[ SECRET POST #7003 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #7003 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 21 secrets from Secret Submission Post #1000.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

01. https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/f5d86fd5bc87.png

Transcript by OP

[fscom]

I don't think Bridgerton is high-brow by any means and I like it for what it is.

But my god am I sick of people across fandom who insist that we need to 'acknowledge that it's trash' when we're talking about the show or our enjoyment of it. Especially when those same people are into Star Wars or the MCU which are also trashy fun.

Curiously media aimed at men never gets this 'you need to Understand that what you like is actually bad' in order to simply enjoy it. Funny that.

[(Anonymous)]

Eh... I think the latter part is not really on fandom and more due to the fact that trash media for men acknowledges readily and shamelessly that its IS trash, by itself, before anyone has to.

The whole era of penny dreadfuls, pulp comics, and pulp fiction was literally based around the idea of being cheap and low quality. Whereas you wouldn't get romance novels calling themselves cheapo trashtasy because they like to pretend to be more than that and take being called a bodice-ripper as an insult, mostly. Titillating-anything for men is way more shamelessly pitched and much less 'politely' veiled than titillating-anything for women in general

[(Anonymous)]

I have never seen bodice rippers to be considered anything but titillating fun, even by fans of them and more often than not a lot of women who read them would hide or pretend they didn’t due to social shame of being found to enjoy *gasp* smut. The horror.

[(Anonymous)]

We seem to be talking about different things here. I'm not talking about the audiences, I'm talking about the producers and authors and marketing. Trash aimed at men has less shame about being trash aimed at men, so there is no need to remind people that the brainless action/stoner/bro comedy movie is in fact a brainless action/stoner/bro comedy movie and the advertising for it is basically going "hi yeah, I'm this summer's brainless action/stoner/bro comedy movie, watch me" in a way the advertising and marketing for shows like Bridgerton doesn't do.

People still call those movies trash, but they look sillier when they do because they're pointing out the acknowledged obvious.

[(Anonymous)]

+1

[(Anonymous)]

Neither Star Wars nor the MCU is primarily aimed at men. I think if I had to pick a better example, I'd say the Fast&The Furious movies fit the bill much better and they (and other male centered media) get called trashy plenty. Difference is they don't really pretend not to be.

[(Anonymous)]

Come to think of it, if we're actually talking about the sub category of smutty trash in particular, I can't even think of a single example of a similar show like Bridgerton aimed primarily at straight men. So on the same level, there isn't actually anything to compare.

[(Anonymous)]

There's a ton of lewd anime aimed at straight guys, and I have yet to encounter one that pretends to be anything other than what it is. That kind of show is always pretty straight up about being sexy trash.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, most action movies don't pretend to be anything more than what they are, a 1.5 hour romp full of guns or people punching each other. The ones that do try to be more than that and fail get laughed at.

"You know Jason Statham plays Jason Statham in every Jason Statham movie?" Yes, duh. That's why I'm watching it.

[(Anonymous)]

They really, really are. Just because women like them as well does not change the fact that they are considered to have men as their primary audience.

[(Anonymous)]

They definitely are.

[(Anonymous)]

Lmao what? Of course those properties are aimed at men, sure women can like the too but that doesn’t change who the target audience is. Like I fucking love monster movies but they’re still aimed at men.

[(Anonymous)]

Not remotely to the extent Bridgerton is aimed at women.

[(Anonymous)]

And neither do romance shows or romcoms but fuck knows people act like they do and pick them to death. Like how on earth do you see a TV show that has classical renditions of pop songs and somehow come to the idea that its tongue is not firmly placed in its check? It’s like it needs a disclaimer at the bottom of the screen going ‘this TV show is not high art’ in order for some of you to understand this as a concept that you’ll readily accept for dude-targeted action movies.

[(Anonymous)]

Not for nothing but I had more than one person recommend Bridgerton to me while acting like it WAS high art, so.

[(Anonymous)]

Word OP, I enjoy the MCU and Bridgerton, both are equally stupid in their own ways but the former certainly gets elevated above its station because action boom is less shallow than romance I guess?

[(Anonymous)]

You don’t understand OP it’s smutty and het, therefore no one’s allowed to actually like it /s

[(Anonymous)]

Ah yes, het content, the height of oppression!

[(Anonymous)]

No one said that, but certain parts of fandom really do get nasty and aggressive when people enjoy some random het show and like to treat the people who enjoy them as vapid and dumb.

[dani_phantasma]

oh my gosh I HATE this . I hate when someone who dislikes a thing is like "you need to acknowledge the thing you like actually SUCKS or you're a mindless simp and cringe"

No we don't??? Like your opinion ain't the end all be all. And like saying 'it's imperfect but okay" is not the same as "it's trash but I love it anyway" OR 'it's flawless groundbreaking high art"

There's this wild thing called MODERATION

Demanding that fans have to admit their fave is trash or they're stans/obsessed. That's a good way to become the person nobody invites to parties.

[(Anonymous)]

Fucking right. I can enjoy all the dumb actions movies I want but the moment I also enjoy romance dramas and romcoms suddenly my intelligence is questioned because apparently I can’t tell that those are silly and unrealistic.

[(Anonymous)]

Yes. I didn't get all the upset and excuses over Bridgerton being sex heavy history romances ("why are we praising dumbed down smut history romance?" and "lol it's just hot garbage, don't think too hard about it"). It's like even with fun, average things women need to prove or have an excuse for it to 1) exist, and 2)be OK to like.

It reminded me of a short I saw recently about how in shows/media, male characters don't have to prove they're smart while female characters do. She used "Normal People" as an example of it. The male character is top of the class and many other characters tell him he's smart, while the female character has actual footage of her at work, doing specific schoolwork to prove that she's smart. It's not just other characters telling her she's smart.
Regency Rumours:
https://youtube.com/shorts/n1zfk_WW_aE?si=sVBSCoIfBVdE1PL9

[(Anonymous)]

That sounds like the exact opposite of what's normal. Smart male characters are usually shown being smart while female characters just exposit (look up "Sexy Lamp with a Post-It stuck on") and get told they're smart.

The real problem is that male characters don't need to be either real smart or fake smart, or anything remarkable in particular. They can be the dullest person ever and that's fine. Female characters need to at least get the lip service of being exceptionally smart or useful in some way to justify them existing and avoid "weak female character" or "bad role model" criticism.

[(Anonymous)]

Lmao at all the comments proving OP’s point.

‘I enjoy this thing and shouldn’t have to justify why’

‘Actually you should because we think it’s bad and if you enjoy it clearly you can’t see how bad it is’

Love the subtle implication that people who enjoy romance media can’t tell when it’s silly fun. Because they’re all vapid and dumb I guess? Lol