Dispatches from Left Field: It's Just a Penis, Get Over It

TNG Contributor Matt wrote this piece.

I went to see the new film Watchmen on Friday. I thought the film was well done for the most part, but it seems that many critics have trouble moving past the penises. One of the main characters of the film, Dr. Manhattan, is quite the nudist. At first, viewers are shown this with brief shots of his nude hindquarters and shots of his calves. Later the camera reveals his muscled upper-body with no indication of garments where a waistband should be.

But then suddenly, without prelude, Dr. Manhattan appears in all of his blue-shaded glory. The sudden onslaught of full-frontal, computer-generated male nudity sent a giggle and a nervous gasp rippling through the audience.

I think that this is indicative of the American uncomfortableness with male nudity. We seem to have little compunction about showing actresses parading around the set with their breasts exposed. When it comes to men, however, don't let us see anything interesting. When I was in high school, my friend suggested that someone should invent "L" shaped sheets for movies, since there is clearly a double standard for nudity. In movies, the more nude actresses are, the larger the fan base, whereas the more naked the actors, the more uncomfortable the audience.

At some level, I think we're conditioned to associate penises in the media with sinfulness. America's puritan roots, while loosened by the sexual revolution of the 1960s, still have a strong hold on us. Europeans are not nearly as up tight when it comes to nudity in advertising and the media. Censorship might play a part in keeping mainstream America uncomfortable with nudity, but I think it goes deeper. I think it is bound up in our national psyche.

Watchmen certainly pushes the envelope. American films mostly limit male nudity to bare buns and those views are usually brief. This movie not only includes the penis, it shows it frequently and in long scenes. No attempt is made to camouflage or hide his genitalia. It hangs around like a wallflower at the prom, not really participating, but visible nonetheless. Honestly, I've seen straight porn with less penis screen time.

The display of Dr. Manhattan's penis in Watchmen actually has nothing to do with sex. The character is just nude. When it comes down to filming, the director could shoot around Dr. Manhattan's implied nudity, which is the typical response, or he could shoot the film as if the nudity didn't matter - as it doesn't to the characters. Since Watchmen was filmed using the latter technique, the audience faces some discomfort, but the director didn't sacrifice the nudity of Dr. Manhattan called for in the graphic novel.

Regardless of what the FCC thinks, nudity occurs everyday. It is as much a part of our story as other things commonly portrayed in movies without objection. Films portray life, they portray stories of fiction and truth, they portray struggles to understand things beyond our comprehension. These portrayals have to deal with the same things we do in life in order to make them relevant. One of those things is nudity. To pretend that it doesn't exist is dishonest, but to overrepresent it runs the risk of being gratuitous.

Honestly, I'm not sure if Watchmen is too gratuitous or not, but I am sure that they didn't dodge the issue. I hope that this represents an improvement the typical knee-jerk reaction to male nudity in the media. But America just needs to get over it. It's just a penis. Half the population has one and just about everyone over age 18 has seen one. Films shouldn't pretend they don't exist. And Americans shouldn't freak out when they are shown on the silver screen.

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Film: The Sons of Tennessee Williams

TNG Founder Ben submitted this post.

From Tim Wolff, director/producer of The Sons of Tennessee Williams:

The Sons of Tennessee Williams is the story of the gay men of New Orleans who created a vast and fantastic culture of "drag balls" starting in the late 1950s. These men worked with the traditions of Mardi Gras to bring gay culture into public settings in the early 1960s. By 1969, there were four gay Mardi Gras krewes, legally chartered by the state of Louisiana, throwing yearly extravaganzas at civic venues around the city. "Society matrons begged for ball tickets from their hairdressers".

They succeeded in bringing down the “Jim Crow” laws that targeted gay people for offenses such as public assembly, same-sex dancing and cross-dressing. They staged a flamboyant costumed revolution without politics and won freedoms during a time, as now, when laws and people fought against them.

When I was in college at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, I had the honor of pulling floats for the Krewe of Apollo at their annual Mardi Gras Ball in Lafayette, LA. Apollo is one of two gay Krewes in the Acadiana region of Louisiana, where I was raised, and the experience of serving their court was unforgettable. After the procession of royalty (many outfits cost tens of thousands of dollars each) me and my friend Chris, both dressed in tuxedos, dragged the costumed titans of Apollo around the floor of the Cajundome while 12,000 drunk straight people dressed in their finest formal attire screamed their approval.

In the center of the floor, dozens of tables were set for the members of the Krewe and their honored guests. I remember sitting at my table prior to the promenade, looking around and above me at the stacked tiers of well dressed heterosexuals bristling with excitement and revelry as they settled in to their top dollar seats in anticipation for the show. I had been out of the closet for only a couple of years, but the expression of my sexuality was limited to well defined parameters of a life lived in shadows. Being on stage (in a sense) that night and seeing the way that straight people in my own community were drawn to what these gay men had created opened a door on my limited notions of gay acceptance. I've never related to drag culture or worn a dress, but I'm grateful to all those men wearing heels who provided me in grand fashion the experience of not feeling judged by any standard except a fabulous one. It was my first real sense of gay power.

Tim Wolff, the director of this documentary, asks that you consider being a financial sponsor of this history project. All donations qualify for a federal tax exemption, and the production “has been conceived and produced entirely in the city of New Orleans, by people who have loved this place and lost because of it.” If you care to make a small donation, you can contact Tim at timwolffhouse@yahoo.com. As I understand it, the film will be released this spring.

Here's a little lagniapppe: Videos of a recent Krewe of Apollo Ball (at the Cajundome):

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Your Monday Upper: There is Always a Lump or Two of Trouble?

