心向快乐第一季

标题来自于Mae在她现实中的stand up comedy opening中最喜欢说的一句话，很可爱也很讽刺。

剧情本身就是女同爱上直女之后的爱恨纠缠，剧情以外有趣的东西可就太多了。

Childhood matters (Google Scholar)

Mae在表演中“吐槽”过很多次她的家庭，让我印象比较深的一个是她模仿她妈妈（为什么不能添加视频烦）

她和她妈妈聊天说觉得自己成年人生活“flat”，妈妈：“大概因为你很久没吸毒也没对任何人上瘾了。”然后她开始模仿父母一边开第五瓶酒一边谈论着自己的孩子说不知道孩子怎么长成这样是遗传了谁。（来源：Netflix Mae Martin专辑）我不知道Mae对自己的童年定义到底是快乐还是不快乐，但我觉得她既然选择用这句话做开场，一定是有所思考的。

We all need a little addiction to get through this fucking miserable life. Her addiction is love relationships and straight women.

她本人也是性取向流动性的行走代言人。油管有很多采访，当然还有她自己的演出里都有提到，她觉得自己不符合LGBT任何一个角色，并且认为这样的标签很无趣。20岁之前的她，有过小男友，20-30是和女孩子们度过的美好时光，现在30出头又重新开始与男性约会, she really is something else!

（我很喜欢的一本相关话题的书： //www.douban.com/note/718891946/ ）

能够把自己的生活搬上银幕，让无数观众产生共鸣，不是才华是什么？

Lisa Kudrow

看过《老友记》的人都不会对Phoebe这个角色无印象。剧中大部分时间Lisa都是在电话视频里出现，就零星几句台词，我仿佛看到了我爱的那个神经质却有原则的Phoebe，也是六个人里我最爱的角色。

In case you never watched Friends, let me tell you what I love about Phoebe Buffay. She had two moms and a dad. One mom killed herself when she was 13, another showed up in her life until she was 26 and dad went to prison. Yet she turned out fine. The society failed her, but she chose not to revenge. She had seen the worst in humanity but still loves the world as it is. This is the true heroism.

George.

16岁对同性一无所知的我真的就是用互联网自学成才。12岁可以用网络来自学英文，对于爱情又何尝不可？22岁的我在感情中遇到问题时，仍然会向Google求助。

在她身上我看到了我第一任女友&初恋的影子，在所有人面前我永远都是她的“朋友”。

用我最喜欢的两句台词结尾

Love really does make people Feel Good.

Now, What's your addiction?

我并非不喜欢这剧型。Mae是个t打扮的脱口秀演员，不可避免的讨好型人格，内心敏感柔和。8分43秒，她已经遇到了她喜爱的女孩，成功的约会，谈恋爱，两个人一起同居。但是我却生了不忍。我瞄过简介，t打扮不等于t，我知道她会遇见什么。她有毒瘾，她有不安。她的黏人，她的紧绷。她的阴暗。你看8分钟一切美好，她不能入睡，需要开灯，热爱身体触摸。肌肤饥渴症。她试图隐藏阴暗。她注定无法隐藏。更惨的是，她不明白，人怎么努力也是无法满足任何别人的想法。所有的回避都会让缘分渐行渐远。她具有感知别人想法的天赋。但是大多数别人的想法都是毒药。我知道这一切因为。除开瘾症的类型不同，主角的一切我都经历过。所以我停在了8分43秒。需要勇气继续。看她注定搞砸遇见的一切。

类似的丧喜剧，《Fleabag》我就看得毫无波澜觉得角色善于搞砸才有笑点。《Feel good》却让我为角色担心。砸了以后呢，她怎么办？

Broken ？or just be me

“为何我们从未看到碎杯子集合起来，离开地面并跳回桌子，通常解释这违背了热力学第二定律所表示的，在任何闭合系统中无序度或者伤总是随着时间增加，换言之就是墨菲定律的一种形式，事情总是趋向于越变越糟，一个完整的杯子是一个高度有序的状态，地板上碎裂的杯子是一个无序的状态，人们很容易就从早先的桌子上的杯子变成后来地板上的碎杯子而不是相反。”来自霍金。物理学家都知道那么两只猫。一只喜欢进盒子，一只喜欢推杯子。

