alright this is gonna be a bit long. anywaysss
if you were to pick a single date over the past two years, you'd honestly think it's been shitty. but. but when you look at it overall, as a big picture, as this beautiful canvas, then not only can you see the growth, but you'll also notice these little changes with louis and his career.
the fact that his social media was so manly manboy centric and now, it's filled with these little tour videos, which show just how lively louis is. you can see him being so playful, jumping, dancing, unabashedly.
you can see how much fun him and his team and his band and his supporting artists have backstage. they go get tattoos together and go go karting and have bets and play pranks on each other. you can never do these with someone you're not comfortable with. louis brings comfort with him, he brings this feeling of inclusivity in the way that he can make anyone from any background feel like they're part of the conversation, part of the group and i love him for it. he is much adored by all, and it's effortless. he's just himself.
most importantly, the abundance of pride flags. it's that soft but significant acknowledgement. he could have easily skipped those bits (he's skipped quite a few songs in his videos), he could have shown it once and be done with it. but no. in every single video you can see the sea of rainbows over and over again and that's pride. that's safety. that's warmth. that's inclusivity. and of course, it's relatability. sure. you can argue that there's so many pride bits because fans are bringing so many flags and so they're always visible and you can't skip them. but. but the thing is. you can, if you know anything about cinematography and editing, you know you can pick and choose the angles easily. but also. it's the fact that fans feel safe and comfortable and brave enough to bring these flags night and night again and hoist them up in the air. it's his soft smile, his little nod of 'i see you. i appreciate you. i am you.'
what warms me the most is that these videos, albeit for promo, show so much of the real louis that it's like a minor glimpse into his life. it's him being free. and i love that, i love how he's always been raw, honest and vulnerable with us and i am so, so, so proud of him always.