Mondays suck. So every Monday TNG brings you a fun video to ease the pain.

I originally posted the above video a couple weeks ago as a bonus upper, below the fold. Why did I do that? This "Alice in Wonderland Remix" is so addictive that burying it below any other video now seems like a travesty on par with hanging the Mona Lisa below a velvet painting of dogs playing poker. I haven't been able to find much information about who made it, but I assume it was someone who both has a mastery of video editing and too much time on their hands.

Either way, I've been humming this all day. So what if I have no idea what she's actually saying? The "ooh-ooh" flowers are amazing and I'm considering playing this at the next Homo/sonic. That's all that matters.

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January 11 - Free Screening of "Jay Dreams"

Catherine Pancake, the producer and director of Jay Dreams, submits the following post and invites you to see it free this Sunday.

Coming out in WV at the age of 17 in the late eighties was truly a marginal experience!!! I could & might devote a novel to that subject some day. However, like many readers, I experienced coming into my homo own as an opportunity to reject what the mainstream had to offer. I took time to explore the cultural fringe, became immersed in alternative music, and gave myself permission to become a creative person buffered from the rigid critique of "normalcy." After moving to a larger urban area in Baltimore, I was dismayed to find a pretty cold, clique-ish, shallow gay culture waiting for with me with... a huge amount of ambivalence - unlike my alterna-straight friends who were warm, open, and umm straight. I've struggled a lot to span white/straight experimental/alternative culture with piecing together an amazing gay/queer/diverse context as well. Sound familar?

Baltimore is experiencing a bit of a renaissance recently with its cultural underground thriving and Rolling Stone magazine naming Baltimore "Best Local Scene" last year - whatever that means. For the past year, I've been spending time with the Baltimore African American lesbian dom-fem scene working on a short, somewhat experimental film that we are pretty close to releasing. I'm interested personally in the cross pollination that can occur when folks from different local subcultures make a concerted effort to get together and collaborate. With the Prop 8 madness and the gay communities' on-going confusion about how to interact with its own ethnic minorities, I didn't know how timely our film would be. We are doing a work in progress screening sponsored by Women in the Life in DC at Busboys and Poets (full info on our website) this Sunday, January 11th at 8:00pm and the show is FREE. The film is humorous, sexy, a little bit silly, and also touches on some unique aspects of the group of women the film showcases. Feel free to come by, and see the piece, and join the conversation! We are already balancing festival requests with the film completion date sometime in the next few months.

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Were The World Mine: The Bard and the Bois

Were the World Mine combines Shakespeare, homoeroticism, Baz Lurhmann-styled musical numbers and a coming out in a vaguely derivative way, but it is charming all the same. The movie works more on a fantastic, fairy tale level than as the out and out allegory it strives for.

At an all-boys high school in a conservative small town witchy free spirit English teacher Ms. Tebbit (Wendy Robie) follows the time honored tradition of mounting a production of a Shakespeare play with an all male cast.

The play is A Midsummer’s Night Dream, and Tebbit has her eye on the new kid, Timothy (Tanner Cohen) to play the role of Puck. Timothy has just moved to the town with his mother, following a messy divorce. The rugby team picks him on because they (rightfully) assume that’s he’s gay. The play gives him an opportunity to display is lovely American Idol-styled tenor. Timothy struggles at home with a mother who is ambivalent about his sexuality, and has a crush on the dashing lead rugby player Jonathon (Nathaniel David Becker). Ms. Tebbit casts the play with the reluctant seniors. When he is learning his lines, Timothy finds a secret spell encoded in the language of the play. The typographic ‘reveal’ of the spell is a visually arresting moment. Timothy ends up with an enchanted iris that expels a potion that awakes instant desire in all who sprayed by it. Timothy uses the flower to both attain his heart’s desire and teach his town a lesson. There are, of course, hijinks along the way.

The narrative and its subplots are interrupted by flights of fancy, in the form of goofy, tongue-in-cheek musical interludes, with keening, Broadway style voices and bevies of shirtless dancing boys. The set of the play spills over into real life, with gorgeous images of half nude males, with glitter on their faces, cavorting in fields of night blooming flowers. It’s High School Musical with the Abercrombie and Fitch models as directed by Pierre et Gilles. Such eye candy! At the same time, the prettiness and youth-obsession that permeates the film can be a little much. The machinations of the plot, with its cartoon-like villains, borders on the hackneyed. It’s a treacly treat, a gay version of those Rankin and Bass Christmas specials, complete with a moral lesson.

Ms. Tebbit is easily the most intriguing character of the movie. She alone seems immune to the spell of homosexuality that pervades the town. Robie, with her dramatic, Grande Dame face and mane of fiery red hair, invests the role with a mystical gravitas. When she is on screen, you can’t look away. The actor even throws in a little mordant camp for good measure. In sum, Were The World Mine will satisfy your sweet tooth. It’s a fluffy, fun fable.

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Event: Gays and Hollywood (Thursday, 12/11)

One of the formative gay books I read when I was younger was Vito Russo's searing, insightfully political The Celluloid Closet. The late Russo was a pioneer in analyzing how gays and lesbians were presented -- and not presented, and misrepresented -- on the silver screen. Knowing that history makes me very excited for an event being thrown at the Charles Sumner School (1201 17th Street) this Thursday, 12/11, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Dr. Brett Abrams will deliver a presentation called Hollywood Babylon: Gays & Lesbians in the Cinema. This event is sponsored by Washington D.C.'s Rainbow History Project. Check out their website and be certain to come out to the Sumner School this Thursday for what I'm sure will be an insightful evening.