而成年人的生活，充满了莫宁两可支离破碎。瓷砖修补膏粘好粘不好继续过。

我不知道互助会有什么用。因为其实我不知道倾诉有什么用。你告诉别人。你的烦恼。你却不能得到解决。只是展示了你的软弱。所以其实我明白为什么她要逃离一个互助会。我明白有些人为什么要冲进咖啡柜台，自己做咖啡，而不是埋头吞下垃圾。这个世界并不是你展现你的痛苦，痛苦就会消失。而是你展示你的痛苦，所有人知道你有一个洞。黑洞。可以吞噬一切快乐和幸运，好事。掩盖你的一切。被别人的人看到你的时候。就会看到那个洞，忍不住往里扔垃圾。So.What's the point to show other ones you have a black hole？我明白她为什么试图回避躲藏。却注定无所遁形。

TBC

我自觉自己也算容易成瘾的人，还低自尊，所以很懂这剧里的痛点。有自知之明所以不敢碰任何赌毒…比起Mae是好在我没有那么狂躁。

我觉得自己对亲密关系成瘾真的是the saddest thing ever heard.

不知道是爱眼前这个人还是单纯需要找个人满足自己的成瘾需求。

更别提找了个直女了，更加煽动自己不安情绪。

听对方说分手之后比起女生会找男生就心里很堵。从理性角度来看，其实这不能代表任何事，并不是说这段感情是“一时兴起”或者“错误”，只是她本身更容易被男性吸引而已。但是听起来就很沮丧。

心中某处总觉得哪天必须要面对自己成瘾这个事情，对现在的感情不能百分百投入。

Life is suck.

我是T。我想被女孩推倒。我曾对亲密关系关系成瘾。我沉迷于女孩们的暗面。

注视着Mae Martin的时候，我感到被看见。

我的初恋来自离异家庭。我15岁的crush有抑郁症。我的前任同时有躁郁症和人格分裂症。我从未刻意因一个人的过去而选择她们，但somehow，they turned out that way.也许因为那种人格的张力不必隐藏也会隐约浮现吧。也许是因为我天生喜欢戏剧性，喜欢刺激。

And all didn’t end well.

情绪是会传染的。在高二的时候我曾经那么厌恶自己。一边大哭一边猛抽着雾化咖啡因的时候，在大雨里奔跑的时候，觉得自己空虚，孤独，一无是处。虽然我没有真的产生substance addiction，但那段为了控制睡眠而交替大剂量服用褪黑素和咖啡因的日子，现在想起来还觉得后怕。

...还有对亲密关系的焦虑。只要觉得无聊就会想找对方。只要对方不回就会觉得生命被抽干，觉得自己是一无是处的垃圾。会不安，会百爪挠心。

我在初三毕业的暑假打电话给我的心理老师，告诉她我爱上了一个抑郁症的女孩，我想帮她，我想和她做爱。老师要我保证我们会在“能闻得到阳光的地方”发生关系，然后告诉我，我救不了任何人，我做不了任何人的英雄。

如果受不了，我必须走。我必须先爱自己。

《心向快乐》回应了非常非常多有关LGBT社群生活的亚主题：挣扎的自我认同、痛苦的过去、“出柜”对伴侣关系造成的张力，甚至当George眉飞色舞地描述自己对某位理想型男性的痴迷时，Mae的感受对我来说都熟悉得令人痛苦。

但最关键的是，Mae同时存在于剧内剧外。她同时也是自己的故事有意识的讲述者。她完全接受了自己的过去，并且知道分享它能为他人带来怎样的理解和慰藉。这非常了不起。

我感到被看见，被回应。我感到并不孤独，而这点给了我信心。

所以....谢谢这部剧的存在。谢谢Mae和我们讲述她的故事。

Feel Good is a low budget 6-episode TV show which mysteriously skipped my attention when it was first brought up by a friend: probably because it features no big star (Lisa is one, but in a small role), and British TV shows like Fleabag and Killing Eve have raised the bar very high now.

