Queering the Closet

Queer Review: The Great Gatsby (2013)

2013-05-15T20:19:00.001-07:00

The Great Gatsby
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Writers: Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce. Based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Carey Mulligan, Elizabeth Debicki, Jason Clarke, Isla Fisher

Overview
A lively adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, Baz Luhrmann manages to energize the story without losing sight of the characters or essential themes. Furthermore, he manages to enhance several of the novels queer subtexts, creating a fantastic vision of a classic novel in the process.

Synopsis
Bonds salesman Nick Carroway (Tobey Maguire) has recently moved to the north side of Long Island, where he meets the mysterious Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), who is famous for throwing gigantic parties, although no one knows his reason for doing so. It turns out that Gatsby is madly in love with Nick's cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) and secretly hopes she will stop by one of the parties. Gatsby befriends Nick and eventually requests that Nick arrange a tea party so he can finally meat Daisy. But of course, there are complications as Daisy is already married to Tom (Joel Edgerton) a Machiavellian character and an extremely jealous man.

The Queering
When it comes to the history of civil rights, particularly LGBTQ rights, our culture tells us that there has always been a steady progress towards equality. A progress that has made no regression. If one were to only analyze back to the 1940's and 50's, it's possible to see how this perception might come about. Yet it is not a true vision of history. The roaring twenties saw perhaps, the first "coming out" so to speak, for gay identity, in which cultural acceptance for queer folks was very far ahead of it's time. Berlin for example, prior to the NAZI's taking over, became a gay cultural mecca, with Magnus Hirschfeld establishing Scientific Humanitarian Committee 1897, in order to advocate for LGBTQ people. Unfortunately, the NAZI's would later destroy much of his work. New York City during the gay 20's was also a cultural center for the newly evolving gay culture, with the Harlem Renaissance, featuring LGBTQ people of color, providing the backbone of the revolution.

It was into this gradually queering world that F. Scott Fitzgerald published The Great Gatsby a novel with several obvious queer subtexts. Subtexts by the way, that Luhrmann has managed to expand upon. The most obvious is that of Nick Carroway is clearly in love with Jay Gatsby. While the hollowness of Gatsby's grand vision is gradually revealed to the audience, Nick's view of Gatsby remains untainted. Even after his lies have been revealed, Nick still calls Gatsby "the most hopeful person I have ever known". In the film, when Gatsby dies at the end, Nick becomes so miserable and morose, that he winds up in a sanitarium, which provides the framing device for the film.

There are other queer subtexts as well. In the opening scenes, Tom is unable to keep his hands off of Nick. When Daisy is first introduced, she admits that she had spent the whole afternoon on a couch, that also happened to have contained her friend, tennis champion Jordan (Elizabeth Debicki) and the two share a low key, but rather obvious subtext.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel was primarily concerned with exposing the emptiness of the 1920's excess. The film also does this, but slightly differently, with more melancholy and less wit. Luhrmann also is not afraid of using modern music, which I didn't find distracting personally, although others might. The films' main strength lie with the way Luhrmann manages to capture the excesses of the 1920's before pulling back and gradually revealing how hollow the lifestyle is that Gatsby -- and everyone else -- is leading. Overall though, I think Luhrmann is faithful enough to the novel to avoid causing most English teachers from experiencing fainting fits, but I'm not sure what how many of them will view the rather significant shifts in tone.

Now in my opinion, this is a dream cast for this story. With the exception of Carey Mulligan, there is not a weak performance to be found. However, I blame Mulligan's work on the fact that the character of Daisy is poorly developed. While I understand the character's symbolic significance, she still ends up with little more personality than the green light that Gatsby is constantly reaching for. I could not tell if this was intentional or not on the filmmakers' part, but I found it distracting. Particularly during a scene where Gatsby and Tom talk about Daisy's feelings at length before they actually bother to ask her, even though she was present the whole time. Worse, Daisy does not even speak up for herself until she was asked. I honestly cannot think of a contemporary narrative where a female character was both A) designed to be the focus of the story and B) given so little agency. Jordan (played with flair by Elizabeth Debicki) fares a little better, although she was given little to do once she had finished introducing Nick to the high life.

As far as more technical details go, the opening scenes are poorly structured and edited, with an over-reliance on Nick's voice-over. Maybe it just took me a little while to get used to Luhrmann's style, for once Gatsby is introduced, I found the films' rhythm to be much more tolerable.

Overall though, this is a rather memorable adaptation of an American classic novel. Luhrmann provides a rather strong, and at times gaudy, visual style, but outside of the jumpy opening scenes, he knows when to slow down and focus on the narrative as well as the characters entrapped within it.

Recommendation
This Gatsby is worth going to extraordinary, I mean great, lengths to see, old sport.

The Rating
***1/2 out of ****

Trailer

Want to find a review of a particular work? Check out the Title Index, the archive of all reviews posted listed alphabetically.

Queer Issue: Down With Mothers and Fathers Day!

2013-05-12T13:50:00.001-07:00

There is an awkward cultural stereotype that gay men have obsessions with their mother. It is an image that shows up frequently in mass media and never in a good way. For the record, I do plan on calling my own mother today. I like to think that I have a relatively "normal" (whatever the bleep that means) relationship with my own mom.

However, there are plenty of people out there who do not have "normal" relationships with their parents. It goes without saying that there are more than a few individuals out there who have not been raised by kind loving parents, but by absentee, neglectful, if not outright abusive parents.

No, not all parents are abusive fucks. Not all parents are absent or neglectful. There are many who are kind, nurturing, and loving. Who teach their kids to be strong in a dark world by setting examples of proper behavior.

But what about those parents who are not? What are Mothers or Fathers day like for those who were raised by parents who were the opposite of loving and kind? Heck, what is Mothers/Fathers day like for those who lost their mother or father in a particularly tragic manor?

Not to mention, there is the issue of parents who are trying but are otherwise unable to conceive a child. I imagine days like Mothers and Fathers day might be a little tough to navigate. Admittedly, I can't speak for anyone here, I'm just speculating.

Then there is the issue of that even with Mothers and Fathers day, there are those parents who identify outside the gender binary. And let's face it, having a Mothers and Fathers as separate days is designed to normalize heteronormative relationship styles where Moms and Dads fill vastly different parenting roles. If Moms and Dads are not supposed to fill different roles, why would they need separate days to be honored? Admittedly, while it wouldn't solve the other issues, I sometimes wonder if it might not be a bad idea to have a gender neutral Parents Day for those individuals who might wish to show some gratitude for those responsible for their upbringing.

On a more philosophical note, I really cannot think of any other widely celebrated holidays that are designed to focus our attention on a specific relationship. Is their a spouses day? Friends day? Uncles or Aunts day? All other holidays are relationship neutral, so to speak. The exception might be Valentines Day. One can celebrate them (or not) with those families and friends that one chooses. In other words, there is no other holiday where one needs to have a living individual who filled (role X) in our lives before the holiday can be celebrated. Which does in fact make Mothers and Fathers day, kind of, well exclusive.

Just some food for thought.

Queer Review: The Naked Gun: From the Files of the Police Squad! (1988)

2013-05-11T20:40:00.001-07:00

The Naked Gun: From the Files of the Police Squad!
Director: David Zucker
Writers: Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Pat Proft
Cast: Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalban, George Kennedy, O.J. Simpson, Nancy Marchand, Raye Birk, Jeannette Charles

Overview
The Naked Gun is an absurdest parody of film noir and detective stories, featuring the bumbling antics of Detective Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen). Beware of the naked homophobia and racism in this one.

Synopsis
When LAPD Detective Frank Drebins' partner, Detective Nordberg (OJ Simpson), is nearly killed by a gang of thugs, Drebin begins his investigation by interviewing the wealthy Vincent Ludwig (Ricardo Montalban). Drebin uncovers clues that lead him to believe that Ludwig is behind a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II (Jeannette Charles) while she is visiting Los Angelos. Meanwhile, he starts an impromptu romance with Jane Spencer (Priscilla Presley). However, no one will believe Drebin and after a series of mishapes, he finds himself without a job. Can Frank Drebin unmask who is behind the plot to assassinate the Queen of England and save the day?

The Queering
The opening scene for The Naked Gun features a white cop beating up a bunch of ethnic (and stereotypical) terrorists. The next scene has a black cop getting his ass handed to him by a bunch of white thugs in a sequence straight out of a Looney Toons cartoon. Later, there's a sequence where a black man menaces the Queen of England.

...racist subtext? What racist subtext?! I don't see no stinking racist subtext!?! Where is D.W. Griffith when you need him?

And I haven't even gotten to Vincent Ludwig, who happens to collect Ming Vases, expensive artwork, and also likes "German boys". I cannot honestly recall a film that wore it's homophobia and racism so openly. Granted, the The Naked Gun is able to get away with a lot due to this being a comedy, but after so many years of watching and reviewing films, there are certain things that are hard to simply ignore.

Now admittedly, there are bits where Drebin commits egregious acts of gender transgression that are rather funny. For example, there is a shot where Drebin lifts his leg up while he kisses Jane. In the scene where she takes her top off, he takes his shirt off in a manor that is visually very similar. And when he goes to break up with her, he claims that he "faked every orgasm".

But there comes a point where I cannot find too much of a silver lining in any film. Yes, Drebin gets to commit gender transgressions and act gay at times, such as when he feels up two baseball teams trying to find a would be assassin. But I cannot help but feel that this is all okay, not just because this is a comedy, but because Drebin is presented as being completely incompetent and bumbling. That is the whole joke of the film. The inadvertent mayhem that Drebin frequently causes, is the result of the same forces that makes it appear that he is about to sodomize an unconscious baseball umpire. The subtext here is that if Drebin were competent, he would not be making these gender transgressive "mistakes". Nope, only competent men act like men, not women, even in comedies.

Overall, the humor is occasionally able to redeem the film... sometimes. I laughed here and there at bits like when Drebin looks up at Jane on a ladder in front of a bookshelf and he says, "Nice beaver." It turns out it was an actual beaver when Jane hands him one that's been mounted and stuffed. But funny or not, there is no getting around the rather horrible bigotry on display here.

Recommendation
I cannot recommend that anybody play either naked or clothed with this particular weapon.