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Laughing With Us, or At Us?

A recent Monday Upper here on TNG was one of a small series of things that got me thinking about the way gays are used to comedic effect in movies and TV programs. It's no secret that writers of comedy films use gay and trans characters to get laughs out of us. All of us. I still laugh when the flamboyant fraternity brother wins the javelin throw in part due to his limp-wristed throwing style. I still laugh when a husky voice actress gets outed as trans on live daytime television. I have been laughing for 20+ years now at the zany, fey air traffic controller who is handed a weather report print-out and is asked "What can you make out of this?" only to reply, "This? I can make a hat, a broach, a pterodactyl!"

But is okay for me to laugh at these things? Are the writers of these comedies and their knee-slapping, guffawing straight audiences laughing with us, or at us? Am I feeding into the omni-present homophobia that comes with using gay characters to get laughs out of audiences because I feel that these scenes are often very, very funny?

One analytical approach would be to imagine whether these characterizations would be considered funny or offensive if a different minority group was used. The movie Hollywood Shuffle comes to mind. In this brilliant 1987 movie, Robert Townsend plays an actor who is sick of playing stereotypically Black roles. Yet throughout the film, they cut away to imagined movie clips and quasi-dream sequences where these stereotypes are exploited to the ultimate degrees in really funny ways. (Where's my activator? My activator?!?) Of course, the point of this movie was to expose these stereotypes and the roles that Black actors often find available to them. Perhaps this isn't the best example, but if humorous portrayals of these stereotypes were no-nos to the Black community, the film would have gotten "the finger" instead of accolades.

Perhaps the issue lies in the nature of humor itself. There are many different things that trigger a humorous reaction. Anyone who's watched a children's cartoon knows that violence often gets chuckles. (Think Tom and Jerry, or their parody Itchy and Scratchy for that matter.) I find that a sudden realization of a double-meaning often gets a good laugh. ("That's what she said!") So, what is funny about these gay caricatures? It could be that watching behavior that falls outside of the social norm is what triggers the humor response. That could be the case for some of the examples cited above ("And Leon is getting larger!"), but perhaps it's something else. Something darker.

Think for a second about what's so funny about watching Lamar Latrell, the Black gay fraternity brother from Revenge of the Nerds, toss the specially designed javelin using his "limp-writsted throwing style." (See the video above.) When I hit the slo-mo button on my emotional response, the first thing that comes to me is embarrassment for poor Lamar. He's making a huge fool of himself, prancing down the field in knee-high socks and carrying this big, silver, wobbly phallus. Upon realizing that he's won the event, he rushes back to his brothers at the sidelines, arms held wide open and flung back, with his chest forward and head held high. Again, I'm embarrassed for him. I can't help but think, "He's such a FAG!" It hurts me to be so judgmental of him. I want to be there on the sidelines and hug him, too, to make up for the fact that I'm such an asshole. And just when the empathy gets to be too much, I laugh out loud, boisterously. It all happens in the blink of an eye, but that's the emotional reaction.

I'm then reminded of a small section of one of my favorite books, Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein. At one point, the main character states that he's figured out why humans laugh: we laugh because it hurts too much. Perhaps, on some level, pain and empathy is at the root of most (all?) laughter.

I have to include here that Revenge of the Nerds paints Lamar in the most endearing light. He is later featured as the lead singer of their Kraftwerk-inspired musical competition performance, rapping with an airy, fragile voice and air-walking in a Thriller jacket. (See below.) They win this competition, too, and yet again Lamar is the star as well as the source of a lot of emotional discomfort on my part.

So, at the end of this brief analysis, I still don't know. Is it wrong to find humor in the portrayal of gay stereotypes? Even if the gay character is the one that saves the day?

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Dispatches from Left Field: Out in the Family

In his newest installment in the “Dispatches from Left Field” column on TNG, Matt looks at the significance of family values in the context of holidays, American culture, and recent political events. Matt is a graduate student at the University of Maryland and also blogs at tracktwentynine.blogspot.com.

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and a safe Black Friday. I intended to write on this topic last week, but decided to use last week’s column to respond to issues about the gayborhood.

Families have always been an important part of the American mindset. Since the founding of this nation, the family unit has been dominant across the land. And while the family has undergone changes over the past 232 years, we still think mainly of family on the most American of holidays, Thanksgiving.

Originally started as a harvest festival and celebration of deliverance in the New World, the holiday has morphed into a kickoff for the Christmas shopping season and orgy of gridiron rivalries (way to go Yellow Jackets!). But it’s still a time for being with family and friends, still a time for eating traditional delicacies, and still a time of remembering those things that we are thankful for.

However, I imagine that for many gays, Thanksgiving does not come without some trepidation. The first Thanksgiving after I came out was fraught with tension, and I curtailed my trip home. While my relationship with my parents has improved since then, I’m sure that for many the tension is real and continuing.

For those of us who are out in our families, there can be awkward questions and disapproving looks, but for those among us who haven’t yet come out to our families the pressure can very well be overwhelming.

There are some in America who rail against the “Gay Agenda” and rally support for family values. These groups have taken up arms against the gay community in fighting the culture wars. Since the mid-1970s, their movement has gained steam and ours has not always been able to answer their volleys effectively.

They charge that we are out to destroy the American family, but they hold fast to an outdated concept of the family. Indeed, it seems that it is their goal to destroy all but what they consider to be an appropriate family unit. For their attacks have succeeded in slowing the tide of acceptance for the gay community, and in that, they have also succeeded in keeping many gays silent.