However, one night, I started to watch the first episode and was very impressed. The not so sub plot of addiction is so well-written. I really like it when Mae (its main character shares the same name with the writer and lead actor, which is a bit confusing) expands the definition of ‘addiction’: ‘it’s all the same feelings, craving, and withdrawl, and relief, and obsession. We are just swapping one addiction for another’. By doing that, Mae Martin (I will use the full name when referring to the creator) connects the love story and Mae’s struggle to stay clean together. Mae Martin challenges the audience to view addiction as not only a struggle among a group of people, but something many of us face when being in a toxic relationship with partners, or, say, social media. By then, I am convinced Feel Good is quite good because the creators know ‘nuances’. Its focus on addiction also reminds me of Killing Eve S2, the key word for its 2nd season is ‘obsession’. While both handle compulsive/toxic feelings between people/people and object, Killing Eve’s take on obsession is disappointing, Feel Good, on the other hand, only gets better episode by episode.

Story aside, I am mesmerized by how the show introduces the love story to the audience. It is fast-paced. As Guardian remarks, ‘Feel Good moves so quickly and lightly that it seems impossible it could also be managing to construct characters and burrow into psyches as deeply and empathically as it does.’ You never need to fast-forward; it’s densely-packed but you won’t feel stressful; the plots mingle effortlessly. It takes 30 seconds for Mae and George to fall in love with each other. I love how unconventional and unapologetic it is. I love how an LGBTQIA (bless Joyce) story focus on how the two lovers enjoy their relationship (at least for the most part) without giving too much attention to how they are unsure if the other is into them, or suffering from loneliness because they can’t find a partner. Of course the loneliness issue exists and there is suffering, but there are many representations of those already. Feel Good shows how the relationship can be the start, rather than the ending, of a story.

I also like how the struggles of Mae and George are more about themselves making choices than them being in disagreement with a suffocating society. It is refreshing to see not only Mae’s parents, but George’s mother, support their sexuality. Mae’s gig pals don’t make a fuss about her having a girlfriend. The roommate Phil is an angel. The lead of the support group is a gay man; Lava is loved by her mother regardless of her sexuality. While Binky’s husband and his friends are ‘piece of shit’, I don’t see them as homophobic (I could be wrong though). The show demonstrates that everyone can and should be nice to LGBT+ community. I like how Feel Good doesn’t use societal approval as a trope; instead, it allows us to see Mae and George as individuals who make their own decisions. Yes, sexuality is and will be important in their lives, but they don’t let it to devour them, they can still breathe.

The relationship is beautifully written and wonderfully performed. I mean THE CHEMISTRY!! Yes there is sex. As Mae Martin said, she didn’t want the lesbian sex to be voyeuristic. I congratulate her in doing a fantastic job!! Feel Good has amazing sex scenes: they are romantic, witty, hilarious, and honest. The director and writers make sure the sex scenes are not about sex/lust only, they are also about female pleasure. Mae and George communicate and share their sexual preferences; they don’t force their fetish on the other, instead, they ask politely. The show doesn’t mystify lesbian sex: even lesbians can’t cum and that’s ok! Feel Good has achieved what Sex Education has done: it has educated people (older than high schoolers) how to have sex, and more importantly, how to discern when the relationship is going south.

There are nudity scenes and they are (quite literally) serving the plot: it is when Mae feels most vulnerable physically. The paradox of the physicality and the personality is, however, not restricted to gay people. Mae is struggling because she believes however hard she tries, she can never have George in the long haul because George is ‘culturally straight’. George, however, insists this idea is just in Mae’s head. (Or is it?) It becomes apparent that the couple is not on the same page on many things. Mae is shy but she wants public validation of their relationship: she wants to be blessed by George’s family and friends. George is popular (win the lottery) but she is ultra private when it comes to Mae. She points out her friends just want to crack a joke and emotions (mind, not sexuality), for them, is gross. Eventually, George will have to face her own real emotions. There is a moment where Mae questions why George never like/retweet her social media stuffs. As Fleabag says ‘Hair is everything’, the (non)usage of social media, I argue, is (almost) everything. This again shows the discrepancy between the couple – which, of course, is normal; in every relationship/friendship, such disagreements happen and that’s what makes this show so relatable.

