I feel like I watched a different documentary from other posters in few ways, and some of the posts I’ve read have been a little too negative I think. Although I’m not totally caught up yet, let me explain:
re: busgate
Yes there was No Phano, but I also saw a lot of intentional ambiguity.
Right after the garishly over-acted rock paper scissors event, in which it was decided
only Phil should sleep in the bed, we are given a close up of the Dan
and Phil sign on “Phil’s” bedroom door.
Then comes the shot of Dan clambering out of the bunk, with the Dan
and Phil sign clearly on display behind his head – seemingly contradicting the whole scene. Like a clue, or selective honesty for those who look for it, that things aren’t as they are made to appear to be on the surface.
Dan jumps down, hair straightened, black sweater peeking out from underneath his collar – almost as if he’d already gotten dressed that day and the whole affair was staged.
Then the shot of them evidently in the same bed together, with Dan “annoying” Phil in that
soft way. Calling into question the whole clambering-out-of-the-bunk part. An assertion of ambiguity, and a scene which feels ten times more honest than the over the top ‘rock paper scissors’ discussion. A no bunk moment.
Phil can’t even get the official story right. When we are first shown the bunks he says ‘my bunk’, ‘I can’ watch anime in this bunk. An obvious contradiction. They’re not even trying. They’re almost trying to poke holes in their own story. A story which even without their deliberate attacks on it was already flimsy.
These are things they know we’d notice. They would not let a dirt great big Dan
and Phil sign escape their notice when they were editing. They’ve edited it like: cover story > ambiguity questioning the cover story > cover story > ambiguity questioning the cover story. And the net effect is a mixed message. It’s a non-answer.
And I don’t blame them. I don’t want them to come clean and tell me that they slept together every night that they could. I don’t want them to tell me that they were/are a couple. Because I know they must have Reasons for not saying so. I know that they are lying because it’s what’s best for them. I don’t know what those Reasons are, but I respect them. I want Dan and Phil to do what’s best for Dan and Phil – they don’t owe me anything. They don’t owe me the truth, they owe themselves happiness. If lying is what they have to do to protect themselves then lie to me, and then lie some more.
Until they decide, after thought and consideration, that being open about the nature of their relationship is what’s best for them, I’d rather be lied to.
re: the documentary overall
I liked it. It was funny, it was sweet. The linting part was the best kind of torture, but I’m sure this was intentional too. I enjoyed tatinof a lot more, and in some places in the documentary I found my attention drifting - I think I’ve even enjoyed their YouTube videos more – but it was fine. I could also be my state of mind as I was a little melancholy before I started watching.
Credit to
missemma for spotting the jumper under Dan’s pyjama top, and to
mez29 for reminding me about Phil’s pronouns during the initial bus tour.
re: shipbaiting
I think the fanfiction section was all in good fun, and not shipbaiting. I think it’s not shipbaiting because I 100% believe Dan and Phil have had/are in a romantic relationship – thus any jokes stemming from this come from a place of honesty and not deception. Note that I said romantic relationship – which doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be sexual and/or officially labelled a relationship. But when we are talking about two men who live together, who so clearly care for each other and demonstrate this fondness time and time again, I think we are talking about something that’s romantic. But don’t mind me, I’ll just be over here in the corner projecting my own experiences of crossing & blurring the lines between friends and lovers, and wondering if that line is so hard and fast.
Artdefines06 wrote:As cute as the chosen fanfic parts were, they were strangely not the shippiest options. Show me the darn pirates in space eating cake. I need to see phils face when he is delightfully shoving cake into dan's mouth by hand. I need to see the part where they got so close to holding hands their molecules were touching and the whole theater held its breath, Give it to me or I will revolt.
Are you going to bring the pitchforks, or shall I?
re:...um....sharing underwear
Not sure if this has been discussed but we get a flash of both Dan and Phil's underwear during the doc (I only know this because
Winston told me, not because I was looking, it is all
Winston's fault so you should all go and take this topic up with
Winston if you have a problem with it ). Anyway, they are both Calvin Kleins - and this is Dan and Phil we're talking about so I have to ask - are they, you know, the same pair...?
)