But we too are family members, and by hindering understanding, social conservatives, like those who fought to pass Proposition 8, are damaging our familial relationships. The fear and hatred that their movement abides for the gay community not only drives wedges between parents and children, sisters and brothers, and between friends, it also condemns many to a life spent in the proverbial closet.

While the battle for gay rights has often been fought over legislation, there have also been many casualties. One of the most notorious of these was the assassination of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk. He was the first openly gay man to win public office in the United States, doing so in 1977. The following year he was assassinated in City Hall by a fellow supervisor. In a prophetic statement, he recorded a tape to be played in the event of his assassination, saying “If a bullet should go through my head, let that bullet go through every closet door.”

I don’t know if Milk understood the stakes in his fight for gay rights, but his statement suggests that he did know that there were those who would try and silence him. He also knew that the only way to triumph was to defeat silence. Less than three weeks before his assassination, he made a speech in which he declared:

“Every gay person must come out. As difficult as it is, you must tell your immediate family. You must tell your relatives. You must tell your friends, if indeed they are your friends. You must tell your neighbors. You must tell the people you work with. You must tell the people in the stores you shop in. Once they realize we are indeed their children, we are indeed everywhere, every myth, every lie, every innuendo, will be destroyed once and for all.”

I believe that public opinion in the United States is beginning to swing our way. Gay marriage is only a matter of time, but that is little consolation. In the words of William Gladstone, “Justice delayed, is justice denied.” But if our victory is not yet complete, it’s because we have allowed ourselves to be silenced by those family-destroying “family values” voters.

I think it is time that we in the gay community changed tacks. We can no longer wait for our rights to be granted. Even if the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice, that is no excuse to be silent.

This Thanksgiving, we have much to despair over, but we also have much for which to be thankful. Proposition 8 may have passed, but it didn’t pass by much—and if polls are any indication, the same tide that swept in discrimination in California also swept in a President likely to build bonds between the gay and straight communities. It also seems to have catalyzed the gay community into action once more.

But most importantly, we should be thankful for our families. For despite what those on the right say, the American family is a diverse, many-faceted organism as varied in composition as the people of this great nation. But the gay movement cannot allow us to be silenced anymore—not in the public arena and certainly not in our own families.

There’s a new film out about Supervisor Milk this Thanksgiving. And while I’ve yet to have an opportunity to see it, I think the message that can be gleaned from Milk’s life is that a minority can be oppressed for only as long as it is silent. The healing begins when we raise our voices. Happy Thanksgiving.

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Your Monday Upper: Eat Us!

Mondays suck. So every Monday TNG brings you a fun video to ease the pain.

Damn YouTube. My original choice for this upper was Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant, the best (and perhaps only) Thanksgiving song, but the YouTube clip had disabled embedding. Luckily I'll be touching on the song further in my upcoming "TNG Thanksgiving Tips" post. Until then, we'll have to make do with the second-best Thanksgiving clip. Courtesy of the Adams Family Values is this summer camp play, which acknowledges both the bloody truth of Thanksgiving and the fact that Christina Ricci was much cooler before puberty.

If there are Thanksgiving songs or videos that we should all know about, leave your suggestions in the comments box below.

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New CRACK Video Premiere on Halloween

In addition to writing an advice column for The New Gay called What Would Summer Do, I'm also involved in a performance group called CRACK. We produce seasonal variety shows and low-budget films that feature local performers (including TNG's Zack and Michael). And this Friday, we're throwing a Halloween costume party at the Duplex Diner featuring the premiere of our newest short film, "Loopy Summer Day."

This Friday's party will be different from our regular CRACK shows cuz it isn't a full-scale production. Instead, it's just a great chance for everyone to dress up in costumes and celebrate one of the best holidays! In addition to showing our new short film, we're gonna throw in DJs, dancing, spooky movies, prizes, and even a special performance-all for free.

Check out the trailer for Loopy Summer Day and come celebrate Halloween with CRACK this Friday.

The CRACK Halloween Costume Party
Friday, October 31, 9 PM to 2 AM
Duplex Diner, 2004 18th Street NW
More details

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Interview with the Director: The Pursuit of Equality

Reel Affirmations, the national LGBT film festival, is taking place right here in D.C. this weekend. The festival kicked off last night and lasts through this Tuesday. Among the films that will be shown is The Pursuit of Equality, a documentary about the right for us gays to marry in California. The film begins with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s 2004 decision to begin marrying same-sex couples.

The following is my interview with Geoff Callan, the film’s co-director, and the brother-in-law of Mayor Gavin Newsom.

TNG: You've talked about how you initially became involved with this project through your wife's brother, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. When you learned of your brother-in-law's decision to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples, what was your initial reaction?

Callan: When Gavin first mentioned to me that he was going to marry Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon in February of 2004, making them the first same-sex couple to be married in the United States, I thought that it was a great idea. My first thought was “of course, why not!" At that time, I really didn't know much about same-sex marriage, and I also didn't know that there would be so much controversy. I just agreed with Gavin that it was the right thing to do. Thus, my co-director Mike Shaw and I continued to cover this issue for 19 months!

TNG: You and your fellow director are both straight. Other than your brother-in-law, what drew you to the issue of marriage equality?

Callan: This is a civil rights issue. Denying people of rights, because of their sexual orientation, is extremely unfair. The media in general works in sound bites and often sensationalizes the story-lines, so we felt an obligation to help put a face on this issue and to tell the real story.

I have always said that if you can find someone who makes you a better person and loves you for all of your qualities, whether they are good or bad, then you are blessed. If marriage is in the cards for that relationship, then go for it. Marriage is an amazing union between two people. I have been married for over 7 years and I think that all people should be able to share this type of a commitment. There is nothing better to find someone to grow old with and love... and have all of the rights that come with marriage.