The Rating
*1/2 out of ****

Trailer

Want to find a review of a particular work? Check out the Title Index, the archive of all reviews posted listed alphabetically.

Queer Issue: Politifacts' Rating System is a Lie (By Their Own Standards)

2013-05-08T23:41:00.002-07:00

In an interview with CBS Face the Nation, Martina Navratilova made the claim that "In 29 states in this country you can still get fired for not just being gay, but if your employer thinks you are gay."

In response, Politifact rated the claim as being half true.

To justify their claim, Politifact points out that while 29 states do not have legislation at the state level to protect against discrimination, there are exceptions, such as those that exist for government employees, or in local municipalities that have passed anti-discrimation laws, in addition to specific employers which may also have anti-discrimination protections in place.

Politifact also points out that according to the deputy director of Lambda Legal, Hayley Gorenberg, a 1989 Supreme Court Case based around Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Price Waterhouse vs. Hopkins) *might* have set a precedent that could bar discrimination based upon an employer believing an employee is uh... "gay" (more on the word choice in the article here later).

So Politifacts' arguments boil down to two main points. One is that exceptions exist within the 29 states that do not have legislation at the state level to offer protection against discrimination based upon sexual orientation. The second point revolves around the possibility (offered up by Gorenberg) that the Civil Rights Act might bar discrimination based upon an employer merely believing an employee is uh... "gay".

The first part of Politifact's argument holds some water. Even though Navratilove never said that "no protections exist" in 29 states, the fact that a certain number of protections do exist for certain uh... "gays" might have justified rating Navratilove's claim as "Mostly True" rather than "True".

However, the second part is complete horseshit. There has never been an actual case before a court in which an individual has successfully used the precedent set by Price Waterhouse vs. Hopkins to argue against discrimination based upon an employer's belief that an employee was/is uh... "gay". So any lawyer who argues that it might be *possible* that such protections exist is simply offering up an opinion on what *might* happen if a fired employee were to use it in a court trial.

This is but the first error that Politifact makes in their use of Price Waterhouse vs. Hopkins. In their article, Politifact states:

Hayley Gorenberg, deputy legal director of Lambda Legal, cited the 1989 Supreme Court case Price Waterhouse vs. Hopkins. In that case, a woman sued the accounting firm where she worked because she was not offered a promotion after a senior manager told her she should "walk more femininely, talk more femininely, dress more femininely, wear make-up, have her hair styled, and wear jewelry." The plaintiff convinced the court that sex stereotyping constitutes sex discrimination, Gorenberg said. This precedent could protect a straight person who appeared to an employer to be "gay" and suffered discrimination as a result.

Let's break this down:
1) Navratilove used the term gay in her original claim, which is problematic in it's own right since it ignores transgender and transsexual identities (along with lesbian, bi, pan, etc...)

2) However, the number of states that do not offer up legislation that protect specifically against discrimination based upon gender identity is much larger than the number of states that protect based upon sexual orientation. Which means that to acknowledge gender identity would require a much wider analysis than what Politifact offers here.

3) I have seen it argued in the past that anti-discrimination laws for sex/gender might also apply to gender identity.

4) Since Price Waterhouse vs. Hopkins dealt with discrimination based upon gender stereotypes (not on sexuality) it seems like it would be the sort of test case one might use to expand protection against discrimination based upon sex/gender to discrimination based upon gender identity.

5) It is therefore possible that this is what Gorenberg was refering to when she cited Price Waterhouse vs. Hopkins as a precedent that might offer some protections to those who are uh... "gay".

6) Gorenberg, being deputy director of Lambda Legal should know the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity.

This all leads to the conclusion that Politifact, in order to apply Price Waterhouse vs. Hopkins to Navratiloves' claim, deliberately conflated sexual orientation with gender identity. I'd also like to point out the fact that while Politifact does not quote Gorenberg directly when they say "This precedent could protect a straight person who appeared to an employer to be "gay" and suffered discrimination" they do put the word "gay" in scare quotes.

In any case, this all makes Politifacts' arguments here really, really screwy. Navratilove makes a claim that applies solely to sexual orientation. In analyzing it, Politifact brings in a case that might apply to gender identity, yet continues to use the term "gay" for unknown reasons. Furthermore, Politifact makes *no* mention of the current state of anti-discrimination laws based upon gender identity, which have a completely different status from those that apply to sexual orientation.

This is a *gargantuan* omission. One which makes Politifact's use of the sin of omission against Navratilove extremely hypocritical.

However, even if they are correctly representing Gorenberg's citation of Price Waterhouse vs. Hopkins, Politifact is still relying on an expert opinion (which they have done in the past) as a key part of their ratings process. So even if they are correctly citing Gorenberg, they are still committing the logical fallacy of appeal to authority in order to justify their rating of Navratilove's claim.

In the grand scheme of things, I have no problem with Politifact or any organization wishing to present contrary opinions to publicly made claims. But in attempting to clarify the situation in this case, Politifact only managed to further muddy the waters. Combine this with their repeated use of the appeal to authority fallacy and it becomes clear that it is Politifact and their rating system which is misrepresenting the truth.

Queer Review: Die Hard (1988)

2013-04-26T19:01:00.000-07:00

Die Hard
Director: John McTiernan
Writers: Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. Based upon the novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp.
Cast: Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson, Paul Gleason, Alan Rickman, James Shigeta, Hart Bochner

Overview
As surprising as it may seem, Die Hard could be considered a sequel to one of the earliest films to deal explicitly with the topic of queer sexuality. However, Die Hard diverges considerably from the novel Nothing Lasts Forever which was a sequel to The Detective, thereby obscuring the connection. That does not stop Die Hard the film from being entertaining, but it is a much different animal from it's source.

Synopsis
On Christmas Eve, NYPD Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) is visiting his wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), with whom he is estranged from, out in LA. Six months ago she had accepted an executive position with the Nakatomi Corporation, while John had stayed behind in New York City. Their reunion is brief and soon interrupted by a group of disguised terrorists (who are actually thieves after $640 million bearer bonds currently being protected in the building vaults) led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman). While the thieves hold the members of the Nakatomi Corporation hostage as they try to break into the vaults, John McClane escapes in a desperate attempt to wreck havoc on their plans.

The Queering
The novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorpe, was a sequel to The Detective which was made into a a 1968 film starring Frank Sinatra. Die Hard the film though, should not be considered a direct sequel, as the film differs from the book in many significant ways. Furthermore, while Die Hard 2: Die Harder went so far as to credit Roderick Thorp with creating the characters, only the barest echo of Frank Sinatra's Joe Leland can be seen in Bruce Willis's John McClane. Furthermore, Bonnie Bedelia's Holly is a completely different character bearing no resemblance to Lee Remick's Karen Leland. For example, Karen would certainly have taken Harry Ellis (Hart Bochner) up on the offer he made to Bonnie at the beginning of the film.

The Detective the film, was problematic in many ways, but it attempted to include (for the time period) portrayels of sympathetic gay characters. Unfortunately, it failed in that endeavor. What The Detective the film did succeed at was a rather adult perspective on the subject matter, as well as including some rather interesting thematic content related to issues of intersectionality. Roderick's novels, from what research I have done, appear to have also attempted to look at deeper themes and ideas.

Die Hard the film though, attempts to be nothing more than a popcorn action flick, although admittedly it is a very well done popcorn action flick. There is almost no queer content whatsoever, unless you count little things, like a drunken male party goer kissing John McClane at the beginning. McClane reacts to that incident pretty much the way I would have expected LeLand to have. Re-watching Die Hard this time arround, I was actually surprised to notice how unfeminine Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber is. He is intelligent and sophisticated to be sure, but not the least bit fey.

There is of the course the matter in which the LAPD is portrayed, which leads me to the conclusion that no one involved with the film roots for the Dodgers. While McClane (an NYPD detective) is shown to be smart and highly resourceful, pretty much every member of the LAPD who shows up on screen is either an idiot or comic relief. When John McClane first attempts to send out a distress signal on the radio about the hostage situation, he is lectured by a dispatcher for using an emergency broadband channel. When the LAPD finally do show up, Deputy Police Chief Robinson (Paul Gleason) ignores information that the thieves are armed with heavy artillery and attempts to send in a team to retake the building, with predictable results. During this offensive, LAPD officers are shown trying to use an acetylene torch to remove the lock on a glass door. Even at the end, Robinson refuses to give McClane credit for his efforts to save the hostages. The LA media doesn't fare much better. During the hostage crises, one upstart reporter forces his way into the house where the McClane kids are being babysat and the resulting interview provides Hans Gruber with a vital piece of information. I guess people in Hollywood don't have a whole lot of hometown pride...

Otherwise, there is not a lot I can say about this, other than what has shown up in pretty much every other review by now. Die Hard set the template for so many other later films (such as Speed). The action is riviting! And well directed! And won't you check out the cinematography! Which is admittedly rather well done. After watching Die Hard I am kind of tempted to have a law passed that mandates a minimum amount of time a shot can last. Seriously, there has been an unfortunate trend with recent films to over-edit, and not just their action sequences. Two more recent films that come to mind are Snow White and the Huntsman and The Hungar Games where even the non-action sequences refused to allow the camera to linger. Watching Die Hard, which features impressive cinematography and classical editing, was a nice reminder that sometimes less can be more, particularly when it comes time to cut a film.

Recommendation
Perhaps not worth dying for, either the hard way or softly, but I would say Die Hard is worth seeking out.

The Rating
*** out of ****

Trailer

Want to find a review of a particular work? Check out the Title Index, the archive of all reviews posted listed alphabetically.

If Same Sex Marriage Really Leads to Polygamy, Shouldn't Christians Want to Get Gay Married?

2013-03-26T21:17:00.001-07:00

So, like Prop 8 is now going before the supreme court which is... interesting. I guess.

There is a little bitty part of me that wants to point out how awkward the push for Marriage Equality has become. How it has pushed aside other more pressing concerns within the queer community. Issues such as poverty, homelessness, HIV/AIDS, employment discrimination, trans issues. On why people never ask why state sanctioned marriage exists in the first place and why do married people deserve easier access to housing, education, and healthcare and so on.

