I had a hard time finishing the first season because of the way it portraited the Hawaiian. Hawaiian in the series only showed up in two function: to serve sexually (the Hawaiian boyfriend) or to serve (mentally). At the end of the series, I questioned myself, as an audience do I know anything more about Hawaii in this movie? No I don't. The people are disposable (the boy), useful (the spa healer) or the hiding place (for the son of the millionaire to run away from his home). I don't even know who that spa healer is, and does she have a life. Comparing her to the daughters and sons of the millionaire, as the same function as side roles, they even have more space. The only thing I knew about that woman is that she had some sort of financial burden she wants to solve (again, that's the only thing white people think about others, in need of money from them). I stopped watching from then.
10/10!!! s2’s the only season worth watching. esp after seeing how the actors were literally vacationing in Hawai’i during the filming of season 1… yeesh!
I thought this article was a good article, but I disagree with it for the same reasons that I disagree with anyone who says that the virgin suicides should be told from the girls point of view. My reasoning, for that, is basically that the point of view doesn’t have to come from the people who live there. Like sometimes, the perception of something can just be “how it is” of that makes any sense at all?. And I’m saying this in the same sense like with the virgin suicides, stories about women don’t have to only be told by women and so I think this is like a similar scenario. Granted I don’t think most people who are probably engaging with the white. Lotus have the depth to think deeper on topics like this and that’s just because when you’re the majority you don’t have to be like super articulate about race, but I also like get your point and think you make a great argument.
So well said, I was trying to articulate to a friend why I didn’t get what the White Lotus was trying to do since its obvious that its trying to be subversive while not doing so and now I can send them this article!
Oh, the irony of having a hit show that critiques the tourism industry and the tourists only for the company to sign a contract that contributes to the problematic industry and assists more tourists in visiting these places. All around awesome critique, thank you
so so valid and loved this piece! asian women in hollywood media is too often depicted as either 1) from a fetish/sexualization lens or 2) demure and mindful/obedient and soft, often vehicles of sidewalk storytelling. loved the series but definitely think we can do better in how we depict aapi women!
She is clearly powerful and in control and yet she is an "Asian" women...
Where is Mook on this scale?
She is clearly self assured and competent and in control of her fate, not either of the things you assert.
This criticism is lazy and lacks an understanding of this as art and tries to center it in a different direction...maybe make THAT show or at least admit you are wrong about THIS show.
oh don’t get me wrong i LOVE the show, just saying that is how we are depicted in hollywood over the course of a century, not just within the confines of this series in particular. 😂 namaste to you too brother
Great piece! I’m highly skeptical of anyone who thinks White Lotus is scathing social commentary or extremely progressive. At most, those ideas aren’t even turned into main themes in the plot, just kind of background color for the rich white people drama. Very shallow at best! I was also disappointed with Mook’s character when they (of course) didn’t do much with her except make her a one-dimensional love interest and put her in sexy outfits.
It doesn’t. it is trying to market to a broader audience outside of western culture.
Also, I have lived in Asia for over 20 years and I still have an Asian girl problem.
Asians understand the difference between beauty and sexy. Western culture turned beautiful into sexy so they could sell more stuff. Sad thing is that the western pleb bought the gaslit rhetoric.
You make way too light about Frank’s suffering - the show is not about Asian women or Thailand per se…so it doesn’t need to satisfy your thoughts about those things. It’s about universal suffering and how we react to that. It’s about individual choices and the results. It’s about how we justify our desires and moral failings.
It covered all of that really well IMO, but it is not a Doco about Thailand and Thai women a maybe make that show yourself?
Because the story was not about them? If you want to write a story about Thai women go ahead . What you are doing is asking why this program about rich white people misbehaving isn’t about the bellman or girl number two at the pool… it’s a because that wasn’t the show.
The show *used to* be about both the bellman and the rich white people, s3 shifted to just the rich white people. Which is why there's been friction with fans around s3 of the show. You still didn't answer my question about who's story you consider "universal" because ultimately it would be admitting that the experience of rich white people (men specifically, as with the example of Frank) is assumed to be the default, and the experiences of non-white people is assumed to be "other." And this framework of white-as-default and white-is-universal is a problem.
No nonono....Buddhist "suffering" is living in Samsara...White Frank and Thai Pornchai and Gaitok (who meet the definition of non-white etc..) all LIVE IN IT along with Thai girls and everyone in the world.
That's universal and that's the theme of the whole season...
We all suffer even rich white people...we all have joy even Thai hookers of either sex.
You've changed your position from "why not Thai hookers" to why not non-white and there are several non white stories here including Belinda and her son who are Black.
We disagree on the actual theme of this entertainment, I think its because you have a too specific idea of "suffering' which is based on a racial (your words) concept when Samsara suffering is your mom dies, you get sick, your lover cheats...which happens to everyone.
I'm not saying people of color are totally absent from the show and story, but that their storylines seem to receive a lot less weight than the white guests, especially in this most recent season. And the Thai women in particular get a very flat treatment, as OP's essay points out.
I had a hard time finishing the first season because of the way it portraited the Hawaiian. Hawaiian in the series only showed up in two function: to serve sexually (the Hawaiian boyfriend) or to serve (mentally). At the end of the series, I questioned myself, as an audience do I know anything more about Hawaii in this movie? No I don't. The people are disposable (the boy), useful (the spa healer) or the hiding place (for the son of the millionaire to run away from his home). I don't even know who that spa healer is, and does she have a life. Comparing her to the daughters and sons of the millionaire, as the same function as side roles, they even have more space. The only thing I knew about that woman is that she had some sort of financial burden she wants to solve (again, that's the only thing white people think about others, in need of money from them). I stopped watching from then.
