What am I missing about White Lotus?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s a soap opera full of smut filmed in pretty places. Acting as if it’s high brow and you “get it” because you’re so high caste and live such decadent life is hilarious. It’s not “prestige TV,” it’s gutter trash literally full of lying, drugs, sexual deviancy, prostitution, profanity, and various smut.

This season there was just a “humorous” incest scene with two straight male boys performing a gay sex act on each other. Last season there was a “humorous” scene where a young bisexual nephew was having anal sex with his gay uncle shortly after he had sex with a young female co-star.

Really high brow TV. Totally not degenerate smut. You’re a prole if you don’t “get” this sort of TV and consume it week in and week out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a soap opera full of smut filmed in pretty places. Acting as if it’s high brow and you “get it” because you’re so high caste and live such decadent life is hilarious. It’s not “prestige TV,” it’s gutter trash literally full of lying, drugs, sexual deviancy, prostitution, profanity, and various smut.

This season there was just a “humorous” incest scene with two straight male boys performing a gay sex act on each other. Last season there was a “humorous” scene where a young bisexual nephew was having anal sex with his gay uncle shortly after he had sex with a young female co-star.

Really high brow TV. Totally not degenerate smut. You’re a prole if you don’t “get” this sort of TV and consume it week in and week out.

haha i hate this show that's why i watch every minute of every season and definitely do not get titillated by the transgression! i must watch, closely, and take notes lots of notes so i can be sure i know deeply in depth what it is that i object to. degenerates!

[Anonymous]

If you don't like it, no worries. Move on and let us have our threads.

I'm sure The Passion is playing on TV soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a soap opera full of smut filmed in pretty places. Acting as if it’s high brow and you “get it” because you’re so high caste and live such decadent life is hilarious. It’s not “prestige TV,” it’s gutter trash literally full of lying, drugs, sexual deviancy, prostitution, profanity, and various smut.

This season there was just a “humorous” incest scene with two straight male boys performing a gay sex act on each other. Last season there was a “humorous” scene where a young bisexual nephew was having anal sex with his gay uncle shortly after he had sex with a young female co-star.

Really high brow TV. Totally not degenerate smut. You’re a prole if you don’t “get” this sort of TV and consume it week in and week out.

haha i hate this show that's why i watch every minute of every season and definitely do not get titillated by the transgression! i must watch, closely, and take notes lots of notes so i can be sure i know deeply in depth what it is that i object to. degenerates!

I watched season 2. I am not watching season 3. The season 3 incest scene is “viral” and being astroturfed by all the podcast and social media influencers paid to spam this smut and get more sheep to the slaughter.

I am free to respond to a thread like this because there’s nothing to “get.” This is “funny” gutter filth dressed up in fancy imagery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I loved it from the first episode. It may not be for you.

I travelled a lot in high end places when I was dating someone who made a lot of money. If you haven't done that, or worked in one of these places, it may not resonate as much with you.

Good god you status obsessed strivers are so transparent. Yes, people who don’t “get” your cringy soap opera written by a gay man must be proles who’ve never been anywhere. lol

What does the writer being gay have anything to do with anything? Wut

Same reason SATC was rubbish. What does a childless gay bachelor know about about relationships, marriages, kids, and families? Absolutely nothing. The show is nothing but degenerate rubbish. But it’s always humorous to see the nitwit proles convince themselves they’re watching genius.

I agree on SATC, which I found deeply unrealistic about both dating and female friendships -- a strange fantasy.

But Mike White is a thoughtful observer of relationships, marriages, kids and families. He has a really interesting background and upbringing, which I think is a big part of it. His dad was an evangelical preacher who came out as gay, late in life. White was actually one of the first people to learn his dad was gay, because he read some of his dad's journals as a kid. Later on, White watched his dad come out publicly, and the impact on his career as a preacher and relationships with people from the evangelical community. Then also watching his parents divorce over this (amicably) and then his dad beginning to date men in midlife. I think through all of this, Mike White was observing how everyone in his family and community reacted to these events, with curiosity and not judgment. Growing up in a family with those kind of dramatic shifts in relationships and identity, but still retaining a loving, supportive family (from the sound of it) I think helped White develop his style as a filmmaker and storyteller, where he is often looking for the raw truth at the heart of a relationship, underneath what people might say or present to the world publicly, but he isn't judgmental or shaming about it.