However, I thought it might be fun to put together some responses to some of the reasons that are used to oppose same sex marriage.

Here goes:
Same Sex Marriage will lead to polygamy.
If this were true, all Christians should be wanting to get gay married. See, polygamy was practiced in the Bible so if polygamy were to be legalized in the U.S., the U.S. would therefore become a more Biblical Nation.

Same Sex Marriage is unnatural.
So is walking on water, turning water into wine, and rising from the dead.

Gays need to recruit in order for their numbers too grow
And remind me again what exactly these "Christian missionaries" who keep knocking on my door are doing?

Gay Marriage will destroy the very fabric of society
This is true, a lot of fabric needs to be cut up and destroyed to make wedding dresses and tuxedos. The solution is obvious. Ban Marriage! Save the nation's fabric supply!

Marriage is necessary for procreation.
True again! Nobody who is unmarried can get pregnant! And everybody who does get married can automatically have kids. Infertility is never an issue if a couple is legitimately married. Heck, God didn't even need to have sex with Mary in order for the birth of Jesus to occur. He simply got married to her and presto! Baby Jesus just happened! As opposed to God implanting a fetus in her without her consent and then sending an angel to tell her what had already taken place. I mean it couldn't possibly have been a legitimate rape or her body would
have shut the whole thing down! Oh wait...

All kids require two opposite sex parents in order to not grow up to become murdering psychopaths or bratty socialists.
Because Cain and Abel both had Adam and Eve as parents and turned out fine. Meanwhile, Jesus had two dads and he was a lazy brat who threw temper tantrums in church over the mere presence of hard working business men. One must assume he was jealous of their success, unnatural hippy socialist that he was.

Queer Review: Gun Hill Road (2011)

2013-03-12T22:10:00.000-07:00

Gun Hill Road
Director: Rashaad Ernesto Green
Writer: Rashaad Ernesto Green
Cast: Esai Morales, Judy Reyes, Harmony Santana, Miriam Colon, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Franky G, Vincent Laresca, Robin de Jesus

Overview
Gun Hill Road is a film that does as many things wrong as it does right. Lacking in focus, while high in predictability, the main things that save this from being mostly a waste are strong acting and raw cinematography.

Synopsis
Enrique (Esai Morales) has just been released from prison and returns home to find out that his wife, Angela (Judy Reyes) has been having an affair while he was in jail. While this does not bother him too much, when he discovers the fact that his "son", Michael (Harmony Santana) is now in the process of transitioning to Vanessa, he finds it increasingly difficult to control his rage.

The Queering
Watching Gun Hill Road, I was frequently reminded of Pariah. Both films are small, independent features that depict inner city life for young individuals of color, who are LGBTQ identified. The plots also have remarkably similarly narratives, which ends up being Gun Hill Road's biggest undoing.

Familiarity maybe bread contempt, but that need not be a killer for most films, but when the plot becomes too predictable, there needs to be some other element capable of making the story compelling. Unfortunately for Gun Hill Road some naturalistic performances and a shaky cam that lends a feeling of "realness" -- even while the script is doing everything it can to take things in the opposite direction -- are not enough to save it.

There was also the unfortunate decision to make Enrique a focal point of the story. The main problem is that he was not a terribly sympathetic character, particularly after he assaults Vanessa and forces her to submit to a haircut. The fact that his character arc is the most predictable out of all the characters does not help matters either.

Now maybe I've taken too much sensitivity training on the subject, but the choice gendered pronouns and nouns by other characters when they referred to Michael/Vanessa bothered me a biy. I mean, I can understand why Enrique keeps using male pronouns, but why does Angela, who apparently was on board with the transition, keep misgendering Vanessa?

Recommendation
For those who prefer smaller films and independent cinema, Gun Hill Road may be a route worth taking. If not, this film may be better off being left the road less traveled.

The Rating
**1/2 out of ****

Trailer

Want to find a review of a particular work? Check out the Title Index, the archive of all reviews posted listed alphabetically.

Of the Day (March 10th, 2013)

2013-03-10T17:41:00.000-07:00

The Amazing Sassy

Links
A term I don’t use anymore: TERF from Transstingray by Annetta Gaiman
American Assassinations For Dummies from NSFWcorp by By Mark Ames
Who are Democrats and Republicans representing, anyway? from Salon by David Sirota
Research shows everyone does worse with online learning from The Raw Story by Kay Steiger

Video

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Queer Review: The Mark of Zorro (1920)

2013-03-09T23:28:00.000-08:00

The Mark of Zorro
Director: Fred Niblo
Writer: Johnston McCulley. Based upon his novel The Curse of Capistrano
Cast: Douglas Fairbanks, Marguerite De La Motte, Robert McKim, Noah Beery, Charles Hill Mailes, Tote Du Crow, Walt Whitman, Claire McDowell, George Periolat

Overview
This 1920 silent film about Señor Zorro (Mr. Fox) contains more subtexts then one can shake a saber at. While not completely subverting the macho hero/effeminate villain paradigm, The Mask of Zorro does manage to come close.

Synopsis
The year is approximately 1820 and the oppressive Governor of California, Alvarado (George Periolat) has found his authority challenged by a masked vigilante, Señor Zorro (Douglas Fairbanks). His right hand man, Capitán Juan Ramon (Robert McKim), vows to capture Zorro, only to find himself humiliated when Zorro beats him in a dual. Meanwhile, the effete Don Diego Vega (who is really Zorro) is being pressured by his father, Don Alejandro (Sidney De Gray) to marry Lolita Pulido (Marguerite De La Motte), whose family is being persecuted by Governor Alvarado. This leads to an unfortunate love triangle when Capitán Ramon also falls for the beautiful Lolita.

The Queering
If you noticed any similarities between Zorro and Batman in the synopsis, they are not coincidences. Bob Kane admitted that the character of Zorro inspired the development of Batman. Here, in The Mark of Zorro the similarities can be seen everything from a proto-Bat cave to the trusty servant, Bernardo (Tote Du Crow).

Other elements that can be observed to have been mimicked in later superhero stories is the secret identity, Señor Zorro/Don Diego Vega, concept. It has been commented on that this element of the superhero mythos mimics that of the closeted gay or lesbian. That is, many superheros present themselves as "normal" during the day but at night, take on a different personality to fight crime. What makes Zorro interesting to me, is just how feminine Don Diego Vega was presented. In his first entrance, he is shown making a theatrical entrance to a bar using an umbrella. He even snorts tobacco (smoking it was considered "unladylike", so woman of the time would sniff tobacco instead). More importantly, he feigns a disinterest in girls, much to his father's consternation.

At the end, when Zorro is forced out of the closet, it can be seen as a reversal of the normal "coming out" experienced by LGBTQ people. Here, it's the effeminate, sub-textually gay personality that is revealed to truly be a heterosexual, butch avenger.

Further subversiveness is found in the role of Capitán Juan Ramon, who demonstrates sexual interest in Lolita. Granted, this is not a complete subversion of the butch hero/femme baddie, but Ramon is not shown to be any less masculine than Zorro and is certainly more butch than Don Diego Vega.

There is one element I found interesting that does not get replicated very much in the superhero genre, which is that Zorro is very specifically fighting a governmental authority figure, not a criminal enterprise. Superman fights "for truth, justice, and the American way". While Gotham's Police Department is shown to be utterly corrupt in Batman Begins, during The Dark Knight Rises Batman is shown fighting side by side with Gotham's Law Enforcement. Spiderman pretty much exclusively fights criminals and mad scientists. Professor Xavier in the X-Men films actually support the status quo, while Magneto is the one who attempts insurrection.

However, in spite of it's subversiveness, The Mark of Zorro is not a great film as the writing and plot were fairly simplistic overall. I must admit though, that the fight scenes with their over the top stunts and Zorro engaging in bizarre behavior in order to taunt his enemies, were certainly fun to watch. For the time period, the acting seemed fairly sedate from my perspective, although that might have been because I had recently watched Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.

Recommendation
Overall, a lesser silent film, but one worth taking the time to seek out for it's subversiveness and the absurd fight sequences. Would be worth getting marked with a "Z" upon one's flesh in order to see.

The Rating
*** out of ****

Trailer

Want to find a review of a particular work? Check out the Title Index, the archive of all reviews posted listed alphabetically.

Queer Review: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)

2013-03-09T19:04:00.001-08:00

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Director: Tom Shadyac
Writer: Jack Bernstein, Tom Shadyac, and Jim Carrey
Cast: Jim Carrey, Courteney Cox, Sean Young, Tone Loc, Dan Marino, Noble Willingham, Udo Kier

Overview
An overly transphobic and homophobic turd of a film from the mid-90's, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective commits the ultimate sin for a comedy; not only is it offensive, it isn't really all that funny.

Synopsis
When the beloved Miama Dolphins football team mascot (Snowflake) goes missing, the teams publicist Melissa (Courteney Cox) calls upon the services of Ace Ventura (Jim Carrey) to get the aquatic mammal back. His investigation will take him on a bizare path, one filled with twists and surprises.

The Queering
There is a scene in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective where Ace Ventura, while searching for Snowflake, comes across a large aquarium. Instead of an innocent dolphin swimming inside, Ace Ventura finds instead a giant man eating shark. This moment is clearly intended as a sublime metaphor for the films tragic denouement. It's almost as subtle as the one featured in the opening scene where Ace Ventura is shown kicking a package down a hallway, thereby destroying the contents. This scene is clearly meant to tell the audience that the film ahead is an empty, soul eating endeavor that will completely destroy all that is funny or humorous in our world.

Or perhaps not.

So, in any case some of the higher ups for the Bush administration openly cited transgender/transsexual people as a security concern. What's amusing about this, is that they're concern could have easily been based off of a juvenile plot twist from this film. Never mind that if one wanted to change one's identity, it's much easier to change things like eye/hair/skin color then it is to go through the surgical procedures to change one's gender/sex. Height and weight are similarly malleable, but lord knows, nobody ever brings up banning spray on tanning products, hair dye, colored contacts, diet pills, or any of the kinds of surgery one could use to change one's physical stature or THE TERRORISTS WIN.

Sorry, but I digress.