10/10!!! s2’s the only season worth watching. esp after seeing how the actors were literally vacationing in Hawai’i during the filming of season 1… yeesh!
I thought this article was a good article, but I disagree with it for the same reasons that I disagree with anyone who says that the virgin suicides should be told from the girls point of view. My reasoning, for that, is basically that the point of view doesn’t have to come from the people who live there. Like sometimes, the perception of something can just be “how it is” of that makes any sense at all?. And I’m saying this in the same sense like with the virgin suicides, stories about women don’t have to only be told by women and so I think this is like a similar scenario. Granted I don’t think most people who are probably engaging with the white. Lotus have the depth to think deeper on topics like this and that’s just because when you’re the majority you don’t have to be like super articulate about race, but I also like get your point and think you make a great argument.
Needed someone to break it down for us and my heart and brain were too exhausted to do it. Appreciate you. 🙏🏽
So well said, I was trying to articulate to a friend why I didn’t get what the White Lotus was trying to do since its obvious that its trying to be subversive while not doing so and now I can send them this article!
Oh, the irony of having a hit show that critiques the tourism industry and the tourists only for the company to sign a contract that contributes to the problematic industry and assists more tourists in visiting these places. All around awesome critique, thank you
so so valid and loved this piece! asian women in hollywood media is too often depicted as either 1) from a fetish/sexualization lens or 2) demure and mindful/obedient and soft, often vehicles of sidewalk storytelling. loved the series but definitely think we can do better in how we depict aapi women!
So who is Sritila in your deconstruction here?
She is clearly powerful and in control and yet she is an "Asian" women...
Where is Mook on this scale?
She is clearly self assured and competent and in control of her fate, not either of the things you assert.
This criticism is lazy and lacks an understanding of this as art and tries to center it in a different direction...maybe make THAT show or at least admit you are wrong about THIS show.
Namaste
oh don’t get me wrong i LOVE the show, just saying that is how we are depicted in hollywood over the course of a century, not just within the confines of this series in particular. 😂 namaste to you too brother
Boring commentary. ChatGTP could have written this. Like a checklist of terms. 2020 was 5 years ago, it’s over, come up with something original.
This was so excellent - I’ve been waiting to read a critique like this
I had a feeling I should skip this season. White Lotus S1 irritated me so much I wrote an essay inspired by Haunani Kay-Trask’s speaking on the prostitution of Hawaiian culture: https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/tourism-and-prostitution-hawaiian-culture
Great piece! I’m highly skeptical of anyone who thinks White Lotus is scathing social commentary or extremely progressive. At most, those ideas aren’t even turned into main themes in the plot, just kind of background color for the rich white people drama. Very shallow at best! I was also disappointed with Mook’s character when they (of course) didn’t do much with her except make her a one-dimensional love interest and put her in sexy outfits.
Excellent read, thank you for writing!
It doesn’t. it is trying to market to a broader audience outside of western culture.
Also, I have lived in Asia for over 20 years and I still have an Asian girl problem.
Asians understand the difference between beauty and sexy. Western culture turned beautiful into sexy so they could sell more stuff. Sad thing is that the western pleb bought the gaslit rhetoric.
You make way too light about Frank’s suffering - the show is not about Asian women or Thailand per se…so it doesn’t need to satisfy your thoughts about those things. It’s about universal suffering and how we react to that. It’s about individual choices and the results. It’s about how we justify our desires and moral failings.
It covered all of that really well IMO, but it is not a Doco about Thailand and Thai women a maybe make that show yourself?
Namaste
Why is Frank's suffering "universal" but the suffering of Thai women he uses isn't?
Because the story was not about them? If you want to write a story about Thai women go ahead . What you are doing is asking why this program about rich white people misbehaving isn’t about the bellman or girl number two at the pool… it’s a because that wasn’t the show.
Why is that so hard to understand?
The show *used to* be about both the bellman and the rich white people, s3 shifted to just the rich white people. Which is why there's been friction with fans around s3 of the show. You still didn't answer my question about who's story you consider "universal" because ultimately it would be admitting that the experience of rich white people (men specifically, as with the example of Frank) is assumed to be the default, and the experiences of non-white people is assumed to be "other." And this framework of white-as-default and white-is-universal is a problem.
Why is that so hard to understand?
No nonono....Buddhist "suffering" is living in Samsara...White Frank and Thai Pornchai and Gaitok (who meet the definition of non-white etc..) all LIVE IN IT along with Thai girls and everyone in the world.
That's universal and that's the theme of the whole season...
We all suffer even rich white people...we all have joy even Thai hookers of either sex.
You've changed your position from "why not Thai hookers" to why not non-white and there are several non white stories here including Belinda and her son who are Black.
We disagree on the actual theme of this entertainment, I think its because you have a too specific idea of "suffering' which is based on a racial (your words) concept when Samsara suffering is your mom dies, you get sick, your lover cheats...which happens to everyone.
I don't want to fight... Namaste!
I'm not saying people of color are totally absent from the show and story, but that their storylines seem to receive a lot less weight than the white guests, especially in this most recent season. And the Thai women in particular get a very flat treatment, as OP's essay points out.
Yes! Thank you.
Well said - thank you!