Latest news with #BoysLove
New York Times
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Chinese Police Detain Dozens of Writers Over Gay Erotic Online Novels
The graduate student in southern China wrote the romance novel in her spare time, self-publishing it online. In 75 chapters, it followed two male protagonists through a love affair that included, at times, steamy sexual encounters. It earned her less than $400, from readers who paid to access it. Now, it could bring her a criminal conviction. Across China, the authorities have been interrogating dozens of writers — many of them young women — who published gay erotic novels online, in what appears to be the largest police roundup of its kind to date. At least 12 such authors were tried on obscenity charges in Anhui Province late last year, according to court records, and more investigations, including that of the student, were opened in Gansu Province this spring. Some of the writers have been fined heavily or sentenced to years in prison for producing and distributing obscene content. At the center of the crackdown is Boys' Love, a genre of romance between men that is mostly written and read online, and mostly by heterosexual women. Originally from Japan, it has developed a fervent niche following in China and other Asian countries since the 1990s, offering fans an alternative to the stereotypes of passive, obedient women and macho men in many mainstream love stories. At its peak in the 2010s, Boys' Love gave rise to some of China's most popular television and web dramas, and it launched the careers of some of the country's biggest male stars. But that has changed in recent years. As the genre grew more popular, state media began to denounce it as 'vulgar,' claiming that the gay story lines could distort young readers' sexual orientations. Shows were canceled, and television regulators banned Boys' Love adaptations and gay-themed content more broadly. In a 2018 case that angered many Chinese internet users, a popular author was sentenced to 10 years in prison on obscenity charges. RUSSIA MONGOLIA Gansu Beijing Lanzhou ANHUI East China Sea CHINA MYANMAR 500 MILES By The New York Times Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
BBC News
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
BBC World Service to bring The Arts Hour on Tour to Bangkok
Recorded in English for broadcast to a global audience on BBC World Service Radio, The Arts Hour on Tour visits cities all over the world to explore their hottest cultural trends by talking to the artists who live and work there, promoting artistic exchange across the world. We are especially excited to visit Bangkok - with its rich mix of cultures, ancient and modern - to present an amazing showcase of Thai talents. The programme will feature live performance and star guest interviews with the city's leading creatives, who join BBC presenter Nikki Bedi on stage, in front of a live audience, to discuss themes of cultural life in Bangkok and Thailand right now. We will explore the fascinating layers of Thai culture that take us far beyond the country's international image as a beloved tourist destination, from the phenomenon of 'Boys' Love' dramas, and the devoted fans who occasionally blur the lines between 'on screen' relationships and reality, to the importance of the supernatural in Thai culture. Popular screen actor, Joss Way-Ar Sangngern, is among the latest stars to be cast in the growing Boys' Love series industry in Thailand. He joins us to discuss his starring role in the hit drama 'My Golden Blood', where he plays a vampire who will do anything to protect his love. Director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke reveals the thinking behind his film 'A Useful Ghost', which won the top prize in the Critics' Week section at the Cannes film festival in France this year. The title refers to the main character, who is the spirit of a woman who died from dust pollution and is reincarnated as a vacuum cleaner. There is live music performance from the sensational singer/rapper Milli, who is the first solo Thai artist to perform at the Coachella music festival in the USA, and from alternative rock band Tilly Birds, whose spectacular sound is reaching international audiences. A stand-up comedy set is provided by Pim Boonyawee, one of the youngest rising stars on the Thai comedy scene. Everyone is invited to attend for free and be part of our audience for the recording, which will later be broadcast on BBC World Service Radio to millions of listeners worldwide. Date: Thursday 12 June 2025 Venue: Aksra Theatre Address: King Power Rang Nam. 8 Rang Nam Alley, Thanon Phaya Thai, Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400, Thailand Doors open 6pm, for a 6.50pm start