#look at me using something i learnt in high school to analyse a gay mafia romance
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fishy-xp · 3 years ago
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Macau Theerapanyakul - a character study (pt. 6)
safety, security and sleep - the minor family's hierarchy of needs
ft. vegaspete
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this meta post is brought to you by this post by ta (macau's actor) as i realised 2/4 appearances of macau, we see him sleeping.
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first things first, let me introduce to you maslow's hierarchy of needs. maslow was this old guy who made a pyramid about the needs that dictate human behaviour (shown below).
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if we were to apply the hierarchy to the members of the minor family (minor family being macau, pete and vegas cuz fuck gun, ain't none of my homies respect gun), it becomes quite obvious that their psychological needs aren't being met, that being love, intimacy and self-esteem. much of this lack of satisfaction stems from poor parental father figures and absent mothers. pete is probably the furthest up the hierarchy as it appears being a bodyguard offers him his basic needs. he also seems to have stable relationships with arm, pol and porsche. whether pete feels respected and accomplished as a bodyguard is a question for him to answer, but personally, i don't think he does. the ridigity of his position is exactly what is stopping him from reaching self-actualisation as pete has been made to serve for the majority of his life and has never managed to branch out and actually find what fulfills himself.
vegas, our favourite pathetic problem child, is just a mess of loneliness and self-esteem issues. his father is an abusive piece of shit and whilst he may have a positive relationship with macau, there is still a level of responsibilty and burden he carries as an older sibling. he's constantly belittled by his father and the wider mafia society, recognised as secondary to kinn and the major family. being compared like that your whole life and having every single motivation dervied from the sole goal of usurping your older cousin but not being able to draws away from vegas' own needs in forming relationships on his own that aren't purely advantageous or transactional. it also takes away from vegas' ability to base his sense of self-worth on the things he's accompished and instead, he bases it on the things kinn's accomplished.
ta explains that macau has low self esteem in his character story, that he feels mediocre and average. and this can easily be inferred from his age compared to the other members of his family as well as being 1) in the minor family and 2) being the second son of the minor family. macau has no position worthy of anything to give him a sense of self-worth and confidence. other than his relationship with vegas, macau has zero bitches (he could have porchay if beoncloud weren't hellbent on killing off or uncanonizing ghostships) and again, his father is gun lmao. pete and vegas are older, and are trained in arms and combat. they are able to defend themselves. macau on the other hand, doesn't appear to be as skilled, as evidenced by when he tried to throw hands at porsche and immediately fell into the pond like the bitch baby he is, so perhaps he doesn't satisfy the safety needs to an extent.
i argue that the fractured positioning of each of the minor family at various stages of the hierarchy stunts each of them in reaching self-actualisation. in order to break through and move up in the pyramid, requires a breaking down of the rigid pathways that have landed them where they are and are stimultaneously hindering them from going further. in doing so, they must return to meeting their basic needs, take a step back to take three steps forward.
the running theme of food between vegaspete begin with pete rejecting or resisting vegas' attempts at feeding him because he understands that food to vegas is a means of submission and manipulation. but slowly they both begin to break down each other's preconceptions of their needs, vegas with his father and pete with his expectations of perfection and duty. vegas actually puts effort into cooking for pete for no reason simply than to feed pete (vegas pulls the ultimate give your child a plate of cut fruit after destroying their livelihoods power move) and pete eats as soon as he realises vegas isn't trying to get anything out of him (and that it's not poisoned lol). once this basic need of food is met, they ascend the hierarchy almost immediately, pete potentially reaches self-actualisation by way of first discovering the darkness that's been dormant within him until vegas manages to sink his claws in and pull it to the surface, and second, giving into that dark desire. vegas has someone that understands him, or is at least trying to. someone who chooses him and is willing to stay with him and comfort him. someone who sees him as his own person rather than a shadow to kinn. this food will sustain them as they sustain each other.
but old habits die hard. they go back to their old ways, their own understanding of needs and methods of achieving them. vegas still seeks the approval of his father, still craves that intimacy, and believes beating kinn will satisfy his self-esteem needs. pete goes back to the major family because he believes in duty and loyalty, his self-esteem is derived from serving others at the expense of suffocating himself and his individuality/desires inside that damn suit.
until they meet again by that poolside. both broken and desperate, ready to tear it all down and start all over once again at the bottom - "because i'm hungry"
for macau, we have him meeting the basic need of 'rest'. macau is trying to keep up with the rest of the family, in being a force of power, respect and prestige. in meeting the expectations of his father. the compound he lives in is not a home, it's a institution where people come and go. it's a place where people are armed to the teeth and there's a torture dungeon in the basement. it's a place where his father stalks the halls, turning his ring inwards and macau can only hope he doesn't stop outside his door. macau hears the screaming, the pleading, the gunfire, the beatings. macau hears everything. he's not safe here. macau probably gets barely any sleep in the compound and even if he does, it's riddled with nightmares and being awoken by the slightest of sounds. he only seems to manage to rest in the presence of his brother, someone who can fulfill his love/affection needs and in places of security and safety, such as the temple and hospital.
the epilogue scene in ep 14 shows another restart for the minor family. pete draws back the blind to reveal sunlight, bathing the room in light and warmth. pete mentions he bought food for a sleeping macau. pete reassures vegas that even if he doesn't have anything left, his heart wants vegas, just vegas. vegas tells pete that he is his most important person. macau gains a new friend/brother in the form of pete and welcomes pete into the family. the big pile on at the ends shows them surrounded by people who allow them to be themselves, who love them and who will protect them. they are gifted with a promising new start - a chance to climb the hierarchy together and with each other.
