Believe it or not, I'm actually thinking of giving The White Lotus Season 3 a shot. It takes place in Thailand. I've visited: beautiful temples and monasteries, the Grand Palace. I took a class in Theravada Buddhism at the Institute of Buddhist Studies. I'm into Asian guys.
Sure, it's produced by major homophobe Mike White, and the earlier seasons had some of the most offensive gay predator stereotypes, but...it's Thailand.
But before investing, let's see how homophobic it is with the "Season 3" anad the "Coming Up in Season 3" trailers.
Trailer:
1. An Anglo husband, wife, and three young adult children, and a middle aged woman come ashore, followed by a plus-sized African-American woman, while the voiceover tells us, "At the end of the week, you'll be a different person."
I think they are Timothy Ratliff (Jason Isaacs, left), wife, daughter, and sons; and Belinda.
2. Montage of female Thai dancers, Rick (Walton Goggins) kissing his girlfriend, and Three Women crying, screaming, and jumping out of a window. The voiceover: "What happens in Thailand, stays in Thailand."
3. Establishing shots of the resort, with the manager, maybe Fabian (Christian Feidrel), saying "Our hotel is the best in the world."
4. The Three Women toast each other. "To Thailand, and a week of memories." Some couples on a boat.
Then back to the Ratliff family from Scene 1. Mom is happy that her children are all together, but they are miserable.
5. Belinda from Scene 1 getting and giving massages, so she can bring her skills back to Maui. I guess she's going to become a masseuse.
6. Rick and his girlfriend going to dinner. She tells him that this is a wellness resort, so he should get a facial, because everyone thinks that he's her father. She will help him find his joy again.
7. The Three Women hugging and laughing. One lies down in a bikini.
8. Tax Evader Timothy Ratliff gets a phone call. He won't tell his family what it's about, because "We're poor now and Daddy's going to prison."
9. A masked robber invades a jewelry store. Maybe he's Timothy, trying to make some money? A cop, maybe Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) runs out to apprehend him, and gets clobbered. A new security guard is told, "Your job is to protect the hotel."10. Cop Gaitok says "I don't want to hurt anyone," and fires his gun, while his girlfriend tells him "You've got to be stronger than this."
11. Tax Evader Timothy Ratliff asks his wife, "What if we lost everything?" She would "not want to live." Uh-oh, she's going to be murdered.
12. The Three Women laughing and hugging some more. One cries.
13. One of the Ratliff sons, I think Lochlan (Sam Nivola), asks his brother Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger, left), "What if this life is just a test, to see if we can be better people?" over a montage of a shirtless guy approaching Massseuse Belinda, Rick holding a snake, and Cop Gaitok and his girlfriend watching a show and laughing.
Saxon finds the "Life is a test" theory ridiculous.
14. A shirtless Saxon twirls a woman, Timothy pulls out a gun, fireworks, a woman in a bikini, Rick kissing his girlfriend, partying, Buddha, partying, a woman's legs, a corpse, screaming.
15. A man tells Belinda the Masseuse, "Go big or go home."
The only male character not shown with a girlfriend is Lochlan Ratliff. Let's try the "Upcoming Trailer:" After the break
2. A waiter approaches a table of The Three Women, who say "What happens in Thailand, stays in Thailand." Cut to him or someone who looks like him massaging a woman's face.
3. Manager Fabian tells Belinda the Masseuse, "One of our regulars was asking about you." She is suspicious, but he continues that the guy has a "lovely girlfriend, but he seems interested in you."
Cut to a woman kissing the head of an Elderly Guy -- maybe Jon Gries? Belinda the Masseuse walks by, and Elderly Guy gawks. She tells Manager Fabian "I think we should call the police." About being gawked at? Every female character has been shown getting gawked at
4. Lochlan Ratliff tells his sister, "Saxon says you've never had sex." She is overcome with embarrassment. "It's weird cause you're so hot." So he'll be doing stuff with his sister.A guy walks past and gawks at her. Cut to them having dinner. Got to choose between your brother and a hunk, girl?
5. Someone whispers "There are two men from the FBI" as a security guard looks on and Timothy Ratliff is told, "You're going to prison." "I would rather die." He cocks a gun as his daughter looks on, concerned. Wait -- the FBI can't arrest anyone in Thailand. It would have to be the Thai police, and then Timothy would have to be extradited to the U.S.
6. A Buddhist monastery. Tax Evader Timothy's daughter meditating as the guy next to her gawks. She tells her parents that she wants to develop her spirituality. Maybe she's burned out after choosing between her brother, the hunk, and the guy gawking at her.
Cut to a night scene in Bangkok, as Rick tells her, "I just got to deal with something first."
As a muscular man walks by, the Elderly Lady says that "Khun Sritala wants to hire you to be her bodyguard." I'd take the muscular man over Walton Goggins.
8. A Thai woman with a pageboy haircut smiles.
9. A man asks Cop Gaitok, "Do you have a killer instinct?" and shows him some files. He says he doesn't want to hurt anyone.
His girlfried is disappointed. "I thought you were more ambitious."
One of the Three Women is standing in a bedroom, while her friend says, "Nobody ever changes." Another is dancing energetically with a gawking man while her friends criticize her: "Did she sandblast her face?" and "She's an aging actress."
10. Montage of two guys with abs stripping, Rick and his girlfriend kissing, Timothy's son Lochlan preparing to do stuff with his sister, burglars breaking things, Belinda the Masseuse discusses plot twists, fireworks, the Three Women running, falling, screaming.
11. At the breakfast table, Timothy's wife asks him, "Did you not get enough sleep? You should have taken my lorazapan. I slept like a corpse." Uh-oh, she's dead.
Beefcake: Several shirtless guys. Patrick Schwarzenegger has a n*de scene, not shown in the trailers.
Thailand: An article notes that some of the landmarks in Bangkok and Phuket will be seen.
Asian Representation: Only 4 of top 20 characters in Episode 1 are Asian: Gaitok, his girlfriend, the Elderly Ex-Actress, and Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul, below). Presumably that's his son.
Gay Characters: No. Everybody is shown in a male-female pairing. An article notes that Lachlan and Saxon are into each other, but that's just sleazy decadence, not an indicator of gay identity.
Usually that's a drawback, but with homophobe Mike White, it's a choice between no gay characters and offensive stereotypes. I'll take the heteronormativity.
Season 2 had a hotter male cast- yeah the scene with the two brothers seem to be a set up for a gay incest porn Mike White has a type and seems to be fan of Falcon video
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