It is interesting to note that the dynamic between the two flows all the time. I find myself on the side of Mae and then I am on George’s side! For example, the first episode shows Mae concealing her addiction history from George, which is a bit dishonest; but George also makes Mae think she’s already mentioned her to her friends while actually she’s dating some Crenshaw dude. I find it especially interesting that while George is portrayed as a cold person (she leaves Mae alone in a party; she’s rather cold towards Phil etc etc), Mae can also be quite aloof – check what she does to Lava. When she says let’s not share this with Maggie, it is as if George were saying let’s not tell my friends now.

Talking about George and her friends, I really like how the show does about their friendship. It shows that those friendships, even though ‘long haul’, are not necessarily genuine. Indeed, things can be tricky, if not scary, when friends finally choose to be honest with each other, right?

Binky’s husband and friends are hilarious characters, but the show makes sure not all the male characters are caricatured. I like Phil a lot; he’s giving me the neighbor who ended up marrying Hannah’s boyfriend’s sister in Girls, especially when he’s mentioning all the baby stuffs. Mae’s dad is a charming character; but I am not sure if he’s a good dad. His ‘Oh I need to check the garden’ is a specimen of dad type, who leaves all the dirty job of communicating with kids to mums. The show also inserts in a MeToo story plot where things turn sour quickly. In all, the portrayals of male characters are multifaceted. Well done.

Last but not the least: small roles. Does the show even have small roles? Because everyone shines. Even the shop assistant of that sex shop: the scene is so funny and captivating. Lisa Kudrow is funny but in a cold way – which is really nice. I am not crazy about her first appearance in the laptop; seeing her appear in Blackpool is a real surprise for me (and Mae). I love the scene in Ghost Train the most. Arguing in a horror house/moving train, with all the noise and terrifying man-makes while discussing ‘real emotions’, which is the most terrifying of all – what a genius idea!! The fact that the show keeps vague about why Mae is cast out of the family is an interesting one; I quite like how her mother points out her privilege and that she has everything she wants when she grows up. Again, the show is looking at the mysterious and intricate human mind that is not so easily explainable. Apart from that, I don’t think there are a lot of TV shows that discuss ‘privilege’. Kudos to the writers for highlighting this aspect.

The photography is really pretty. It, like TEOTFW, has a consistent tone, which is even reflected when Mae and George are in bed. Note the beautiful blue shadow. The music is nice. The costume looks comfy and lovely (never let the costume steal the show– I’m talking to you, Killing Eve). My favorite, as I said earlier is the pace of narration. Mae has run a lot and it is a signature of Feel Good, like Fleabag’s looking at the camera.

Feel Good is about a female stand-up comedian. In the States, there is The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. Both Mae and Midge suffer from a backfire from they using real-life stories with their partner (judging from S1 finale, haven’t watched S2 yet). It is interesting to think how personal the stand-up mateials can be, but having just watched Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette, I am reminding myself that in order to make things funny, the ‘truth’ can be compromised. While Nanette is almost metafictional when Hannah approaches/disconstructs what makes comedy, I don’t think that is the angle Feel Good is heading towards. However, it is still fit to think about the show amongst the powerful works by Mae Martin’s fellow female comedians. The freshness of the show also reminds me of Girls (with its minute depictions of modern female life) and Fleabag (with its candidacy about real emotions). Feel Good deserves more recognition and PLEASE CAN WE HAVE SEASON 2 THANK YOU NETFLIX!!

Also published on my blog.

Photo: © Channel 4

The series reminded me of my very personal experiences. I somehow feel to be the combination of both Mae and George. How? Mae is much needed. And George is surrounded by those mean "friends".

I left my hometown about 4 years ago. In a new city, with everything new, I tried to stay connected to my old life - those friends, those habits, basically everything I can. But things can not always be that ideal. Trying to hold on to every person around me made me really hard. I had to tolerate their bad habits, their judgement, and even sometimes discrimination. Until today, I am still doing those things, trying to please others. I know that's not a great way to let others know me. I keep on putting others feel good as the first principle to communicate with others. That's bad, not only for me but for them.