TNG: Is this a movie that gay people should see? Or is it a movie that gay people should encourage their straight friends to see? Or both?
Callan: All people should see Pursuit of Equality. Especially now. It is very simple, there are those who are for marriage equality and there are those against it. This film will help educate those people who don't understand this issue or who are on the “fence.” This film puts a human face on this issue and can change the hearts and minds of those who do not understand what is at stake. Pursuit of Equality will take viewers back to the beginning of the same-sex marriage debate… it will answer many of questions for those who are just learning about this issue.

TNG: In making the movie, you worked to show both sides of the issue. Maybe I'm being unfair in asking you to take off your impartial filmmaker hat, but were there any arguments on the anti-gay-marriage side that you found had merit?

Callan: We appreciate all peoples point of view, whether they be religious or political. People are raised differently and believe different things. This being understood, as a filmmaker, and for this film, we wanted to show the arguments of the opposition. The majority of the opposition don't hate gay people, they just believe that marriage should be between a man and woman. The big issue comes down to the 'M' word. Marriage. People do not want to share that word. It was very interesting hearing all points of view.

If one were to separate the church from the state. Then the issue changes.

It is very difficult to change the minds of people from either side of the debate. Again, it comes down to the people on the “fence.” Everyone knows someone who is gay. Whether it be a family member, a friend, a colleague, or a neighbor. We all know someone. If people are against same-sex marriage, and decide to vote against it in their states election, then they need to ask themselves a simple question. How much do they really respect the rights of their family member? Their friend? Their colleague? Their neighbor? How much do they really respect them as human beings?

The next question is, how will gay marriage effect straight marriage or visa versa? It won't.

TNG: According to the latest poll, things aren't looking good for the pro-gay-marriage side (we're down by 5 points). What do you think will be the ultimate outcome in California, and do you think your film has had any impact?

Callan: It will be a close election, but I think Prop 8 will be defeated. We truly believe that we have created a film that will bring people together and provide a deeper understanding of civil liberties and current-day discrimination.

TNG: Any comments about Reel Affirmations?

Callan: We are honored to have been selected to Reel Affirmations. It is a highly respected festival and we hope that Pursuit of Equality will help educate all people on this issue.

Interested in seeing the film?? The Pursuit of Equality is showing this Sunday at 1pm at the 6th and I Synagogue. Tickets are $10.

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Thursday, October 23: TNG presents Queers Rock!

Join Reel Affirmations and The New Gay on Thursday, October 23rd, for a night celebrating queer music. Come out to the AFI Silver Theater for a screening of the documentary on the seminal queercore band Pansy Division. Afterwards, join the creators of Homo/Sonic for an afterparty featuring music by queer artists like:

The Blow, Bob Mould, The Breeders, Buzzcocks, The Cliks, The Damned, David Bowie, Dead Or Alive, The Gossip, Hidden Cameras, Le Tigre, Lou Reed, Magnetic Fields, Morrissey, Peaches, Queen, REM, Scissor Sisters, Sleater-Kinney, Tegan and Sara, Uh Huh Her, Velvet Underground, Yo Majesty and many more.

Check below the fold for details and the movie trailer.

Download the full-page and four-to-a-page flyers.

see the movie: Pansy Division Life in a Gay Rock Band 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Thursday, Oct. 23 AFI Silver Theater 8633 Colesville Rd Downtown Silver Spring $10 Tickets available online!

hear the music: Queers Rock Alt Queer Afterparty 8:30 PM - midnight Thursday, Oct. 23 Quarry House Tavern 8401 Georgia Ave Downtown Silver Spring free

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Oh Netflix, Gay Doesn’t Equal Good

Clearlyhere likes decidedly middlebrow books and movies, is rapidly becoming obsessed with the election, and is an opera singer with grand aspirations. He also thanks the stars for BBC America and Captain Jack Harkness on Torchwood.


Identity politics has been talked about a lot in this election. Women were jazzed about Hilary Clinton being the first realistic woman nominee for president and commentators have been talking about the movement of Hilary Clinton supporters suddenly supporting Sarah Palin (who is actually running as Vice President with John McCain if anyone forgot.) She represents the Conservative Agenda and is the least woman-friendly politician McCain could hope to have while still getting a woman for the job. Why would women do this?

Have you seen the Gay movies out there?

A few years ago, after the success of the movie Eating Out, the producers decided to create a sequel, Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds. I saw the first movie in theaters with a large group of other gay men and I have to say it wasn’t (unfortunately) the worst gay film I saw that year. That is all I could say for the softcore underdeveloped piece of crap that it turned out to be. After checking out dozens of "Gay & Lesbian" films on Netflix (and suffering through the D.C. Gay Film Fest where I have yet to see a decent movie), I feel I won’t be checking out anymore till I am boyfriendless, gay friendless, and in a small town hours away from a big city for so long that I will do anything for gay culture.

The Gay films the kept me hoping to find something worth watching were the British films. Get Real and Beautiful Thing are two examples of well acted movies that don’t resort to softcore tactics to keep the viewer interested (Touch of Pink also good though I didn’t like it all that much.) Scrolling down the list of 4 star “Gay & Lesbian” movies on Netflix you get worse and worse quality films including the worst film I have ever seen, Regarding Billy, where someone decided to film a movie in their house and somehow managed to get it released on DVD. The average rating on this "film" was 3 stars. I gave A.I. with Haley Joel Osment 3 stars, Regarding Billy had acting worse than community theater productions, had no plot, and had the production values of a preschool’s pretending corner.