His show Enlightened has a similar outlook to White Lotus but, IMO, a much more optimistic tone. Also he is able to dive in deeper on the characters because it's focused on one woman and then the handful of people in her orbit, instead of a large and varied ensemble whose stories only overlap in minimal ways.

So a mentally unwell gay bachelor with decades of trauma. Wow, I’m totally surprised. Good thing he’s not using this soap opera to shove his hedonist fantasies and mockery of religion and monogamy down viewers throats. Oh wait.

[Anonymous]

No one is forcing you to watch. It's not on primetime tv on NBC.

If you are watching, you can change the channel at anytime. Don't you have a PTA meeting to disrupt. Take your religious, conservative rant elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed it. It is interesting satire, I don’t care about the actors/actress. Its potrait of dysfunctional wealthy families… which somehow I noticed it in real life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a soap opera full of smut filmed in pretty places. Acting as if it’s high brow and you “get it” because you’re so high caste and live such decadent life is hilarious. It’s not “prestige TV,” it’s gutter trash literally full of lying, drugs, sexual deviancy, prostitution, profanity, and various smut.

This season there was just a “humorous” incest scene with two straight male boys performing a gay sex act on each other. Last season there was a “humorous” scene where a young bisexual nephew was having anal sex with his gay uncle shortly after he had sex with a young female co-star.

Really high brow TV. Totally not degenerate smut. You’re a prole if you don’t “get” this sort of TV and consume it week in and week out.

haha i hate this show that's why i watch every minute of every season and definitely do not get titillated by the transgression! i must watch, closely, and take notes lots of notes so i can be sure i know deeply in depth what it is that i object to. degenerates!

I watched season 2. I am not watching season 3. The season 3 incest scene is “viral” and being astroturfed by all the podcast and social media influencers paid to spam this smut and get more sheep to the slaughter.

I am free to respond to a thread like this because there’s nothing to “get.” This is “funny” gutter filth dressed up in fancy imagery.

And I'm hanging on every deviant word with drool spilling down my chin because I am not remotely tantalized by this television. I hate it so much that I just cannot look away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I loved it from the first episode. It may not be for you.

I travelled a lot in high end places when I was dating someone who made a lot of money. If you haven't done that, or worked in one of these places, it may not resonate as much with you.

Good god you status obsessed strivers are so transparent. Yes, people who don’t “get” your cringy soap opera written by a gay man must be proles who’ve never been anywhere. lol

What does the writer being gay have anything to do with anything? Wut

Same reason SATC was rubbish. What does a childless gay bachelor know about about relationships, marriages, kids, and families? Absolutely nothing. The show is nothing but degenerate rubbish. But it’s always humorous to see the nitwit proles convince themselves they’re watching genius.

I agree on SATC, which I found deeply unrealistic about both dating and female friendships -- a strange fantasy.

But Mike White is a thoughtful observer of relationships, marriages, kids and families. He has a really interesting background and upbringing, which I think is a big part of it. His dad was an evangelical preacher who came out as gay, late in life. White was actually one of the first people to learn his dad was gay, because he read some of his dad's journals as a kid. Later on, White watched his dad come out publicly, and the impact on his career as a preacher and relationships with people from the evangelical community. Then also watching his parents divorce over this (amicably) and then his dad beginning to date men in midlife. I think through all of this, Mike White was observing how everyone in his family and community reacted to these events, with curiosity and not judgment. Growing up in a family with those kind of dramatic shifts in relationships and identity, but still retaining a loving, supportive family (from the sound of it) I think helped White develop his style as a filmmaker and storyteller, where he is often looking for the raw truth at the heart of a relationship, underneath what people might say or present to the world publicly, but he isn't judgmental or shaming about it.

His show Enlightened has a similar outlook to White Lotus but, IMO, a much more optimistic tone. Also he is able to dive in deeper on the characters because it's focused on one woman and then the handful of people in her orbit, instead of a large and varied ensemble whose stories only overlap in minimal ways.

Totally agree on Mike White. I think he's a genius. He does have a high interest in sexual confusion and I think prudish people get very overwhelmed by that part and disregard the show. But just listen to the way his actors talk about him, and how Belinda and Greg signed onto the 3rd season without even knowing what the storyline would be for them (the actor who plays Greg said he would sign up even if Greg was on "all fours eating dog food out of a bowl.") They love him and are so, so loyal to him. He's an extremely perceptive observer of human nature.

