes, their lips touching, their fingers brushing against their skin, the hairs on Shane’s arm standing on end at Ilya's first touch. The camera could have been hand-held at times, and jostle around them as they wrestle to the bed, then a high focus camera could have moved in slow-mo closely over them, exploring their bodies as they explore each other. Overhead shots, blurring, intricate and expressive editing etc. It would make the watcher really feel what they are feeling. The body heat, the sweat, the haze and deliriousness of the experience, the adrenaline… a real sense of importance. And the lighting and sound design; I know the hotel room is only lit by a bedside lamp, but they could’ve gotten creative with it. As they’re lost in the moment the lighting could’ve changed colours, moved around them to cast a play of shadows, flashed or blurred.. and the sound - incorporate echoes of heavy breathing, moans, a racing heartbeat….

The same can be said for most of their sex scenes. I think it’s a missed opportunity to help convey to the casual hetrosexual watcher that gay sex is not just smut and something to cringe away from, but something beautiful, natural and emotional. There have been many cinematic sex scenes in film (mostly straight), done in creative and almost surrealist ways, or in brutal realism… all of which are so effective and visually exciting.

 

Then, other than the sex scenes, you mentioned the use of touch as an essential part of the visual story telling. The tender, tactile nature of their interactions (which you’ve rightly praised), are often very subdued and the director could have really emphasised them by allowing the cinematography to hone in on these subtle yet vital moments. Touches, glances, body language etc.

 

Then the hockey! Tbh the hockey matches feel like they’re barely a part of this show the majority of the time, which again is such a waste of potential considering how vital they are to the story. Hockey is a high action, often violent and intense sport. The matches could’ve been filmed in such a fun and exciting way similar to the sex scenes. They could have mirrored each other to depict the characters tumultuous relationship - on the ice they are rivals, in the bed they are lovers - both are equal battles and two sides of the same coin.

Take ‘Challengers’ for example and the tennis scenes. Incredible and imaginative camera work, clever use of slow motion, hyper-close ups of their faces, eyes, muscles, fingers, sweat… It emphasises and heightens the sense of intensity. The use of first and third person perspectives, birds-eye views, ground views, fish-eye lenses….hell, sometimes the camera is even the tennis ball itself. The matches are no longer just a basic, bland tennis matches, but high energy, chaotic, vigorous battles that both reflect and build on the characters dynamic. The overall design is incredibly playful and effective.

 

Since most of Heated Rivalry consists of characters standing around and talking, having these highly stylised and creative depictions of the sex and hockey scenes would’ve added some much needed contrast to the show and would've accentuated them.

 

The same can be said for the general disregard for things like effective lighting, locations and music. The scores and song choices in the films I listed are all striking and stunning, whereas the music used in Heated Rivalry often sounds like cheap stock music from ArtList. Again, an issue with a low budget perhaps, but they could have had better taste with it. And the locations; multiple iconic, visually striking places in America, and Russia; yet we barely get a handful of basic establishing drone shots. Idk the show just felt distinctly un-cinematic to me. The lighting also does very little to accentuate the scenes, often rendering them visually uninteresting and dull. The nighttime cityscapes from their hotel windows and rooftops are a recurrent feature of the show yet they barely seem to factor. Whereas take ‘All Of Us Strangers’ - dazzling neon lighting, use of blurring, shadows and reflections in windows.. a similar thing with Moonlight. They were clearly both inspired by surrealism; the cinematography is sweeping. It feels alive and breathes.

 

‘Gods Own Country’ is one of my favourite films. I listed it because it’s an excellent example of how the aesthetics of the film are essential in relating to, and heightening, the story. The visual style of the icy cold, harsh, barren British landscape completely envelopes the entire movie and is essential to emphasising the incredible loneliness and isolation these characters feel. The cold is captured through the washed out, watercolour-like pastel hues used, the fog, the frost…you can feel it biting their skin. There’s almost a home-made feel to the film, yet the whole thing is visually stunning. Every paused frame could be a painting. The composition of where these two characters are stood, sat, lying or interacting is meticulously thought out. And their first sex scene in the mud is all done with a jolty, hand-held camera and jagged editing to emphasise with a gut-punch just how feral and animalistic their passion is in that moment.

