Ballyhoo!

A few weeks ago, and yes.. I should have posted about it long before now, I was asked to present the film Dog Day Afternoon at the National Portrait Gallery as part of their Ballhoo! exhibit.

It was incredible fun, especially as it gave me an opportunity to look back at one of the finest moments in queer cinema - and reflect on how things have changed.
Well, in my honest opinion, things have not gotten much better, and I don't see queer cinema ever living up to the early heights achieved by Derek Jarman, Gus Van Sant, et al.

From my perch in a little office in Dupont Circle, we are seemingly close to winning the culture wars. I receive daily missives from all the big guns - HRC, NGLTF, Victory Fund, Stein Club, SLDN. At the very least, we've certainly made great strides in getting issues of importance to the LGBT community out in front of the electorate. The majority of folks believe we should have some sort of marriage rights, presidential candidates are forced to take a stand on the issue, there are congressional hearings on Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and gay adoption is on the rise.
Not to mention the standing room only lines at City Halls throughout California.

And I say hooray and huzzah for every single person who has reaped the benefit of these organizations' hard work.

To the newly married - salud!
Stroller shopping right now and painting the nursery? - Mazel tov and congratulations on undertaking a rigorous and expensive process that the straights are allowed to engage in with abandon!
Recently discharged and battling for benefits? I offer you every bit of courage I have so that you can fight the hypocrisy of a government that will allow you to fight, but not to love (sorry.. sounds a bit Hallmark-y, doesn't it?)

But... and here's the rub for me... as much as I applaud the progress made in the civil rights struggle for gay equality, I'm afraid that it doesn't make for good cinema.
Yes, I know.. call me shallow...

Great cinema comes from struggle, from oppression. The best films center on an act of rebellion - whether it's an epic morality tale (The Godfather) or the simple act of playing hooky(Ferris Bueller's Day Off).

Even the fluffiest of films - I'm looking at you, SATC - have at their very heart and soul a conflict.

And I'm afraid that as we wend our way into the mainstream politically, we will lose some of that inherent drama. Sure.. no one wants to go back to the days of a dead lesbian in every film, or the bleak futility of Cruising.
But there are maybe two films, out of all that I reviewed, that harkened back to that sense of urgency when we truly felt that our existence depended on getting our stories out there. There was a sense - horrible and heady - that we were under attack and we looked to art as our saviour. It was the only outlet we had. We certainly weren't, until Act Up and other activist groups pushed the issue, allowed to engage in any meaningful public discourse.
Now that we're at the table, we're not in a darkened editing booth.

Don't get me wrong... I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the fact that we (festival spoiler here!) are showing Gays Gone Wild - Another Gay Sequel. When I previewed the film, I rolled on the floor laughing. At times, I begged someone to turn it off - it is one of the most disgustingly funny films I've ever seen.



But I'm equally happy that we're showing Bruce LaBruce's Otto, or Up with Dead People.
LaBruce always takes chance - and while he pushes many of the same buttons that Todd Stephens does, there's an underlying pathos that resonates with me.

There's a place in the world - and Reel Affirmations - for both of these films.
I just wish there was a bit more grit and a little less fluff.