Please register for free seat reservations through Eventbrite About The Arts Hour on Tour The Arts Hour is the BBC World Service's flagship arts and culture programme. To date, The Arts Hour on Tour has been live on stage in: Accra, Addis Ababa, Amsterdam, Athens, Atlanta, Berlin, Bogota, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Helsinki, Istanbul, Jakarta, Jaipur, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Manila, Mexico City, Miami, Milan, Montreal, Mumbai, Nairobi, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Paris, Reykjavik, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Sarajevo, Seattle, Seoul, St Louis, St Petersburg, Taipei, Tbilisi, Tirana, Tunis, Warsaw, and Venice. We also recorded 'virtual' shows in Rome, Stockholm, and Sydney during the Covid 19 lockdowns. You can listen to all of these programmes on the BBC Arts Hour on Tour website. About Nikki Bedi Nikki Bedi is an international television and radio broadcaster with a passion for making arts and culture accessible. Her knowledge, curiosity, world-view and comprehensive research, have led to her being described as a 'cultural courier, decolonising the world one programme at a time.' She currently curates, writes and hosts The Arts Hour on the BBC World Service, which several times a year becomes The Arts Hour On Tour, a show which travels to different cities in the world bringing that country's biggest and brightest artists, actors, authors, musicians, comedians, directors, architects, poets and other top creatives in their fields, together, for a spirited debate before a live audience. In covering the arts across the globe for over two decades, which she describes as not only a privilege, but also the greatest education anyone could have, Nikki has interviewed some of the world's biggest names and talents, celebrities and industry heavyweights including: Ariana Grande, Christopher Nolan, Barry Jenkins, Sian Heder, Steve McQueen, Alexander Payne, Ariana de Bose, Aunjanue Ellis, Geena Davis, J.A. Bayona, Michael Mann, Celine Song, Ruth E. Carter, Asif Kapadia, Todd Field, Ruben Östlund, Baz Luhrmann, Colson Whitehead, and Riz Ahmed. Nikki Bedi joined the BBC as a presenter in 2003 and has rarely been off their airwaves since, hosting all kinds of TV and radio shows. RD
Forbes
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
In ‘Way Back Love' The Grim Reaper Calls On An Old Friend
Kim Min-ha and Gong Myeong play classmates in 'Way Back Love.' High school student Jung Hee-won bubbles with enthusiasm. She loves life, delicious food and April Fools Day pranks. Hee-won, a character in the k-drama Way Back Love, stands up to bullies by drawing not-so-intimidating tattoos on her arms with sharpies but somehow they are still no match for her spirited attitude. She also intimidates her classmate, transfer student Kim Ram-woo. Their first interaction involves her asking him to change names for a day. That will confuse their new teacher who is not yet familiar with students' names. But the name switching somehow lasts longer than April Fools Day, which does not make Ram-woo happy. His name embarrassingly comes up when Hee-won asks to go to the nurse's office for cramps and when the Boys Love novels she ordered at the library are ready for pick-up. Ram-woo, played by Gong Myeong (Lovers of the Red Sky, Be Melodramatic), is mortified by her behavior but also intrigued. Hee-won is certainly different from anyone he's ever known. Hee-won, played by Kim Min-ha (Pachinko, Light Shop), asks him to permanently switch names because using his name has improved her luck. He refuses yet the joke continues for so long he starts to respond to people calling her name. He doesn't have many friends, having moved a lot, and they grow close enough to develop feelings for each other. Years later, when she's practically a hermit, he shows up at her door. Having someone from your past unexpectedly turn up is surprising enough, but in this case it defies explanation. Ram-woo died years ago. And yet he shows up at her door with a mission. As he's now the Grim Reaper it's his duty to tell her that she has just one week to live. He suggests she come up with a bucket list and he has a few suggestions. He still has some experiences left on his own bucket list. Is there any chance that Ram-Woo dying and Hee-won's iminent death is some kind of supernatural prank? To find out how they ended up this way, the characters will have to remember what happened way back then, when they first fell in love. The fantasy romance is directed by Choi Ha-na, who directed More Than Family, and is based on the novel A Week Before I Die written by Seo Eun-Chae. Way Back Love, which also stars Jung Gun-woo (Check in Hanyang, Extraordinary You), airs on in the U.S.