 

Another example is the famous club scene. I actually liked this a fair bit and it’s a rare moment where the music choice is spot on! The iconic “All The Things She Said” by t.A.T.u. works perfectly. But even this scene could have been taken to new heights. The only example of a cool effective club scene in film I can think of off the top of my head is the club scene in Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, and it's not the best example tbf. The lighting and use of flairs, the haze and incredibly tight, claustrophobic depth of field, the slow motion, the edges of their bodies blurring into prisms which gives a shock of colour, the sense of heat and sweat, the camera right up close on their faces... these all do wonders in conveying the scene. I understand that the lead character has been drugged and is hallucinating, but these effects could’ve been incorporated to emphasise Shane’s conflict in that moment. The intoxication of the alcohol and the chaotic club scene, the frigidness with Rose and her friend, the triggered jealousy, pain and longing for Ilya etc.

 

I’m just rambling at this point but I hope I’ve put my point across.

There are good moments in Heated Rivalry, and with all these examples and suggestions I've given I wouldn’t want them to be done with a heavy hand because less is more sometimes and it would all have to be executed with good taste. But ye, I couldn’t help but find the overall show to be visually uninteresting and flat outside of the story. I didn’t feel any true creative passion or innovation in its design. The actors are great, the theme and message is great, the plot is ok at best, but very little else follows to really make me like this show. There is emotional depth in the performances of the actors, but the cinematography doesn’t do much to celebrate that. Had the project been given into the hands of a better director and creative team, it could have been sensational.

This is too much 

[Gorehound 5,043]

2 hours ago, ElectricChapelR said:

This is too much 

Well Bronco asked me to help him understand my point so I went for it 

I'm a highly creative person with a lot of ideas and imo it's interesting to brainstorm and share on how an artwork can be improved. Sorry I bothered I guess.

Edited Friday at 09:50 AM by Gorehound

[NUTELLA 18,063]

@Bronco fap till you chap!

[Bronco 17,169]

42 minutes ago, NUTELLA said:

@Bronco fap till you chap!

Until I can't walk

[Bronco 17,169]

11 hours ago, Gorehound said:

Well Bronco asked me to help him understand my point so I went for it 

I'm a highly creative person with a lot of ideas and imo it's interesting to brainstorm and share on how an artwork can be improved. Sorry I bothered I guess.

And its appreciated now I understand what your viewpoint is!

[Gorehound 5,043]

1 hour ago, Bronco said:

And its appreciated now I understand what your viewpoint is!

No sweat man. Either way the main thing is that the show is successful and getting a second season. Big win for representation in queer media. Apologies for the essay 

[Bronco 17,169]

1 hour ago, Gorehound said:

No sweat man. Either way the main thing is that the show is successful and getting a second season. Big win for representation in queer media. Apologies for the essay 

I mean we both went full media studies student on the essays tbf 😂

[phantasmas 11,442]

did yall see the Chinese + Vietnamese fans pay for LED billboard ads for Hudson + Connor's birthdays?!  (idk how to share the videos but theyre on tiktok, twitter + insta)

also why can't GGD do more stuff like that for Miss Gagita, lol 

[ElectricChapelR 2,290]

2 hours ago, phantasmas said:

did yall see the Chinese + Vietnamese fans pay for LED billboard ads for Hudson + Connor's birthdays?!  (idk how to share the videos but theyre on tiktok, twitter + insta)

also why can't GGD do more stuff like that for Miss Gagita, lol 

I feel like Hudson and Connor are the next big celebrities and the fresh faces that we needed in the entertainment industry in a long time.

[phantasmas 11,442]

Connor's on the newest cover of V Man Magazine!!! 

copies are already sold out (luckily i preordered mine) but u can read the story here: 

https://vman.com/article/vman-56-game-changers-with-connor-storrie/

[Horny Chicken 10,009]

43 minutes ago, phantasmas said:

Connor's on the newest cover of V Man Magazine!!! 

copies are already sold out (luckily i preordered mine) but u can read the story here: 

https://vman.com/article/vman-56-game-changers-with-connor-storrie/

 

He is so fine. 

[ElectricChapelR 2,290]

He is perfection OMG