In any case, if there is a transphobic or homophobic trope that this film misses, I cannot think of it. The main "twist" of the film revolves around the fact that one of the characters transitioned from male to female. Or maybe not. It's not clear whether or not the writers are even aware of the possibility of someone wanting to undergo surgery to change their sex for purposes other than deception. So we have "deceptive trans villain". Check.

In one scene we have Jim Carrey wearing a dress in order to intimate to a medical professional that he has a mental illness. This is on top of the numerous times there is dialogue blatantly stating that the villain is mentally ill. So, linking mental illness and transgender and transsexual identities? Check.

Then there is the scene where Ace Ventura gets all upset over the fact that he kissed a person with a dick. When he reveals this little factoid to the other police officers (the villain here also happens to be a police lieutenant) all of the police officers present react negatively, as if they too had been making out with the female lieutenant. So the idea of queer sexuality as gross and disgusting present? Check.

I could go on, but it's really not worth it. In the end, I could not help but think about how Jim Carrey, more than a decade later, would star in the excellent I Love You Phillip Morris. It got me thinking about the number of filmmakers who have worked on incredibly transphobic productions later going on to work on gay friendly ones. For example, Johnathen Demme making Philadelphia following criticism of Silence of the Lambs. Also, there were at least two episodes of The X-Files that could be considered gay friendly (All Things and X-Cops), but I Want to Believe contained an obvious trans villain. Off the top of my head, I could not think of a single counter example of a filmmaker who had worked on a homophobic film and had ever made another one featuring a positive transgender or transsexual character.

Recommendation
This pet detective can only be taken care of properly one way, with a pooper-scooper.

The Rating
Zero out of ****

Trailer

Want to find a review of a particular work? Check out the Title Index, the archive of all reviews posted listed alphabetically.

If it's not one thing...

2013-03-02T11:46:00.000-08:00

There is a part of me that is tempted to issue some sort of "sorry for not posting more often" apology thing, but given the fact that I'm not exactly under any obligation to put my writing out there on a regular basis, I do this for myself as much as anything else, I'm not sure there is much point in doing so.

In any case one reason for there not being too many posts recently was that two weeks ago, just after I was done getting all nice and settled into the new apartment and starting to get into a regular schedule with regards to my classes at Wilkes-Barre, I get the news that my grandmother passed away. I of course then went down to Maryland to be with my father on that Sunday. Thus, the last two weekends, which probably would have gone towards catching up on my reading for college, were spent driving around, spending some time with my father, and attending the memorial service.

While I was in Towson the first weekend, my Uncle Bruce and I went for a walk through a nearby federal park/historic site of a former slave plantation, called the Ridgely Plantation. While we were walking towards the site, my uncle gave me a brief lecture about the site. About how the planation had been used to manufacture arms during the Revolutionary war and such.

When we got to the site, there was one thing that stuck out and actually bothered me a little bit. Not something I want to devote a whole blog post to, but still worth pointing out. Around the plantation and various buildings, there were these signs that had information about the history of the site. Now I did not get a chance to look at all the signs, of the few that I did, all but one used the term "worker" rather than "slave". The one exception was the sign outside the slave quarters that actually identified the building as being the slave quarters. What made this really odd, was the fact that other terms like "master" "owner" and "overseers", were still used by whoever wrote the signs up.

Just a minor example of historical erasure I thought I'd bring to people's attention.

Queer Review: Silkwood (1983)

2013-03-02T11:08:00.000-08:00

Silkwood
Director: Mike Nichols
Writers: Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen
Cast: Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, Cher, Craig T. Nelson, Fred Ward, Diana Scarwid, Ron Silver, David Strathairn, Bruce McGill, E. Katherine Kerr, Sudie Bond

Overview
Silkwood is a well acted, methodically paced drama based upon the real life story of Karen Silkwood, a labor activist at a factory that manufactured nuclear energy rods who died under mysterious circumstances.

Synopsis
Karen Silkwood (Meryl Streep) finds herself becoming suspicious that factory she works at, run by the Kerr-McGee company, is not adhering to proper safety protocols thanks to the fact that the factory is behind schedule on a large order of nuclear energy rods. As her suspicions increase, she becomes involved with the The Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union and is soon elected to their bargaining committee. After secretly attempting to find documentation to substantiate her claims of the dangerous working conditions, she tests positive for plutonium poisoning, raising the possibility that someone at the plant has poisoned her. As Karen becomes increasingly paranoid that company management is trying to silence her, she organizes a meeting with a union official and a reporter from the New York Times, telling them that she had managed to obtain incriminating documentation. She never makes it, dying in an unfortunate car accident on the way to the meeting. When the her car was discovered, none of the documents she had previously claimed to have were found in it.

The Queering
I had put Silkwood in the netflix queue because Keith Stern had listed Karen Silkwood in his Queers in History: The Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Historical Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Transgenders. In the encyclopdia's article on Silkwood, Stern claims that she was lovers with her bisexual roommate Sherry Ellis. Therefore, given that Karen Silkwood is presented in this film as being exclusively heterosexual, I was all ready to rake the filmmakers over the coals for straightening out Karen.

However, in doing research for this review, I was unable to find any other sources to substantiate Stern's claim that Karen had both male and female lovers, outside of one source (that seemed mildly sketchy to me) that mentioned her being bisexual. There are other instances where Stern has overstated evidence so I feel a bit of reluctance to criticize Silkwood for straightening out the main character, since you can't really straighten out a character who was straight to begin with.

Furthermore, the filmmakers hold nothing back when it comes to Karen Silkwood's roommate, Dolly Pelliker (Cher). Dolly is shown not only engaging in a lesbian relationship with a hairdresser, but she also confesses to being romantically and unrequitedly in love with Silkwood. Furthermore, while both Silkwood and her male lover, Drew Stephens, are both mildly uncomfortable with Dolly's lover, the character is otherwise presented realistically and in a non-sensational manor. There is even a bit of a queer subtext between Dolly and Karen. The only thing that could be criticized about the character of Dolly, is that during a minor scene, it is suggested that Dolly might have alerted Kerr-McGee and betrayed to them Silkwood's attempts to obtain sensitive documents.

In regards to the overall film, there are many elements worthy of praise. Meryl Streep disappears completely into the character, giving her usual brilliant work. Cher is unrecognizable and allows herself to presented in a completely non-glamorous light while playing a working class factory stiff. Kurt Russell is not given a whole lot to do, other than walk around with his shirt off and give vague warnings to Karen about the danger she is getting herself into.

As I already mentioned, the pacing is deliberate. As a result, there were a few scenes that felt like they could have been shortened or cut. For example, there is a sequence where Drew walks around the house after it was stripped of it's contents while being searched for plutonium poisoning that felt unnecessary. However, there lots of details of the factory and the work being done, that manage to create a realistic picture of what the everyday lives of the factory employees were like. Silkwood in particular comes across as a completely realistic blue collar worker, who only gradually comes into her role as a labor activist.

In terms of historical detail, the filmmakers have wisely stuck to the established record. There is nothing that proves definitively that Silkwood was murdered to silence her before she could go public with any incriminating documentation she might have obtained but there is an overwhelming preponderance of evidence that points in that direction. The final moments of the film are expertly shot and edited to suggest many things while showing nothing clearly. The filmmakers point many fingers in different directions but ultimately allow the audience to draw their own conclusions. In the grande scheme of things, there is no reason that this story should have been told any other way.

Edit: Someone pointed me in the direction of the Lesbian Film Guide which describes Silkwood as bisexual and claims she had multiple female lovers. So we can now add this to the list of films which have straightened their LGBTQ protagonists. I thought the filmmakers had focused a bit too much on Karen's relationships with men for her to have been straight in real life. Now I know why they did that - they wanted to avoid even the suggestion that she might have been queer.

Recommendation
Highly recommended, particularly for those who are interested in learning about the story of Karen Silkwood.

The Rating
*** out of ****

Trailer

Want to find a review of a particular work? Check out the Title Index, the archive of all reviews posted listed alphabetically.

Of the Day (2/8/13)

2013-02-08T20:20:00.002-08:00

The Amazing Sassy

Links
It’s My Oppression and You Can’t Have Any By Yessenia
Dehumanization & the Hegemony of Gendered Language by Drew Cordes
The "Normal People Inspire Me" Series on Disability and Representation is pure genius. Here is the most recent entry.
Ed Gein and the figure of the transgendered serial killer by K.E. Sullivan

Of the Day (2/7/13)

2013-02-07T19:55:00.000-08:00

The Amazing Sassy

Links
Op-ed: Young, Queer, and Homeless by Hannah Le
Boy Scouts board earns merit badge for BS by Mark Segal
(Almost) Nobody Is Serious About the Deficit by Kevin Drum

Historical Queer Poetry
The Sleeper in the Valley by Arthur Rimbaud.

It is a green hollow where a stream gurgles,
Crazily catching silver rags of itself on the grasses;
Where the sun shines from the proud mountain:
It is a little valley bubbling over with light.

A young soldier, open-mouthed, bare-headed,
With the nape of his neck bathed in cool blue cresses,
Sleeps; he is stretched out on the grass, under the sky,
Pale on his green bed where the light falls like rain.

His feet in the yellow flags, he lies sleeping. Smiling as
A sick child might smile, he is having a nap:
Cradle him warmly, Nature: he is cold.

No odour makes his nostrils quiver;
He sleeps in the sun, his hand on his breast
At peace. There are two red holes in his right side.

Original French Version

A Letter My Grandmother Wrote to Me on the Nuclear Arms Race When I Was 1 year Old

2013-02-04T18:43:00.001-08:00

Recently, while my mom was going through my Grandma Gladstone's stuff during preparations to sell her (Grandma's) house, she came across a letter that Grandma had written to me when I was one year old.

I don't have a scanner set up in the new apartment, but I wanted to share this, so I typed it up as best I could.

June 18th, 1984

Dear Jeremy,

Today Grandma was in a class concerning missions of Peace. Because of the arms race that is now happening in the world between governments and the use of nuclear weapons being made, Grandma is concerned about the kind of world you might grow up in.

The kind of world I would like to see you grow up in would be much different than the kind caused by an arms race.