Maybe someday, or starting today, I should stand up and defend myself, and my values. It's not necessarily intensive as what George does in the show. I can explore a new way, my way.

As for the part like Mae, there's too much to say. The writing is superb for effectively showing how Mae is dependent on George. I am insecure in almost all my relationships, while most of them suck. I have taken considerable time in figuring out the relationship. Do those guys fancy me, or do they merely treat me like a sex toy, a method to kill time? I always need some confirmation, and I mean it it's always. I am afraid the status is not synchronised with the other. I may make some move far beyond. I may take the other my whole world. I may, just like Mae, get addicted to the other. Is that good? After the show, I am still confused. Those questions always pop up in my mind. Will he still pay attention to me after he has completely got me? Will he still enjoy my terrible jokes? Am I still making him comfortable? Will I get abandoned one day? I get addicted because of my lack of confidence, our difference and my bad memories, maybe.

In the series, Mae relapses. Will I relapse just like her over and over? Let's see.

This is fucking good😭😭😭第四集之前：I fucking love Mae Martin yet this drama is a little bit normal第四集之后：Fucking awesome plot😭😭😭Mae Martin is super genius😭😭😭

I feel like I'm full of birds.

典型的英式喜剧，好多那种冷笑话哈哈哈哈哈，而且除去主角之外人物有为剧情发展和气氛需要脸谱化的嫌疑。George真的很美美得像戴安娜王妃。Mae Martin…我发现我只是喜欢小奶狗而已性别什么的无所谓，所以我原来是无性恋吗（误）看到做爱部分会感觉都是女孩子的话会让我容易习惯很多很多…可能也是对lesbian群体本身不了解不过我不想管那么多

剧本真的很好很好。感觉能体会到日常人与人之间交往的那种真诚与温暖感觉。情感很细腻，但感觉铺陈有时候不到位，也可能我本人不够敏感。剧里的话还是美化过的现实…首先addict被编进去本身就是对taking drugs的一种美化…cant help doing something while knowing that it will bring some negative consequences hhhh但是很多琐碎的碎片化现实又fucking real and fucking touching，Mae和George最后对话还有以前其他的对话里面那些词不达意欲言又止还有反复的sorry, I just... 都好London好生活…我们都一样啊。

You are being loved. 那里真的眼眶湿润了。not an island... 人与人之间的联系真的是拯救一个人的根本吗。

md这部里面的感情真的都好他妈流畅啊。

就是在考试周看然后看第一集的时候：这能拍六集？看完第六集的时候：怎么只有六集该不会我还要等第二季吧。看到还有第二季的时候：希望我能先紧着复习😭

差点忘了夸导演！色调真的超级超级棒啊，好多镜头都很漂亮，镜头下的人也无比好看。调色和色彩搭配都太好了…视角也很棒。

看看这个镜头多绝美！

不算快，断断续续两天刷完吧。看的时候内心真的有太多太多的想法、声音还有共鸣了…总感觉片子就好像我自己的人生，感受到很多，在自我探索中的问题，与直女恋爱中的问题等等…

其实片子本本身确实也有可圈可点的地方，想很多短评也暴露出了每个人看这个片子的角度和侧重点，包括这当然也受个人经历的影响。

先从我觉得不足的地方着手，确实比起我以往看的很多les电影来说，比起那些，这部更加现实和现在，可能电影只有两个小时，所以不论《Blue is…color》（很多人也提到）或者最近看的《烧女图》，电影总是试图在两个小时把情感表达的最浓烈，剧情的曲折和复杂度也并不会这么高。也是因为这样的对比，所以总让我觉得Mae和G之间的感情不够浓烈。（但也可能是演员的问题也未可知）。

片子选了一条主线或者topic，就是所谓t（gay）与直女之间的爱情。在这很想提一下，其实很多人都并不想定义自己的取向，就像我自己，这也是我很有共鸣的一点，就像J在厕所里问Mae，你是lesbian吗？Mae说“我不想label myself”，这一点我就很有共鸣，我相信取向是流动性的，我看起来像tomboy就不代表我一定是gay，这便是一个探索自己的过程，限制住自己反而会让自己更struggle。

