Oh, Rachel....
What is it about this show that has got a grip on the social discourse, you'd wonder? Everybody and their aunt are talking about it and it's flooded social media with clips and memes and the such for months now. So of course it was gonna pop up here. The thing is, if you want some good analysis, you can go to @michaelinnorfolk and read that. Or even go to the Chicago Tribune (Huntley sent me the link because Tumblr is feral over it) and see what people are saying about it.
But this one is about me, natch. And about how the series made me feel. Full disclaimer: I had read the first book in the series Game Changers by Rachel Reid before I watched the HBO series. But I was not disappointed. The series is good. Great, even. Because even though the lure is the sex (there's a ton of fab sex in the books, too) the progression from attraction to attachment to commitment in a male/male relationship that is a the core of the narrative is what really got me. And it got me good. I was a literal mess by the end of the cottage episode. A mess. Verklempt. Gone. These characters are complex and sexy and interesting and I want more.
One of the things that really confuses me, though, is the fact that a very high percentage of M/M romance authors in any subgenre are.... women. Or people who write under a female name. And a very high percentage of the most successful and most addictive books (when it comes to stories and sex) are also by women. What the fuck? There's an uncanny feel for intimacy in the sex scenes in the Game Changers series that grabs me and does not let me go until I finish the book (or the episode, when I was watching the series). I was so immersed that I read Game Changers in two seatings. Have watched the series twice. And I may go for a third one and I already have the rest of the books in reserve in my trusty Public Library. It is a mood.
The books have got me hooked and I know I won't stop until I've read all six in the series. They get me emotional, they get me horny and they keep me entertained. But I've always been a sucker for hot romance novels, so there’s that. Huntley feeds my addiction by sending me Kindle books every so often that cover that topic (he’s sweet like that). I actually read four of those during the winter break. So yeah. I thoroughly enjoy bodice rippers (jockstrap rippers?) and I'm not ashamed to say that. Why would I? I like love stories that involve two men and lots of sex. Representation, babes. It matters.
And this series captures the essence of the books and it adds stunning visuals (the production is fab and it did not involve millions!) and very, very handsome protagonists. The actors that play Shane and Ilya are stunning (those bodies!!) and the jump from the page to the screen is quite accurate. They are not the same as in the books (Scott is a hot blond in the books and a hot brunet in the series and Ilya is taller and buffer in the books) but the essence is totally there. The sex is portrayed beautifully also. I watched some of the episodes with girls and we all gasped at the same time. That's good sex.. It's hot, it’s full of feelings and it’s well photoshopped. Those actors have some of the best chemistry and bodies and butts this side of gay porn I've seen in a long time (after all they are portraying athletes in their prime). But there's the intimacy, there's the consent before sex, there's the reciprocal pleasure that drips from the page and the screen. I'm not a writer, but writing sex is probably not easy. It reads easily, though, in this case. Maybe because it feels... real?
I think that as a gay man I truly connect with what's going on in the books and the series. I have felt in real life what some of the characters are going through (I have been thoroughly spoiled by some men in my life *coughHuntleycough*) and the characters' feelings and emotions are very relatable. A love story is a love story, right? But there's something about their relationships are portrayed that really hits hard: they feel real. Both the physical aspect and the emotional aspect. Even the descriptions of sex are incredibly and knee-weakening accurate (Rachel probably had her Main Gay proofreading some pages) sex is sex, but ohhh boy.
My question is: why aren't more Queer men writing gay stories with gay characters enjoying gay relationships that involve awesome gay sex? Where are those authors? I need to know. There are immensely talented gay writers that do not seem to be able to do what Rachel did. Why? I'm sure they have the experience. I'm sure they know their craft. I'm sure they have insight into how to find a prostate and an idea of what a gay man thinks when he's having sex during a hookup or when in a relationship with a man he loves. Why am I getting the best sex in books from women?
I need to know.
XOXO
P.S. Anyway, totally recommend the series. It's on HBO so get thee a password or a weekend invite to binge watch Heated Rivalry STAT. Or just get the books from your Public Library. Easy peasy.
P.P.S. season two is most probably coming soon ....
P.P.P.S. even straight men who know about hockey are watching this show:
HuntleyBiGuy:
ReplyDeleteI was alerted to a deal for HBO/Max for a one year subscription, so I took it. This was the first thing I watched, not knowing anything about the books. I was not disappointed. It’s everything you mention above. The storyline with Scott and Kip is just as steamy as Hollander and Rosanov. It is very worthy of your time🥵. There’s only 6 episodes in the first season.
And thanks for the shoutout, babe 😚
XOXO 👨🏼❤️💋👨🏽
* hand over the gay card*
ReplyDeleteI sadly have not heard of this believe or not. Im a bad gay. But you know me and television. But you may have sold me on the books sweet cheeks. And taking a peek at the male butts on the show. I too always wondered about your point when it comes to gay sex being written by women. I guess it makes sense since gay men only see the pig side more? I don't know. It's like the wham bam thank sir concept. Even couples I know, even ones only recently married...have hotter sex in separate hooks ups, then with their marriage partners. Anymore I think, could gay men be losing any kind of monogamous feelings? To each their own, but then what's the point in being married?
I've heard of it, seen the clips, watched the memes, but do not get HBO, so there's that ... I also didn't know it was a book.
ReplyDeleteBut perhaps the thought of François Arnaud might make me get some HBO ... I have had a hot spot for him since he was on The Borgias.
xoxo
At some point I will get HBO Max for a month and then cancel. Like you, I don't understand why so much gay literature is written by women. Perhaps, in their minds, this is a way to make men inferior, treating men the way straight male writers have treated women since the dawn of time. Perhaps this is why so many women are fans of the series. This is why I write about gay men, though for me, romance doesn't need to be the linchpin holding the story together.
ReplyDeleteBig says,
ReplyDeleteThis, CMBYN, Brokeback Mountain...are love stories.
Women write better ***love stories***. That's the long and short of it. When it comes to jockstrap-rippers, gay writers rather skip over the emotion of it all and concentrate on the physical. But it's the emotion that carries character's lived experiences that bring them to 3-dimensional life, make them jump off the page, and make them memorable.
Haven't watched it, but probably will at some point....
XOXO
I'm watching "Heated Rivalry" right now, will finish the series tonight -- watch for my review within the next few days! To understand why women are so involved in (and so good at) writing gay male romance that focuses not only on hot sex but also deep emotions, you have to understand the cultural phenomenon of M/M slash fanfiction and yaoi. Rachel Reid comes from that tradition. Heated Rivalry is completely in sync with that -- all the tropes are there! I'll be addressing this in more detail in my review.
ReplyDelete