I would like to see you grow up in a loving family free from the threat of war. I would like to[sic] to get the education you need and want. I would like to see you grow up by playing and enjoying your friends and family in a free and clean atmosphere. I would like to see you enjoy the outdoors and all of God's beautiful creation. I hope you will understand that God loves you and by having God in your life you will be able to do great things. Have religious freedom.

The world will have to put a stop to the arms race by the time you read this. There would be less hunger in the world. You will not have to face a draft or conscription. You will be free to find the job you want, marry, become a parent.

What will Grandma do to help some of these things happen for you. She will pray. She will join prayer groups for peace. She will attempt to write letters to congressmen, telling them what her opinions for peace are.

When you are with me I will try to be a good example of a Christian that would like to see peace in the world and a peaceful world for her Grandchildren.

Queer Issue: How Queer was Super Bowl XLVII?

2013-02-04T14:19:00.001-08:00

One might say that Football being an inherently masculine sport, gaying it up might be pretty hard. Not really. And one doesn't even need to go into the detail about the players grabbing each others buttocks, chest bumping, and the other forms of physical intimacy on blatent display.

Let's start with the music.
-The intro song, We Will Rock You was originally by Queen, whose lead singer Freddie Mercury died of complications from HIV/AIDS.
-The Sandy Hook/Newton Elementary School performers sang America the Beautiful, whose lyrics were written by Katarine Lee Bates, a lesbian.

Advertising
-Unfortunately there was a ridiculously transphobic Doritos ad. Yeah, guys wearing dresses is all you need to do apparently in order to create mirth these days...

-Which was then followed up by a Calvin Klein ad featuring a muscular guy wearing only underwear. Go figure.
.

-This Coke ad reminded me of both The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Lawrence of Arabia (about T.E. Lawrence, who historians now accept as likely as having being gay). Probably the only reason I was reminded of Lawrence of Arabia was because I had just watched it about a week ago.

Miscelaneous
-The 49ers are from San Francisco, which at one point was considered a gay mecca and where the first openly gay politician, Harvey Milk, was elected to major office in the U.S.
-Half-Time show was by gay icon Beyonce.

Queer Issue: Moving and Moving On

2013-01-18T19:43:00.001-08:00

For the record, the next couple of weeks may see a slight decrease in the number of posts here. I'll give you all a hint:

That's right, I'm going to be moving. I'm going back to school to major in Criminology at Wilkes University where my current partner is currently teaching.

Of course this means that I'm now getting out all the stuff shoved away in closets, sorting it out and packing it in the boxes for the move.

This also includes all of my memorabilia from when I was a member of the Boy Scouts of America. Thanks to the Boy Scout's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, the end of my tenure with the BSA was not a happy one. To put it bluntly, it was a long misery infused descent into hell.

It's a difficult thing to put the situation I now face into words. The list of items that I accumulated over my 13 year involvement with the scouting movement is quite extensive.

There are the merit badges, various memorabilia from the National Jamboree I went to in 1997, my uniform, neckerchiefs, patches, and so on. Each one comes infused with memories, such as the neckerchief slide an adult leader carved for me when I went an entire week of scout camp undefeated at checkers.

However because of how things ended with the Boy Scouts, I've been tempted to just burn all of it.

I first started with the BSA when I was in 1st grade as a Cub Scout.
I can recall a baking contest, where my dad and I made a cake, constructed it into the shape of a truck, which won best in show. And by in the shape of a truck, I don't mean we baked a sheet cake and cut out a truck shape from that. That would have been too straightforward. I mean we actually used pieces of cake to sculpt a 3 dimensional a cake truck.

I have other memories of Cub Scouts of course. Of Pine-Wood Derbies, earning belt-loops, bug juice, and making arts and crafts at scout camp. I think my mom still has the ceramic pot holder I made one year.

A pine-wood derby is a competition where you race wooden cars on downward tracks. One way to make your car faster was by drilling a hole in the car and filling it with some kind of metal. This was legal as I recall as there was a total weight you couldn't go over. In any case, I definitely recall my mom not being too pleased when in a bout of enthusiasm while working on my Pine-Wood derby car, I managed to use an old-fashioned hand powered drill to put a hole an inch deep into the floor I was working in.

I can recall my first "real" camping trip as a Boy Scout, when true to the rules of the universe, it rained and rained heavily. As the night progressed, water crept gradually into the tent. Eventually, to stay warm, the three of us that were in the tent all ended up in the same sleeping bag. When we went to tear down the tent, I could push on the corner of one sleeping bag and watch the water ripples spread out across all three. I think in all my years with the BSA, there was only one or two camp outs that was not accompanied with copious amounts of H2O falling from the sky.

As a Boy Scout I was inducted into the Order of the Arrow (Boy Scouts Honor Society), went to the National Jamboree, served as Troop Scribe, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, and eventually Senior Patrol Leader. I managed to earn the rank of Life Scout, the rank just below that of Eagle. Scoutings highest rank eluded me by only a handful of merit badges that I failed to earn, thanks in part to the mental decline I experienced before turning 18.

However, as time advanced and I started to struggle with my sexuality, I also started to hear more and more about the BSA's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. But much like the frog in a pot of water that was slowly heating up, I was in too deep and too ingrained to simply want out.

Of course, as I advanced from Weblo's to Boy Scouts this meant I had to keep my budding sexual orientation a secret. It was tempting to bail, and part of me wanted to, but I was too ambitious for my own good. I wanted so very desperately to be an Eagle Scout. So I stayed in the closet.

I am not someone who quits or gives up easily. My middle name is Lawrence, a name choosen because of the fact that my family is descended from the brother of Captain James Lawrence, who created the famous saying "Never give up the ship". It's a statement I have found a great deal of inspiration from. Once I had set my sites on becoming and Eagle Scout, I was not going to be deterred.

Naturally, this set me up for a deep and complicated internal conflict. I wanted to be an Eagle Scout and I could not do anything to jeopardize that. This meant I could not breath a word of what I was to anyone. No matter how hard things got, coming out simply was not an option.

But internalizing this conflict only caused to fester and to take on it's own life. While working on my Eagle Scout project, I attempted to commit suicide. In the months that followed I had what could be labeled a nervous break down. I was diagnosed with depression. One of the medications I took had side effects which included "fatigue" and "increased saliva production".

Basically this meant I spent much of my class time my senior year falling asleep and waking up when the bell rang with my face in a humongous puddle of drool. Teachers would sometimes wake me up sooner if I started snoring.

Things got so bad that I actually considered dropping out of high-school.

It did not have to be like that. I entered my senior year as a member of honor society, a 1340 SAT score, and while I was not a top member of my class, my GPA was respectable. I was taking one course which had the possibility of college credit (Science in Modern Society) and otherwise sailing high. I had spent the summer before visiting campuses and pouring over college catalogs trying to decide where I wanted to go after I graduated. I was accepted at Clarkson University but decided against attending due to my health issues. Instead, I decided to go to SUNY Oneonta and in the Fall of 2002, I started taking classes as a non-matriculated student.

Which brings me back to what started me on this topic, what the hell do I do with all the stuff that I accumulated over the years that I was a scout? Do I burn it? Throw it away? What exactly does one do with something that carries with it the memories of so many painful experiences?

But throwing away all of my BSA memorabilia would mean throwing away stuff that carries with it memories from a great deal of my formative years. Destroying this material would come very close to destroying a part of my life.

Yes, there was pain in the end, but there were a lot of good memories as well. I cannot forget the suffering I went through my senior year, any more than I can forget the more pleasant times spent playing card games around a camp fire.

Merit Badges I earned: Pottery, First Aid, Pioneering, Reading, Citizenship in Nation, Swimming, Skiing, Family Life, Leatherwork, Woodworking, Indian Lore, Sailing, Camping, Canoeing, Communication, Citizenship in World, Citizenship in community.

Neckerchiefs and Neckerchief slides. I made the wolfs head for the carving merit badge. The other one was for being undefeated in checkers at one week of scout camp. The bolo tie and the slide above it I bought for National Jamboree.

Shoulder patches I got by trading at the National Jamboree. The white sashes were for the Order of the Arrow. The bar on the second one indicates the rank of brotherhood. Note the orange R2 D2 shoulder patch.

More shoulder patches from the National Jamboree. I wonder what the Jersey Shore Council thinks of the show. The bottom two patches were part of some sort of Council commemoration event, of which there were four that were designed to look cool when you put them all together.

Of the Day (1/7/13)

2013-01-07T19:03:00.001-08:00

The Amazing Sassy

Links
Taking Up Too Much Space - Interesting blog I came across that unfortunately, is no longer being updated, but most the articles have a lot really provocative things to say on trans/gender identity topics.
My "Top 25 Things That Owe Their Existence to the LGBTQ Community over on the Bilerico Project

Of the Day (1/6/13)

2013-01-06T16:47:00.000-08:00

The Amazing Sassy

Links
Teaching Science Without Harm by Katherine Groff

CALL FOR PAPERS - Brotherhood is Powerful: An Anthology of Liberationist Writings by Transsexual Men

Grace’s Trans 101: An Introduction to Transsexuality and Some Answers to Frequently Asked Questions by Grace Annam

Setting the Record Queer: Top 25 Things That Owe Their Existence To The LGBTQ Community

2013-01-05T20:11:00.002-08:00

Thanks to the feedback and critique that I received regarding The Top 20 Things That Owe Their Existence to Queers (or at least a hearty thanks) after I posted it to The Bilerico Project, plus additional research I've done since then, I was able to expand it into a new list:

The Top 25 Things that Owe Their Existence to the LGBTQ Community (or at least a hearty thanks):

25 - World Organization of the Scout Movement
Queer to thank: Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell

Lord Baden-Powell founded the Scout Movement in the early part of the 20th Century, which grew to become the global phenomenon most people are familiar with today. Ironically, given the current positions of the Boy Scouts of America, several biographers, most notably Tim Jeal in The Boy-Man: The Life of Lord Baden Powell, have concluded that Powell was gay.

24 - Baseball
Queers to Thank: Glen Burke, Nate Silver, Christina Kahrl

Glenn Burke was the first gay man who played professional baseball and whom come out while playing in the Major Leagues. He left a lasting impression on the sport after he popularized the ritual of high-fiving following a home run.