Who do I blame for my misfortune in renting this egregious film? Other gay men. People like my boss who likes it (whatever it may be play, television show, movie) if it is gay and likes it even more if there is nudity, full frontal if possible. After having lost too many hours trying to find the good gay movies amid the inflated gay ratings on Netflix, I have concluded that the 10 I have seen are about it. What does it say about us that we accept these poor imitations of entertainment and even rate it as good because we are so thirsty for gay theme programs? The miracle that we have shows like Queer as Folk and the soon-to-be-cancelled L Word does make me hopeful that my Netflix queue could some day have better gay-themed movies and television shows. Thank goodness for British imports.

I advise you not to be like those women switching from Hilary Clinton to Sarah Palin. If it is between Nothing and Gay Crap, choose nothing.

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A Jihad for Love @ E Street Cinema

A Jihad for Love, the highly acclaimed documentary by filmmaker Parvez Sharma, comes to D.C. this Friday, September 5th. Muslim gay filmmaker Parvez Sharma travels the many worlds of Islam, discovering the stories of its most unlikely storytellers: lesbian and gay Muslims.

A Jihad for Love was filmed over 5 years, in 12 countries, 9 languages, and comes from the heart of Islam. Looking beyond a hostile and war-torn present, it reclaims the Islamic concept of a greater Jihad, whose true meaning is akin to 'an inner struggle' or 'to strive in the path of God.' The film and its subjects move beyond a narrow definition of jihad as holy war, and consider the personal conundrum of being queer and Muslim, seeking a love that puts you at odds with your family, country, and at times, yourself.

Director/Producer Parvez Sharma and Producer Sandi DuBowski(Director/Producer of the award-winning, amazing Trembling Before G-d--which followed the lives of queer Orthodox Jews) will be at the late afternoon/evening screenings at the Landmark E Street Cinema this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Landmark E Street Cinema
555 11th Street NW
(202) 452-7672
Buy tickets

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Tonight: Cheryl Dunye @ NMWA

Noted dyke filmmaker Cheryl Dunye (Watermelon Woman, Stranger Inside, My Baby's Daddy) screens and discusses some of her shorter subjects, tonight, at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Watermelon Woman remains a pivotal piece on the intersection of race, class, and gender, and was pretty much required viewing for any queers coming of age in the 90s. It also paired hot couple du jour Dunye and then-girlfriend Guinevere Turner. Man, nothing sets us old-timers' tongues a waggin' like some lesbo gossip, circa 1996. Relive your undergrad glory, tonight.

Wednesday, Aug. 27
National Museum of Women in the Arts
1250 New York Ave.
7 p.m. / $5

*After party w/drink specials and door prizes, hosted by Ladies First! at the Fab Lounge

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Hot Song Alert: Noah and The Whale's "5 Year's Time."

London band Noah and the Whale seem destined for inclusion in a Wes Anderson movie. Their name (and its font) seem inspired by Noah Baumbauch's "The Squid and the Whale," which is basically an Anderson movie without the whimsy. To me, this song screams montage. Will it be play at a happy scene, like when one of the Wilson brothers meets a girl he likes? Or will it be juxtaposed over a funeral scene to show how fragile life is? It'll be a couple years before the next Wes Anderson movie so we'll just have to wait and see ourselves. However, this is the best song on NATW's debut album and I'll be the first to admit that I whistle it in the shower.

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Chasing Pussy with Filmmaker Dolores Smith

It's for your own good, kitty.

I believe in taking care of business in your own backyard. And if your backyard is full of alley cats, congratulations! You have been afforded the opportunity to enrich your life, contribute to your community, and help cats achieve their dreams.

When people make too many babies with too few resources, there's not a lot we can do. We can't, say, trap, educate, and release them into society with our fingers crossed. But with cats, we CAN! I recognize that you might be thinking: I hate cats. Why would I want to help them? The answer is: when you help create a controlled cat colony in your neighborhood, everyone benefits. No more will you be awakened by the terrible sound of cat sex, for example. Read along while I explain the hows and whys of "TNR" with help from my cattrapping mentor — local lesbian filmmaker, community activist and friend to cats, Dolores Smith.

1. Is There A Problem?
The first question to ask yourself is: do I or does someone I love have a feral cat problem? Look outside. Have you seen kittens? Do you hear the howling that results from the spiky cat penis? If the answer is yes, your neighborhood has a problem. Please proceed.

Neighbors tip us off that rogue kittens are hanging in this vacant.

2. Why Shouldn't I Just Ignore the Problem?
When feral cats continue to reproduce unfettered, you get a stressed population that has no means to happiness other than drinking, fighting, and fucking. These cats lead short unhappy lives. If you decide to call animal control and have all the cats removed, those cats will be killed and new cats will move in. Like immigrants settling in wherever there are unscrupulous capitalists to exploit them, cats are numerous and hungry and will follow the money. "This vacuum effect is well documented," according to Alley Cat Allies. Do you want to be the kind of person who ignores the suffering around you? Perhaps. But if not, scroll on to the next section.

3. What Do I Do?
Take a moment to pat yourself on the back for giving a shit about what's going on around you. Ok, at this stage most people try to pass the buck. It goes something like, hm, my friend Jenny likes cats. Maybe she'll come take care of this problem. But friend, you are a grownup now and it's time to take some responsibilty. According to Dolores, you should now start FEEDING THE CATS. Go buy a big bag of cheap cat food. For the cost of a few beers a month, you can make a difference, microlocally. Put out the food once or twice a day, and always do it at the same time. This solves two problems: one, animals need food, and two, when the time comes to trap the cats, they will be routinized, and you and the trapper will know when they're biting.

