Home School: Queer Studies

Though I'd been planning to do this post eventually, I decided that in light of insane Ukranian bills and all things Chick-fil-A, now was the time. Minority voices in film are important. Our world is more than straight, white males and our art should reflect that. Film in particular is important because it has the power to expose a wide audience to a perspective they might never have considered. No I'm not saying that movies are able to turn your kids gay (though if a movie does cause your son or daughter to realize that they are gay or lesbian, I'm 100% in support of that) what I am saying is that by honestly depicting homosexuals in film, viewers of all ages will hopefully come to the startling realization that gay people are...well...people.

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The most important queer cinema resource is, without a doubt, Vito Russo's seminal text The Celluloid Closet. In this meticulously researched book, Russo examines the history of homosexuality on film from the early days of the minstrel-like "sissy", to the (then) present where gay and lesbian characters were regularly depicted as miserable charity cases who often ended their own lives. Though there's still a way to go with our media's depictions of gays and lesbians, I really wish Vito had lived to see the flourishing of what film critic B. Ruby Rich labeled, "New Queer Cinema".

Speaking of New Queer Cinema, another great book to check out is Matthew Hayes' The View From Here. This easy to read book of interviews features conversations with filmmakers ranging from elder statesmen Kenneth Anger and John Waters, to young upstarts like Gregg Araki and John Cameron Mitchell. 

Reading isn't your bag? You can always check out Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman's excellent film adaptation of Celluloid Closet! It's filled with amazing clips dating back to the turn of the century.  The DVD even features a "commentary track" comprised of the audio from a lecture Russo delivered at San Francisco's Castro Theatre in 1990 shortly before his death. Also worth checking out is Jeffrey Schwarz's wonderful documentary Vito which recently aired on HBO, and if you're a subscriber it's available through HBOGo.

And if listening is your bag, I highly recommend you check out the Criterion DVD of Gus Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho which features a fascinating audio-only conversation between Van Sant and director friend Todd Haynes. The disc also features an audio conversation between Tarnation director Jonathan Caouette and author JT LeRoy (who was later revealed to be a fictional character created by writer Laura Albert!) on My Own Private Idaho's influence.

While I'm sure that there are many wonderful books and films on the subject that I am leaving out, these are the ones I am familiar with and am confident in recommending. I'm also well aware that lesbians are drastically underrepresented in this post. And yes I know there was unfortunately not a single mention of the bisexual and transgender community. Hopefully in a few years I will be able to recommend a whole new slew of resources. Cut this breeder some slack!