Nate Silver and Christina Kahrl are both promoters of sabermetrics or the advanced use of statistical data to analyze Baseball players, which has helped revolutionize the sport. Nate Silver (who is openly gay) famously used the same sabermetric models he created for baseball to correctly predict the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. Christina Kahrl was the first openly trans-woman to be accepted to the Baseball Writers Association of America, the organization that votes on which individuals will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

23 - Hull House, The Settlement Movement
Queer to Thank: Jane Adams

Jane Adams was the first woman to be awarded the Noble Prize, which was given to her in part for her work on the Hull House, the first settlement house, which was established in 1989.

The Settlement Movement was the first major anti-poverty program and was designed to work by having the rich and poor living in close quarters.

22 - Copernicus's Model of the Solar System
Queer to thank: Georg Joachim Rheticus

Nicolaus Copernicus developed the heliocentric model of the solar system which still happens to be viewed as true today, despite the best efforts of the Flat Earth Society. In any case, Copernicicus's work could have been lost, if it had not been for the efforts of George Joachim Rheticus. Copernican scholar Edward Rosen posited, "Is it going to far to claim that without Rheticus, no Copernicus, without Copernicus, no moving Earth; and without geodynamic astonomy, no modern science?" In 1551, Rheticus was accused of trying to seduce a 17 year old male, which resulted in Rheticus being exiled from Leipzig for 101 years.

21 - Sexuality of the Human Male, Sexuality of the Human Female, Coming of Age in Samoa, Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies
Queers to thank: Alfred Kinsey, Margaret Mead

Combined the above works led directly to what is referred to as the Sexual Revolution, a cultural phenomenon whose fallouts are still being felt today. It probably should not come as much of a shock that both of these individuals were bisexual. Kinsey expiremented with sexual relationships with both sexes. Mead herself was married 3 times and letters published after Mead's death revealed that she had an intimate relationship with Rhoda Metraux.

20 - The British Broadcasting Corporation
Queer to thank: John Reith, 1st Baron Reith

John Reith played a critical role in the formation of the BBC, so much so that the term Reithian became a word, describing his particular management style. The BBC model that Reith pionered - based around his summary of what the BBC's mission should be, Inform, Educate, Entertain - also influenced other broadcast organizations such as PBS.

Reith himself was intimately involved with a man named Charlie Bowser, the depth and intimacy of the relationship which was revealed in Reith's diaries when they were analysed by Ian McIntyre.

19 - Modern Architecture
Queer to Thank: Ralph Adams Cram

Ralph Adams Cram was among the most influential architects at the beginning of the 20th century. A proponent of the gothic style, he made the cover of Time Magazine in December of 1936 and is honored by the Episcopal Church on December 16th with a Feast Day.

While he married Elizabeth Carrington Read in 1900, he was also part of the Boston Bohemians, an early social group for gays and lesbians.

18 - Keynesian Economics
Queer to Thank: John Maynard Keynes

Keynesian Economics, first presented in the 1936 book The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money by John Maynard Keynes, has profoundly influenced economic theory ever since. Keynesian Economics was the reason for the controversial stimulus plans backed by President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama.

Keynes was always open about his sexuality and the numerous affairs he had with men.

17 - Peanuts, Soybeans, Pecans, Sweet Potatoes
Queer to thank: George Washington Carver

Here is an exercise for anybody reading this list. Go to your fridge or any cabinet in your house. Pick an item at random. Chances are, the item you are now holding would not exist in it's current form if it were not for the work of George Washington Carver, a black man born in 1864 Missouri. Carver is credited with developing hundreds of uses for peanuts, soybeans, pecans, and sweet potatoes. He also developed or popularized uses for such products as diverse as shaving cream, bleach, buttermilk, chili sauce, instant coffee, linoleum, mayonaise, meat tenderizer, shoe polish, talcum powder, cosmetics, and synthetic rubber.

By promoting peanuts, soybeans, pecan trees, and sweet potatoes as alternative crops, Carver helped save agriculture in the south, as these products restored soil nutrients lost thanks to cotton farming, with monopolized farmland at the time.

Carver is thought to have been intimate with Austin W. Curtis, Jr.

16 - Eradication of Tuberculosis
Queer to thank: Alan L. Hart

In the early Twentieth Century, tuberculosis was the number one killer in the Unites States. Today, less then 10 percent of the U.S. population typically test positive for the disease and for those that are found to be infected, the chances of survival are dramatically better than they were 100 years ago. This can be attributed in part to the efforts of Alan L. Hart, who innovated numerous ways of detecting and treating the disease. Early detection methods pionered by Hart, such as using x-ray screenings, also helped prevent the disease from infecting more patients since doctors could quarantine those individuals found to have tuberculosis. His efforts are credited with helping to contain TB and therefore saving thousands of lives.

Born Alberta Lucille Hart, Alan L. Hart was among the first female to male transsexuals in the U.S. to have a hysterectomy and gonadectomy performed on himself.

15 - Abolition of Slavery (United States)
Queer to thank: Abraham Lincoln
Honorable Mentions: Susan B. Anthony, Alexander Hamilton

Although slavery would not be abolished entirely in the Unites States until the passage of the 13th Amendment, it was Abraham Lincoln who first wrote the Emancipation Proclamation that freed slaves on a large scale. Without the Emancipation Proclamation or Lincoln's leadership during the Amercan Civil War, the North could have lost and slavery would probably have continued in the Confederacy.

Lincoln wrote one of the earliest explicit gay themed poems in American Literature and shared a bed with Captain David V. Derickson, who was the head of his guards.

Other notable queers involved in the abolishment were suffragette Susan B. Anthony and Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton even used Britain's support for slavery as one reason for the colonies seceding from Great Britain.

14 - Woman's Suffrage
Queer to Thank: Susan B. Anthony
Honorable Mentions, Anna Elizabeth Dickinson, Nancy Cook, Jane Addams, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Charley Parkhurst, Eva Gore-Booth

Susan B. Anthony founded the National Woman Suffrage Association, one of the earliest organizations dedicated to woman's rights in the United States. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton originally wrote the original draft of what would eventually become the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which reads as follows:
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation

Other notable members of the suffrage movement include Anthony's lover, Anna Elizabeth Dickinson as well as Nancy Cook, who became the intimate of Eleanore Roosevelt.

Trivia: It is thought that Charley Parkhurst was possibly the first female to vote in the United States. Parkhurst was stagecoach driver in California and after his death in 1879, it was discovered that Parkurst was not biologically male.

13 - The Napoleonic Code
Queer to thank: Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès
Honorable Mention: Napoleon Bonaparte

The Napoleonic Code was written by Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès, who was open about his sexuality and preference for men. The Napoleonic Code is one of the most influential documents of the modern era. Napoleon biographer Robert Holtman declared in his The Napoleonic Revolution that The Napoleonic Code was among the few documents to have changed the entire world.

The code was originally enacted in the European territories that Napoleon had conquered. Specifically, the Napoleonic Code forbade special privileges based upon birthright, secret or unpublished laws, special laws that applied to specific incidents, and ex post facto laws (laws written and applied to events that have already occurred). Just as importantly, The Napoleonic Code reformed judicial procedures and the treatment of criminals.

As for the Emperor himself, he was rumored to have had many male lovers among his aides, guards, and fellow soldiers. According to biographer Evangiline Bruce, Napoleon once wrote a note declaring that whenever he met a good looking man, Napoleons feelings were felt "first in the loins and in another place I will leave unnamed."

12 - Helicopters, Modern Aviation
Queers to thank: Leonardo da Vinci, Howard Hughes

Leonardo da Vinci was the legendary Renaissance artist who was arrested twice following accusations that he had engaged in same sex activity. Gian Giacomo Caprotti da Oreno, who inherited the Mona Lisa, had an unusually close and suggestive relationship with the da Vinci. However, one possibility regarding who the real life subject of the Mona Lisa was provides a scintillating clue here. This proposal put forth by Susan Dorothea White, has that the Mona Lisa was actually a self portrait of Leonardo da Vinci in drag. Also, Keith Stern claims that an article published in the April 1995 edition of Scientific America described a computer scan that came to that conclusion as well.

As for helicopters, Leonardo da Vinci designed many fantastical mechanical devices, but unfortunately the materials necessary for those devices to actually work were not created until many years after his death. One such device was a primitive helicopter, with Leonardo's design used as the inspiration for the modern flying contraption.

Howard Hughes was the producer and director for The Outlaw a movie filled with homoerotic subtexts (and Jane Russell's bosoms). In her autobiography, Greta Keller claimed that Hughes engaged in a sexual relationship with her husband, David Bacon. Bette Davis who had a sexual relationship with Hughes, claimed that Hughes frequently liked to fantasize that she was a man.

Howard Hughes is credited with many aviation innovations and set several world records flying air-planes that he had commissioned. Hughes was awarded multiple aviation awards, in addition to the Congressional Gold Medal in 1939 for his contributions to the industry.

11 - Libraries
Queer to thank: Ashurbanipal
Honorable Mentions: Alexander the Great

Ashurbanipal was one of the last king of Syria and created a vast, well organized library of cuneiform writings. The works within were grouped by subject matter, a unique innovation for the time period. This library was so expansive that it inspired Alexander the Great to create his own, and thus eventually leading to the creation of the great Library of Alexandria by Ptolemy following Alexander's death.

Ashurbanipal is documented to have enjoyed dressing in woman's clothing.

10 - The computer you are reading this list on
Queer to thank: Alan Turring
Honorable Mentions: Lynn Conway, Mary Ann Horton, Sophie Wilson, Audrey Tang, Kate Craig-Wood

Alan Turing was an early pioneer in the field of computer science and artificial intelligence. His work included developing the Turing Test, which is intended to test if a computer has achieved human level sentience. He also helped design the ACE (Automatic Computing Engine) which was the first computer built in Great Britain. Turing's numerous accomplishments have lead many to declare him the father of the fields of computer science and artificial intelligence.

Tragically, Alan Turing was convicted for committing "homosexual acts" and sentenced to probation as well as chemical castration. This punishment is thought to have led to him committing suicide in 1954 at the age of 41.