所以另外一个地方，这部片子在对于性取向的探索上也让我很有共鸣。我既有过G对于自己是否是gay而困扰，又很能理解Lava和Mae说，不要把时间花在不是你圈子不了解你的人身上。确实，直女在姬圈中就是一个非常棘手的存在。或者也如我所说，“并没有真正的直女，所谓直女是还没有找到能触动她的那个女孩。”

作为t不代表就不能女孩了。我太能理解Mae对与自己gender “in between”的那种感受了。“我既不是男孩，也算不上女孩，我就是freak”，这是很多queer可能都会有活动心理活动，总觉得自己的gender不能融入这个社会，以及这个社会对性别的定义，于是觉得自己是不被爱和奇怪的。但其实不是，我们，queer，要做到只是我们自己。

我对于这种小t 有点小撒娇太喜欢了。我真的很喜欢这种物理上的错觉，看起很帅气的女孩，但其实也有女孩的一面，内心的敏感，想要come的渴望，想被拥抱和爱，而且可0可1。我很欣赏Mae也是因为，她总是很平和（至少看起来），可能面瘫？哈哈哈哈。

我并不太想把它当成浪漫爱情片看，比起浪漫理想式爱情，这部更多的在反映，每一对les情侣，或多或少都会有过的、出现的问题。尤其是当她俩闹分手那一段，其实就很能看出问题。我太能理解，包括我自己也有过这种心理活动，和一个“直女”或曾有过男朋友的女生在一起，其实内心或多或少会有一种不满足，和差距就在于，自己不是男生，给不了一段“正常”婚姻或未来，该有的样子。我们也希望和自己爱的女人，可以相爱，making love，jizzing，and have a baby，但是我们不可以，因为我们不是男人。

但退一步，如果我们要这么想，那便又是把自己局限住了…

在她俩分手以前那一次sex，也是里面对我最有感觉的一段…当G感觉快要come的时候对Mae说“come inside me…”，其实这几句真的很伤人，也很戳，正中下怀的感觉。Mae的回复也真的太精准了：“ I would love to，but I physically can't！” 这正是我们所缺失，但也是最大的不同。 It reminds me of me and my ex, I am obsessed with making love with her, but the only thing missing is that I really hope I can go inside her, and either she, when we were high. That is supposed to be a “normal” sex....

我也很赞同这是一部关于诚实的影片，不论在爱情、工作、生活中，其实我们都要保持诚实，才能让双方顺利的沟通。

每次Mae和G有争吵的时候，两边说的话其实都很有道理。（争吵的台词写的很tricky）各有各的理，只是有没有站在对方的角度考虑。比如在party上，G想和朋友们出柜，就希望Mae不要老盯着她，自己去跳舞，但Mae觉得，你如果要出柜那就大大方方牵着我的手帮我化解尴尬啊。其实两方都没有错，但两边必须相互理解。包括G和Binky后来的谈话，G埋冤B他们在她分手后不来问候，B觉得如果你是真的伤心那就主动来和我们说啊，你不和我们说就好像不是真爱一样。其实两边也都在理，看谁能先理解谁。聪明人就不要去纠结了。

至于说t粘人的，可能是每个人经历不同，我觉得这种依赖挺顺理成章的，作为一个父母那么刻薄的t，包括小时候有过那么多创伤，能到现在这样温柔可爱善解人意，真的是奇迹了，当然不可避免，她真的需要一个人依靠和拥抱。

感受就写到这，HE我很满意，当然如果拍第二季，未来可能还会有更多的问题冒出来。也期待第二季，更期待自己能有个女朋友，好想谈恋爱啊啊💕💕

btw，还想再提一下，Mae在里面真的是赚大了🙃各种人都亲了一遍，见谁就问“do u wanna have sex...”哈哈哈哈哈。而且每次还一脸面瘫的“that will be so cool.”太可了哈哈哈哈。

还有对于那个老师说，“如果你不教孩子们LGBTQIA这方面的话题那是你的问题，这是sexual health课程…你们班还有两个学生是trans呢！”真的很暖心，为学校有这样的开明的眼光感到开心。

End…

2020.4.6

In USA