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[Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 7]
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madeirab · 2 years ago
Text
I love reading anything about Macau
Macau Theerapanyakul - a character study (pt. 6)
safety, security and sleep - the minor family's hierarchy of needs
ft. vegaspete
Tumblr media
this meta post is brought to you by this post by ta (macau's actor) as i realised 2/4 appearances of macau, we see him sleeping.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
first things first, let me introduce to you maslow's hierarchy of needs. maslow was this old guy who made a pyramid about the needs that dictate human behaviour (shown below).
Tumblr media
if we were to apply the hierarchy to the members of the minor family (minor family being macau, pete and vegas cuz fuck gun, ain't none of my homies respect gun), it becomes quite obvious that their psychological needs aren't being met, that being love, intimacy and self-esteem. much of this lack of satisfaction stems from poor parental father figures and absent mothers. pete is probably the furthest up the hierarchy as it appears being a bodyguard offers him his basic needs. he also seems to have stable relationships with arm, pol and porsche. whether pete feels respected and accomplished as a bodyguard is a question for him to answer, but personally, i don't think he does. the ridigity of his position is exactly what is stopping him from reaching self-actualisation as pete has been made to serve for the majority of his life and has never managed to branch out and actually find what fulfills himself.
vegas, our favourite pathetic problem child, is just a mess of loneliness and self-esteem issues. his father is an abusive piece of shit and whilst he may have a positive relationship with macau, there is still a level of responsibilty and burden he carries as an older sibling. he's constantly belittled by his father and the wider mafia society, recognised as secondary to kinn and the major family. being compared like that your whole life and having every single motivation dervied from the sole goal of usurping your older cousin but not being able to draws away from vegas' own needs in forming relationships on his own that aren't purely advantageous or transactional. it also takes away from vegas' ability to base his sense of self-worth on the things he's accompished and instead, he bases it on the things kinn's accomplished.
ta explains that macau has low self esteem in his character story, that he feels mediocre and average. and this can easily be inferred from his age compared to the other members of his family as well as being 1) in the minor family and 2) being the second son of the minor family. macau has no position worthy of anything to give him a sense of self-worth and confidence. other than his relationship with vegas, macau has zero bitches (he could have porchay if beoncloud weren't hellbent on killing off or uncanonizing ghostships) and again, his father is gun lmao. pete and vegas are older, and are trained in arms and combat. they are able to defend themselves. macau on the other hand, doesn't appear to be as skilled, as evidenced by when he tried to throw hands at porsche and immediately fell into the pond like the bitch baby he is, so perhaps he doesn't satisfy the safety needs to an extent.
i argue that the fractured positioning of each of the minor family at various stages of the hierarchy stunts each of them in reaching self-actualisation. in order to break through and move up in the pyramid, requires a breaking down of the rigid pathways that have landed them where they are and are stimultaneously hindering them from going further. in doing so, they must return to meeting their basic needs, take a step back to take three steps forward.
the running theme of food between vegaspete begin with pete rejecting or resisting vegas' attempts at feeding him because he understands that food to vegas is a means of submission and manipulation. but slowly they both begin to break down each other's preconceptions of their needs, vegas with his father and pete with his expectations of perfection and duty. vegas actually puts effort into cooking for pete for no reason simply than to feed pete (vegas pulls the ultimate give your child a plate of cut fruit after destroying their livelihoods power move) and pete eats as soon as he realises vegas isn't trying to get anything out of him (and that it's not poisoned lol). once this basic need of food is met, they ascend the hierarchy almost immediately, pete potentially reaches self-actualisation by way of first discovering the darkness that's been dormant within him until vegas manages to sink his claws in and pull it to the surface, and second, giving into that dark desire. vegas has someone that understands him, or is at least trying to. someone who chooses him and is willing to stay with him and comfort him. someone who sees him as his own person rather than a shadow to kinn. this food will sustain them as they sustain each other.
but old habits die hard. they go back to their old ways, their own understanding of needs and methods of achieving them. vegas still seeks the approval of his father, still craves that intimacy, and believes beating kinn will satisfy his self-esteem needs. pete goes back to the major family because he believes in duty and loyalty, his self-esteem is derived from serving others at the expense of suffocating himself and his individuality/desires inside that damn suit.
until they meet again by that poolside. both broken and desperate, ready to tear it all down and start all over once again at the bottom - "because i'm hungry"
for macau, we have him meeting the basic need of 'rest'. macau is trying to keep up with the rest of the family, in being a force of power, respect and prestige. in meeting the expectations of his father. the compound he lives in is not a home, it's a institution where people come and go. it's a place where people are armed to the teeth and there's a torture dungeon in the basement. it's a place where his father stalks the halls, turning his ring inwards and macau can only hope he doesn't stop outside his door. macau hears the screaming, the pleading, the gunfire, the beatings. macau hears everything. he's not safe here. macau probably gets barely any sleep in the compound and even if he does, it's riddled with nightmares and being awoken by the slightest of sounds. he only seems to manage to rest in the presence of his brother, someone who can fulfill his love/affection needs and in places of security and safety, such as the temple and hospital.
the epilogue scene in ep 14 shows another restart for the minor family. pete draws back the blind to reveal sunlight, bathing the room in light and warmth. pete mentions he bought food for a sleeping macau. pete reassures vegas that even if he doesn't have anything left, his heart wants vegas, just vegas. vegas tells pete that he is his most important person. macau gains a new friend/brother in the form of pete and welcomes pete into the family. the big pile on at the ends shows them surrounded by people who allow them to be themselves, who love them and who will protect them. they are gifted with a promising new start - a chance to climb the hierarchy together and with each other.
Tumblr media
[Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5]
88 notes · View notes