Lynn Conway is a computer engineer who first worked at IBM, but was fired in 1968 when she under went transitional surgery. She is credited with having developed numerous computer science innovations, whose names make no sense to me, such as generalised dynamic instruction handling and Mead & Conway revolution in VLSI design.

Mary Ann Horton is a computer scientist and trans activist whose innovations aided the developement of Usenet and later the Internet itself.

Sophie Wilson is a trans woman who designed the Acorn Micro Computer.

Audrey Tang, who transitioned from a man to a woman in 2005, is a Taiwanese free software programmer, who taught herself Perl at age 12 and is considered to be one of the "ten greats of Taiwanese computing."

Kate Craig-Wood is a British innovater, co-founder and managing director of Memset, the first British carbon neutral ISP. She is a proponent of greater energy efficiency in electronic technology. Kate Craig-Wood transitioned in 2005.

9 - Christianity
Queer to thank: Alexander the Great
Honorable Mentions: Desideririus Erasmus, Théodore de Bèze, King James I

The exploits of Alexander the Great, who was lovers with Hephaestion, are legendary. Most people know that he conquered "The Known World" spreading Greek Culture as he went. What many people, outside of historians, are not so aware of is that the Hellenization (as Alexander's spread of Greek Culture is referred to) later helped ease the subsequent growth and spread of Christianity.

Desideririus Erasmus was the controversial writer/editor behind several influential editions of both the Old and New Testaments. Erasmus's writings also included many letters to his fellow monk, Servatius Roger, that were highly suggestive and included phrases like, "you are half my soul... I have wooed you both unhappily and relentlessly." Roger's responses were usually more along the lines of, "what is wrong with you?"

Théodore de Bèze was a follower of John Calvin and played an important role in the Protostant Reformation. After the death of John Calvin, Bèze succeded Calvin as the leader of the reformation. Bèze was also criticized for a relationship he had with a young man, Audebert, whom Bèze wrote numerous love poems.

King James I, the man responsible for the King James Bible, had a secret passage that linked his royal bedchambers with those of George Villiers, with whom it was thought that King James I was intimate with. King James I was also rumored/thought to have been intimate with others, including male courtiers, Robert Carr, and Esmé Stewart.

8 - The Great March on Washington, The Civil Rights Movement
Queers to thank: Bayard Rustin
Honorable Mentions: Alain LeRoy Locke, Langston Hughes, Angela Davis, James Baldwin, Alice Walker

Bayard Rustin was the chief organizer behind the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. Rustin was also a highly influential advisor to King and was the individual responsible for convincing King to adopt non-violence as a key strategy. Rustin was open about his sexuality and in 1986 gave a speech entitled "The New Niggers Are Gays".

Other important contributions to the Civil Rights Movement came from Alain LeRoy Locke, Langston Hughes, Angela Davis, James Baldwin, and Alice Walker.

7 - The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, United Nations
Queer to thank: Eleanore Roosevelt

Eleanore Roosevelt chaired the committee that drafted The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which has proven enormously influential on international law and U.N. policy since it was first adopted. Roosevelt also campaigned heavily for the formation of the United Nations and founded the UN Association of the United States for that purpose.

Roosevelt is thought to have been intimate with suffragette Nancy Cook.

6 - [Insert title of any major, significant, or popular work of art here]
Very short list of queers to thank: William Shakespeare, Sapho, Virginia Woolf, Oscar Wilde, Graham Chapin, Cole Porter, James Ivory, Roland Emmerich, Elton John, Langston Hughes, Dee Palmer, Leonardo Da Vinci, Donatello, Michelangelo, Rupaul, Lady Gaga, Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, Lorraine Hansberry, Countee Cullen, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Octavia E. Butler, Billie Holiday, Jacqueline Woodson, Wanda Sykes, Bill T. Jones, Zora Neale Hurston, E. Lynn Harris, Alvin Ailey, Pedro Almodóvar, Charlie Anders, Molly Cutpurse, Candy Darling, Harisu, Dana International, Jeffrey Catherine Jones, Terre Thaemlitz, Pieter-Dirk Uys, Jin Xing, Antonia San Juan, Witi Ihimaera, Bessie Smith, Sylvester James, Walt Whitman

Within early every artistic form, genre, and work, from the highbrow films of James Ivory to the lowbrow sci-fi action pornos of Roland Emmerich, to the pop songs of Lady Gaga, there is probably not a single work of art that does not owe some debt to some LGBTQ individual, somewhere. If a work of art was not created with our direct input, then it was probably somehow inspired by some other work that was.

5 - U.S. Constitution
Queer to thank: Alexander Hamilton
Honorable Mention: Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben

Although the Federalist Papers were written anonymously, historians generally attribute their primary authorship to Alexander Hamilton. The purpose of the Federalist Papers was to argue that the U.S. Constitution should be ratified by the states. Alexander Hamilton was possibly an intimate of John Laurens, to whom Hamilton wrote, "I wish, Dear Laurens, it might be in my power, by action rather than words, to convince you that I love you."

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben was an important military leader in the Revolutionary War, who helped General Washington install discipline into the entire Continental Army. A hero of the American Revolution, Steuben came to America and the aid of General Washington after he was accused of "improper relations" in his homeland of Prussia. Steuben was thought to have been the intimate of John H. Mulligan, William North, and Ben Walker.

4 - Philosophy
Queers to thank: Socrates, Plato
Honorable Mentions: Marsilo Ficino, Francis Bacon, Francesco Algaratti, Goerge Santayana, Gerald Heard, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault, Ram Dass, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Hazel Barnes, Marquis de Sade, Simone de Beauvoir, Allan Bloom, Judith Butler, Alain LeRoy Locke, Peter Gomes, Saint Anselm, Audre Lorde, Jane Addams, Didier Eribon, Raewyn Connell, Deirdre McCloskey

Thales may be credited as being the "first" western Philosopher, but it was Socrates, along with his student Plato, took it to the next level. So radical and offensive were the notions of Socrates to the ancient Athenians, that he was pretty much the Marilyn Manson of their society. After Socrates was put to death following accusations of corrupting the Athenian youth and questioning the existence of the Gods, Plato fled Athens in disgust, before returning to found the original Academia.

Socrates and Plato are also thought to have been lovers, in addition to their relationship of teacher and student. Plato argues in the Symposium that same sex love is the highest form of love of all.

3 - Calculus, Various Mathematical Theories
Queer to thank: Isaac Newton
Honorable Mentions: Andrey Nikolaevich Kolmogorov, Sofia Kovalevskaya, Alan Turing

Granted, Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz developed Calculus at the same time, so maybe Calculus does not owe it's existence to Newton per se. However, Leibniz's and Newton's versions of Calculus differed on several points, so Calculus can be said to at least owe a debt and a hearty thanks to both. Isaac Newton also developed an early way of calculating the roots of a function and made many other independent and significant contributions to the field of Mathematics.

Isaac Newton is believed to have been intimate with Fatio de Duillier and Newton became depressed when Duillier moved out/broke up with him in 1693.

Other important mathematical theories were developed by Andrey Nicolaevich Kolmogorov and Alan Turring.

Anyone who thinks that woman cannot compete with men on the same level with regards to mathematics should read the story of Sofia Kovalevskaya. What makes her notable was that Sofia Kovalevskaya was forbidden from studying mathematics in Russia, due to her gender. Outside of Russia, Sofia Kovalevskaya was forced to obtain alternative means to obtain advanced degrees, as the university where she was studying would not even allow her to audit classes. Her contributions to the field of mathematics include the discover of the Kovalevsky Top and the Cauchy-Kovalevski theorem.

2 - Modern Science
Queers to thank: Isaac Newton
Honorable Mentions: Alexander von Humboldt, Count Justus von Liebig, Alan Turing, Georg Joachim Rheticus

Isaac Newton did not develop calculus on a whim, he did it to help with his work creating the 3 Laws of Physics that bear his name. Newton's theories held until Einstein came along and made everything relative. Physicists and Engineers still rely on Newton's equations in situations involving the macro universe and speed not approaching the speed of light. Furthermore, Einstein could not have developed his theories without the previous work of Newton.

Count Justus von Liebig developed the modern chemistry lab set up that is still used today which will be familiar to anyone who took chemistry in high-school.

1 - Democracy
Queer to thank: Solon of Athens
Honorable Mention: Alexander the Great

Solon of Athens is credited with instituting legal reforms that helped pave the way for the development of democracy in Ancient Athens. Solon was also known to have composed poems expressing his love for boys.

The Hellenization brought about Alexander the Great also helped with the spread of Democracy.

Sources
Keith Stern's "Queers in History, The Comprehnsive Encyclopedia of Historical Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Transgenders"

Wikipedia's
List of transgender people
List of gay, lesbian, or bisexual people

George Washington Carver was gay. . . and other bits of lgbt black history you probably didn't know by Alvin McEwen.

Of the Day (1/4/13)

2013-01-04T20:23:00.001-08:00

The Amazing Sassy

Please note that I have also created a deviantART account where I will be uploading select prints so they can be purchased there. This one being my favorite, is the first available for that service. Clicky Clicky!

Link
The Lesbian Blog That Shut Down the City of Pittsburgh

Historical Queer Poetry
Ghazal from Diwanby by Hafez

OH Cup-bearer, set my glass afire
With the light of wine! oh minstrel, sing:
The world fulfilleth my heart's desire!
Reflected within the goblet's ring
I see the glow of my Love's red cheek,
And scant of wit, ye who fail to seek
The pleasures that wine alone can bring!
Let not the blandishments be checked
That slender beauties lavish on me,
Until in the grace of the cypress decked,
Love shall come like a ruddy pine-tree
He cannot perish whose heart doth hold
The life love breathes - though my days are told,
In the Book of the World lives my constancy.

But when the Day of Reckoning is here,
I fancy little will be the gain
That accrues to the Sheikh for his lawful cheer,
Or to me for the drought forbidden I drain.
The drunken eyes of my comrades shine,
And I too, stretching my hand to the wine,
On the neck of drunkenness loosen the rein.