Traps set and baited with tuna, Washington Post.

4. Now What?
Now you should have a good idea of how many cats and kittens are in your hood. Because you've been feeding them every day, you know where and when they come around. NOW it's time to ask for help. To make an appointment to have your brood trapped, email or call Bridget Speiser, The Washington Humane Society's CatNiPP (Cat Neighborhood Partnership Program) Manager at 202-608-1356 (ext. 101) or 202-88-ALTER, or at BSpeiser@washhumane.org.

You may be asked to help with the trapping, transporting, or keeping the caged cats overnight.

The old Volvo wagon is the internationally recognized ride of do-gooders.

5. How Does Trap-Neuter-Release Work?
When the cats are collected they are kept overnight in the home of the volunteer trapper or the caretaker (that's you). In the morning they are taken to a clinic where they are spayed or neutered, given shots, flea treatment, vaccinations, kitty abortions, and, this is important, their left ears will be "tipped," meaning the tip is cut off. A cat with an eartip will not be picked up by animal control, because the cat is recognized to be spayed or neutered and no longer a drain on taxpaying citizens. The cats are kept overnight again, and then released back into their neighborhoods.

I know this works, because Dolores and I trapped all the ferals in my alley and the one across the street two years ago. Since then there have been no new kittens, and the cats that are still around look healthy, and they don't spray or fight or get it on. I still feed two of them, (Original) Bad Peanut Butter, Sr. and his daughter Peanut Butter. Lookit how cute they are.

My semi-tamed ferals with their winter fat on. See their ear tips?

6. What About Dolores?
Dolores Smith is an amazing woman! We New Gays don't have enough wise owls in our lives, so meeting Dolores was lucky for me. She spends countless hours feeding various cat colonies around DC and doing TNR, formerly for Alley Cat Allies and now for CatNIPP. She taught both Coach and I the ins and outs of trapping. And as a special bonus, she is a filmmaker. She made Sara, a movie about lesbians coming-of-a-certain-age in DC, and she also made the gentrification documentary Southwest Remembered: A Story of Urban Renewal. She's currently working on A Story of Public Housing, which she says is going to take forever. Dolores lives in Petworth with her partner Gigi Lytle. She loves to recruit new trappers, so if you're interested, drop her a line at lamontpro@aol.com.

Dolores does her detective work, and finds that this nice gentleman is the cat caregiver in his alley. Finding the area cat freak is rare, and a major boon.

Just the facts, ma'am:

CatNiPP (Cat Neighborhood Partnership Program)
CatNiPP is designed to address the challenge faced by property owners surrounding the presence of stray and feral cats, all while treating the cats in a humane and ethical manner. Stray and feral cats are the product of human mistreatment — owned cats are too often abandoned and those that are not neutered produce litters of untamable kittens. Unaddressed, the process continues and seems unstoppable.

Through CatNiPP, the Washington Humane Society endorses a management method called Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). TNR works because it addresses the root of the problem — the breeding.

In TNR the cats are humanely trapped, brought to our spay/neuter clinic where they are neutered, vaccinated and generally examined. They are also eartipped (a portion of their ear is cut) to signal that they have been treated by a veterinarian. After treatment the cats are then returned to their outdoor home — to live out their days in a managed colony. They no longer reproduce and their nuisance behaviors, like fighting, spraying and yowling are dramatically reduced.

TNR works because it stops the breeding, promotes stabilization of the wildlife in the neighborhood and allows the cats to be humanely treated. TNR is the solution that not only helps the cats but also makes residents and neighbors truly feel good about handling the challenge. TNR is also far more cost effective than traditional trap-and-remove services and provides a truly long-term solution.

- The Washington Humane Society CatNiPP (Cat Neighborhood Partnership Program)

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AFI Celebrates the 80s

AFI has been celebrating the films of the 1980s this summer. Coach let us know about Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains, which helped to inform the riot grrrls movement. I myself have finally gotten a chance to take a look at the listing of films remaining, and there are some serious gems on the list. Films good enough to get me to leave the District and zip up to Silver Spring for a climate-controlled few hours of cinematic enjoyment. I've listed my pics here for your consideration.

The Dark Crystal
When I was 9, I saw this film with a friend at the theater, and it frightened the crap out of me. I had nightmares for weeks about the pod people getting kidnapped by those giant hermit crabs during their big party. Scary stuff. I had to go see it again with my mom so she could understand the power this film held over me. I think part of my identification with it was the whole "being the only one" concept. Jen thinks he's the only gelfling left in the world, until he met another and together they discover their shared destiny. Pretty cool concept for a 9 y/o gay boy to wrap his head around. I'm hitting up the matanee, Saturday July 26 at 1 PM. Other shows Friday, July 25 - Thursday July 31. Check the site for times.

Labyrinth
I've never been a huge fan of this movie, but maybe I just need to see it again. Zack has already told us of the nightmares he's had inspired by this movie and/or David Bowie's crotch. Also shows at selected times Friday, July 25 - Thursday, July 31. Check the site for times.

Can't Buy Me Love
I saw this at the theater when I was a kid, mostly because I was a huge Beatles fan. Who knew Patrick Dempsey would grow up to be Dr. Dreamy. He was just a scrawny nerd back in 1987. Another great outsider-gets-in-then-loses-it movie, perfect for young queers in the 80s to watch in lieu of more accessible queer cinema. Shows August 2 and 6.