Also, I think the answer to "what am i missing" is that in addition to being perceptive about humans, it's VERY FUNNY. my husband and I are laughing the whole time. I think the people who are missing the humor will not get why it's so compelling.

For fans -- the WhiteLotusHBO reddit is FANTASTIC. Lots of theorizing and sharing the best jokes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you don't like it, no worries. Move on and let us have our threads.

I'm sure The Passion is playing on TV soon.

This thread wasn’t started to be an appreciation of the show, though. The OP was literally asking people what they honestly think of it. That includes the opinions of people who hate it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a soap opera full of smut filmed in pretty places. Acting as if it’s high brow and you “get it” because you’re so high caste and live such decadent life is hilarious. It’s not “prestige TV,” it’s gutter trash literally full of lying, drugs, sexual deviancy, prostitution, profanity, and various smut.

This season there was just a “humorous” incest scene with two straight male boys performing a gay sex act on each other. Last season there was a “humorous” scene where a young bisexual nephew was having anal sex with his gay uncle shortly after he had sex with a young female co-star.

Really high brow TV. Totally not degenerate smut. You’re a prole if you don’t “get” this sort of TV and consume it week in and week out.

You did understand that that wasn’t actually his uncle, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a soap opera full of smut filmed in pretty places. Acting as if it’s high brow and you “get it” because you’re so high caste and live such decadent life is hilarious. It’s not “prestige TV,” it’s gutter trash literally full of lying, drugs, sexual deviancy, prostitution, profanity, and various smut.

This season there was just a “humorous” incest scene with two straight male boys performing a gay sex act on each other. Last season there was a “humorous” scene where a young bisexual nephew was having anal sex with his gay uncle shortly after he had sex with a young female co-star.

Really high brow TV. Totally not degenerate smut. You’re a prole if you don’t “get” this sort of TV and consume it week in and week out.

You did understand that that wasn’t actually his uncle, right?

ya. the purpose of that scene wasn't to gratitutously show sex, but to reveal to Portia that neither of those men are who they say they are. It immediate makes the situation sinister and dangerous for both Portia and Tanya.

I love the show. every episode has intrigue and humor and complicated characters where you think they are good and they turn out to be bad or vice versa... or they go on some kind of journey. And everything that takes place and is said in the earlier episodes builds to something greater later on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s a soap opera full of smut filmed in pretty places. Acting as if it’s high brow and you “get it” because you’re so high caste and live such decadent life is hilarious. It’s not “prestige TV,” it’s gutter trash literally full of lying, drugs, sexual deviancy, prostitution, profanity, and various smut.

This can be artfully done, and it is in White Lotus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one is forcing you to watch. It's not on primetime tv on NBC.

If you are watching, you can change the channel at anytime. Don't you have a PTA meeting to disrupt. Take your religious, conservative rant elsewhere.

No kidding. Get to a fainting couch asap!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a soap opera full of smut filmed in pretty places. Acting as if it’s high brow and you “get it” because you’re so high caste and live such decadent life is hilarious. It’s not “prestige TV,” it’s gutter trash literally full of lying, drugs, sexual deviancy, prostitution, profanity, and various smut.

This season there was just a “humorous” incest scene with two straight male boys performing a gay sex act on each other. Last season there was a “humorous” scene where a young bisexual nephew was having anal sex with his gay uncle shortly after he had sex with a young female co-star.

Really high brow TV. Totally not degenerate smut. You’re a prole if you don’t “get” this sort of TV and consume it week in and week out.

You did understand that that wasn’t actually his uncle, right?

ya. the purpose of that scene wasn't to gratitutously show sex, but to reveal to Portia that neither of those men are who they say they are. It immediate makes the situation sinister and dangerous for both Portia and Tanya.

I love the show. every episode has intrigue and humor and complicated characters where you think they are good and they turn out to be bad or vice versa... or they go on some kind of journey. And everything that takes place and is said in the earlier episodes builds to something greater later on.

Wow, thank you for this. We were so lost, we thought it was just drug use, sodomy and prostitution randomly being shoved in viewers faces on a mainstream television show but now we realize it was much deeper and so genius…