Oh wind, if thou passest the garden close
Of my heart's dear master, carry for me
The message I send to him, wind that blows!
"Why hast thou thrust from thy memory
My hapless name?" breathe low in his ear;
"Knowest thou not that the day is near
When nor thou nor any shall think on me?"

If with tears, oh Hafiz, thine eyes are wet,
Scatter them round thee like grain, and snare
The Bird of joy when it comes to thy net.
As the tulip shrinks from the cold night air,
So shrank my heart and quailed in the shade;
Oh Song-bird Fortune, the toils are laid,
When shall thy bright wings lie pinioned there?

The heavens' green sea and the bark therein,
The slender bark of the crescent moon,
Are lost in thy bounty's radiant noon,
Vizir and pilgrim, Kawameddin!

Queer Review: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

2013-01-04T07:49:00.000-08:00

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Director: Peter Jackson
Writers: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson. Based upon the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Cast: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Bernard Hill, John Noble, Miranda Otto, John Rhys-Davies, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham, Brad Dourif, Christopher Lee, Bruce Spence, Cate Blanchett, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, Liv Tyler, Karl Urban,

Note: The following review applies to the Extended Edition, as that is what I watched.

Overview
The Return of the King concludes the Lord of the Rings trilogy in a fashion befitting an epic of epic epicness.

Synopsis
Led by the treacherous Gollum (Andy Serkis), Frodo (Elijah Wood) and his trusty servant Samwise (Sean Astin) continue their quest to destroy the one Ring, which will takes them into Mordor where a giant spider called Shelob will be the least of their worries. Meanwhile, Sauron is launching an attack against Gondor, aided by the fact that the city's steward, Denothor (John Noble), has fallen into madness. Thus the task of defending the city falls to the Wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and the currently exiled king Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen).

The Queering
As I did with the previous reviews, I'll just jump into the subtexts. The idea that the one ring is a metaphor for the development of nuclear weaponry during World War II is once again in effect. Given how the whole quest is about the necessity of destroying the one ring, it would appear that Tolkien was trying to warn against the nuclear arms race that would take place during the Cold War. In fact, the idea of limiting power as a necessity for evil to be defeated is omnipresent in The Return of the King, particularly during the scene were Aragorn releases the Dead Army from his service. The Orwellian claim of "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" can be heard in this scene and whenever the one ring attempts to seduce any of the characters.

As for the queer subtexts, I'll start with Pippin (Billy Boyd) as everybody loves Pippin this time around. Merry is understandably devastated when he is forced to part company with Pippin and there are plenty of other scenes that play into the two being a couple. Denethor treats Pippin like a new boy toy after Pippin swears loyalty to him, going so far as to treat Pippin with greater affection than he does his own son Faramir (David Wenham). Of course, the whole battle for Minas Tirith is launched by Sauron because he is mistakenly led to believe that the little hobbit has the ring.

Of course there is also Eowyn who dresses up as a man so she can fight in the battle of Minas Tirith. In doing so, she is partaking in a long tradition of women dressing as men in order to fight in battle. During the Civil War for example, it is estimated that around 400 woman did exactly that. This allows her one of the greatest scenes in the whole trilogy where she teaches Sauron a lesson as to why sexism is not a good element to include in one's defense strategy.

Then there is the relationship between Samwise and Frodo, which ends up enduring in spite of Gollum's attempts to break up the two. Sam not only ends up going mano to mano with the gargantuan spider named Shelob in order to protect Frodo, but ends up being the primary motivator during the trek across Mordor to Mount Doom as well. The scene where the two hobbits cuddle together while Mount Doom erupts around them emphasizes the depth of their relationship, even while Samwise blathers on about his beloved Rosie.

Recommendation
It would be worth traveling all the way to Mount Doom to see this movie, even if one was not going to be rescued by dues ex machina eagles at the end.

The Rating
**** out of ****

Trailer

Want to find a review of a particular work? Check out the Title Index, the archive of all reviews posted listed alphabetically.

Of the Day (1/2/13)

2013-01-02T20:38:00.000-08:00

The Amazing Sassy

Quote
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it"
-George Santayana

Historical Queer Poem
To a Young Fisherman by Jacob Israël de Haan

Your naked feet more tender than a tulip,
A rose less handsome than your ruddy cheeks,
In no other's eyes did I read more replete
Such a boundless hankering for friendship.

Behind us the eternity of the sea,
Above paled grey the everlasting sky,
Drifting on the lonely beach just we
Alone, no other than the sea to pry.

I went to my City, our last day ended.
You sail and fish content, I drift and brood
and find no city refuge nor stiller field.
I am so tired, yet much I have loved,
Forgive me much, ask not what I withstood
And pray I never to your beauty yield.

Of the Day (1/1/13)

2013-01-01T10:10:00.000-08:00

The Amazing Sassy

Links
Bible Beefcake by Jeffery Dennis
Re-Thinking How We View & Discuss STIs by Winter Tashlin

Historical Queer Poem

My Lady by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

My lady, I must implore
forgiveness for keeping still,
if what I meant as tribute
ran contrary to your will.

Please do not reproach me
if the course I have maintained
in the eagerness of my love
left my silence unexplained.

I love you with so much passion,
neither rudeness nor neglect
can explain why I tied my tongue,
yet left my heart unchecked.

The matter to me was simple:
love for you was so strong,
I could see you in my soul
and talk to you all day long.

With this idea in mind,
I lived in utter delight,
pretending my subterfuge
found favor in your sight.

In this strange, ingenious fashion,
I allowed the hope to be mine
that I still might see as human
what I really conceived as divine.

Oh, how mad I became
in my blissful love of you,
for even though feigned, your favor
made all my madness seem true!

How unwisely my ardent love,
which your glorious sun inflamed,
sought to feed upon your brightness,
though the risk of your fire was plain!

Forgive me if, thus emboldened,
I made bold with that sacred fire:
there's no sanctuary secure
when thought's transgressions conspire.

Thus it was I kept indulging
these foolhardy hopes of mine,
enjoying within myself
a happiness sublime.

But now, at your solemn bidding,
this silence I herewith suspend,
for your summons unlocks in me
a respect no time can end.

And, although loving your beauty
is a crime beyond repair,
rather the crime be chastised
than my fervor cease to dare.

With this confession in hand,
I pray, be less stern with me.
Do not condemn to distress
one who fancied bliss so free.

If you blame me for disrespect,
remember, you gave me leave;
thus, if obedience was wrong,
your commanding must be my reprieve.

Let my love be ever doomed
if guilty in its intent,
for loving you is a crime
of which I will never repent.

This much I descry in my feelings--
and more that I cannot explain;
but you, from what I've not said,
may infer what words won't contain.

Queer Review: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

2012-12-31T21:43:00.002-08:00

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Director: Peter Jackson
Writers: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Stephen Sinclair, and Peter Jackson. Based upon the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien
Cast: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Brad Dourif, Bernard Hill, Christopher Lee, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, Miranda Otto, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler, Karl Urban, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham,

Note: As with The Fellowship of the Ring this review applies only to the Extended Editions, since that is the version I have available to watch.

Overview
Peter Jackson's epic translation of the Lord of the Rings to the big screen continues in The Two Towers. As bold and invigorating as The Fellowship of the Ring In this second entry into the trilogy, the subtexts both queer and with World War II are expanded upon.

Synopsis
Following the breaking of the fellowship, Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Samwise (Sean Astin) continue their journey to Mordor, but the dangerous dead marshes force them to accept the help of the traitorous Gollum (Andy Serkis). Meanwhile, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), and Legolas (Orlando Bloom) pursue the band of orcs who had kidnapped Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd). Their pursuit takes them to kingdom of Rohan where they join forces with King Théoden (Bernard Hill) to repeal an invasion of orcs sent by Sarumon (Christopher Lee). Meanwhile, Merry and Pippin attempt to convince Treebeard (John Rhys-Davies) and the other Ents to join in the fight against Sarumon and Sauron.

The Queering
Yes, I love the Lord of the Rings films. Yes, I know that there can be read into them all kinds of problematic pro-war and racist subtexts, although I will be neither exploring nor refuting those here. What I want to talk about are the same subtexts both queer and with regards to World War II that I talked about in the previous entry. So before I lose my head talking about how awesome the special effects/cinematography/acting/direction is, I'll just jump right into that.

In The Two Towers, the relationship between Samwise and Frodo is complicated by the inclusion of Gollum, whose help they are forced to accept. This causes Gollum and Sam to now compete for the attention of Frodo, who is finding the ring an increasingly difficult burden to bear.

Frenemies Gimli and Legolas have bonded now. In an early scene, Legolas shows he's willing to kill anyone who merely threatens Gimli. While a threesome is not in the cards for Sam/Frodo/Gollum, there is now one going on between Gimli, Legolas, and Aragorn. In one scene Eowyn (Miranda Otto), who inexplicably develops the hots for Aragorn, says of Legolas and Gimli, "They fight beside you because they would not be parted from you! Because they love you."

Also regarding Aragorn, with Boromir out of the picture, the future king is now free to bond with King Théoden. Before and during the Battle of Helms Deep, the two appear to be drawing a certain strength from each other as they inspire each other to face the horrors of Sarumon's army.

Then there are the Ents, who have lost their Entwives, who presumably ran off to form some sort of Lesbian Tree Nymph Commune, leaving the Ents to their own devices. Since the Ents are now practicing some rather harsh gender segregation, one wonders exatly what it means for their love lives.

It also made me wonder what exactly Tolkien thought of the United States, given that the Ents reluctance to join in the war against Sauron/Sarumon reflects that of the United States reluctance to fight against the Axis powers. It is only after Treebeard finds out about ~~Pearl Harbor~~ the destruction of Fangorn Forst, that the Ents end up going into battle.

Another parallel from World War II is the way in which Sarumon draws much of his power from his voice, a reflection of the way Hitler could manipulate others through his words and speech. The way he goes about destroying Fangorn Forest was not only an expression of Tolkien's horror at gross industrialization but also mirrors the ways that the NAZI's turned the entirety of the German population and production resources into a singular war machine.

Recommendation
Recommended more highly then the tallest towers in Middle Earth.

The Rating
**** out of ****

Trailer

Want to find a review of a particular work? Check out the Title Index, the archive of all reviews posted listed alphabetically.