Poltergeist
What can I say about this one. I'm sure on the big screen it'll be scarier than every. Quite possibly the movie that initiated my fear of clowns. Shows August 9, 10 & 14.

Videodrome
I don't remember much about this 1983 David Cronenberg SciFi thriller. What I do know is that it features Debbie Harry when she was back in her prime and that's reason enough to go check it out. Shows August 15 & 16.

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
A movie about a boy and his undying love for his bicycle. What's not to love about this movie? I'm not sure if watching this on the "big screen" would be much different than watching at home, but it could be a fun night out. I'd love to watch it again and look for the signs that it was directed by creepy Tim Burton. Shows August 22, 23 and 28.

Adventures in Babysitting
Another 1980s classic. I saw this film in the theater with a girl, on a date. Go figure. I actually ended up having a crush on her for a few years. Go figure further. She thought the red-headed neighbor/friend kid was really cute. I told her I though he looked like he had bad breath. Secretly, I fancied the other "horny teenaged boy." Great, quotable movie. "Don't fuck with the lords of hell!" "Don't fuck with the babysitter!" Shows August 24, 26 & 27.

Aliens
This is such a great movie. I never saw it on the big screen when I was a kid (too young) but watched the VHS tape over and over. Perhaps it was the scene where hottie Michael Biehn wakes up shirtless from chiro-sleep. (Secretly I had a small crush on Paul Reiser in this movie, too, even though his character was a smarmy ass-kisser.) Or maybe it was Sigourney's bad-assery. Or maybe the non-stop, chair-gripping, toe-curling action and suspense scenes. Who cares. Go see this one on the big screen! Shows selected times from August 29 to September 4.

These shows and more at the AFI Silver, 8633 Colesville Rd, in downtown Silver Spring.

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Chris and Don: A Love Story

The talk of gay literary and film circles these days is the documentary Chris and Don: A Love Story (opening for a one-week run at the E Street Cinema this Friday, 7/25), chronicling the over-30-year relationship between author Christopher Isherwood and artist Don Bachardy. Isherwood—who wrote the at-the-time quietly revolutionary gay novel A Single Man (1964) and is perhaps most famous for The Berlin Stories, which were adapted into the movie Cabaret—lived with Bachardy from 1953 until he died in 1986. As a couple, they garnered attention not only for their tremendous individual talents, but for the great contrast in their ages, the 48-year-old Isherwood together with the 18-year-old Bachardy.

In his anecdotal memoir Dropping Names (a deliciously wicked book, by the way: check it out), the gay writer Daniel Curzon, who was friends with the couple, describes the pair as they appeared in the mid-1970s:

“When I got to Isherwood’s house I met Don Bachardy, his lover of many years—a man thirty years his junior. This was in 1974, and to be truthful, I didn’t know who Bachardy was, knew nothing about his drawings. He was slim and attractive, his hair just going white then. He had adopted Chris’s British accent.

Isherwood and Don were a lovely couple. I was pleased at how thoughtful they were to each other. I guess they’d had their troubles over the years, but when I knew them they seemed idyllic. By that I mean they didn’t squabble, pick at each other, upstage each other, or any of the other things I’ve seen long-term couples, both gay and straight, do.”

Chris and Don focuses on this coupledom, beginning with Isherwood’s life up until his meeting with Bachardy, then recreating the pair’s relationship through diaries, archival footage, and current interviews with Bachardy, still going strong as an artist in his 70s. Don also narrates the film, which has been earning raves as narratively innovative and emotionally uplifting. Don’t miss it during its brief D.C. run.

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Screen on The Green

Every summer HBO sponsors "Screen on The Green", a series of old films that are shown every monday on the national mall. The idea is to bring a blanket and a picnic basket and enjoy a classic film with your friends. This event is popular with the gays, but after 5 films over the last two years, I've learned that preparation determines the difference between enjoyment and festering agony.

Here are some helpful tips, and this year's schedule:

1) Be Early. If it's hot or the weather report calls for rain, you can probably find a decent spot if you're late. If not, be there at LEAST 90 minutes prior to the start of the film, or you're fucked (film supposedly starts at sundown, but usually begins 20-30 minutes after the exact time). Last year I saw "Casablanca", and was so far down the green that I couldn't see or hear the film. For much of the first 20 minutes, a constant wave of people walked back and forth on the path that cuts through the mall, obscuring the screen. After the first 20 minutes of the film I said screw it, rolled over, and took a nap.

2) Brace yourself for annoyance. People will clap and bark on cue like a team of retarded seals when a classic phrase is spoken, which is fine, but it's inevitable that you will be the unlucky bastard who sits next to the Virginian who doesn't realize they should'nt talk during the movie. Of course, you are well within your rights to clobber them with a flip flop, but it's better if you simply accept the worst before you arrive.

2) Bring alcohol. The man says don't, and I wouldn't want to get caught with it, but after sundown nobody will mess with you unless you wave the bottle around and act like an ass, in which case you deserve to get caught. These films are "classics", which is often code for "unwatchable". Alcohol makes them and the annoying fuckers sitting next to you more bearable.

4) HBO provides an intro to the movie that was commonly used on their network in the 80's. During this intro, it is tradition to jump up and wave your hands in the air. Some people do this because HBO once included shadow figures on television who did the same, but most participants join in just because it's fun and everybody else does it.

I'll probably be set up by 6:30, for Dr. No, so if you've met me and can spot me in the crowd, come by and say hello.

This Year's lineup:

July 14 - Dr. No (1962)

July 21 - The Candidate (1972)

July 28 - Arsenic and Old Lace(1944)

August 4 - The Apartment (1960)

August 11 - Superman (1978)

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