Frameline 2011: Thursday
Jun. 24th, 2011 06:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nakedbeeFrameline 2011: Thursday
Movies movies movies!
Note: plot summaries and promotional images again shamelessly lifted from Frameline. Check out the festival website and/or websearch the film's titles for more info.
Queertoons
A wonderful collection of both enchanting and downright hilarious animated films.
Most awesome: The Girl Bunnies: BIG TREE
Honorable mentions: White Paper, Truth Takes Time, and Cankered and Cursed
The latest installment of Girl Bunnies was super cute, as always. I really love the soundtrack. With a bit of webstalking I find that the director creates the music first, then the story. Very cool!
Who's the Top?
Jennie Livingston’s short is an eccentric musical comedy focusing on the waning passion in Alixe and Gwen’s relationship.
I always seem to love musicals and this was no exception. I felt like this short would be right at home in some fannish meta on female desire, especially a discussion about non-con fantasies. Also, it had dancing girls with antennae. Very cool!
Paris is Burning
Dip back into LGBT history with a retrospective screening of seminal documentary Paris is Burning. Between 1987 and 1989, director Jennie Livingston documented the lives of gay and trans performers, mostly black or Latino, who compete in New York City’s balls and dream of achieving celebrity status. Visually striking with an intensely saturated color palate and gorgeous film grain, Paris is Burning is a profound record of an inspiring moment in time and an underrepresented culture.
Livingston’s film shows that drag performance is far more complex than an exaggeration of gender—the subjects in this documentary rely on ball culture to deconstruct race, class, and homophobia as well. Through intimate interviews and winding monologues, we learn the real life experiences of a variety of performers. The subjects’ willingness to speak candidly and thoroughly about their identities, experiences, and goals helps to shed light on a burgeoning subculture from the late 80s that was largely ignored by the straight world and the white gay mainstream. Before Madonna, before Glee, there was Paris is Burning.
I can see why this documentary was such a big deal when it came out. Rather than tackle any of that, though, I want to talk about how I spent a lot of time during the movie thinking about the parallels between ball culture and slash fandom: the founding mothers with their jaded opinions about the young whipper snappers of today, the current legendary children (i.e., BNFs) at the top of their game garnering attention from the mainstream, and the vast explosion with the internet generation who build on what came before in fierce new ways but with almost no visibility of how far back the roots go. Attitudes, jargon, fads, community norms, change … it all felt so familiar, you know?
The Rescue
Looking for a new boyfriend? Why not adopt? You’ve got lots of boyfriends to choose from, if you’ve got a good home and an open heart.
This short was very cute; playful and clever and sweet. The story was cute enough to exist on its own, but using an actual kennel as the set for the "Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Boyfriends" shelter really boosted the humor. Yay!
eCupid
Having relationship troubles? There’s an app for that! Marshall thought that he would have it all by now, but on the verge of his 30th birthday he’s still trapped in the same dead-end job with a serious case of seven year itch with his boyfriend, Gabe. He stumbles upon a peculiar app late one night called “eCupid,” that promises him true love.
This was pure marshmallow fluff. Nothing objectionable, but also nothing particularly funny or exciting either. I thought the random frat boy did a great job with his small part, but it only highlighted how plastic everyone else was. Oh well. I think I was intrigued by the modern-tech twist on the old love potion plot and got my expectations set too high.
Becoming Chaz
Growing up with famous parents, constantly in the public eye would be hard for anyone. Now imagine that all those images people have seen of you are lies about how you actually felt. Chaz Bono grew up as Sonny and Cher’s adorable golden-haired daughter and felt trapped in a female shell. Becoming Chaz is a bracingly intimate portrait of a person in transition and the relationships that must evolve with him.
This was fine, really, but I think it suffers a little in comparison to Chely's story from last night. The documentary just didn't reach the same highs or go through the same darkness as the other. I do applaud Chaz for using his "fame-adjacency" to promote understanding of gender transition. That is important work and the film is certainly a much-needed addition to the canon of films that tell trans-people's own stories and provide role models for their families and friends. Chaz's girlfriend Jenny in particular seems like a pretty cool person; really brave and honest.
Movies movies movies!
Note: plot summaries and promotional images again shamelessly lifted from Frameline. Check out the festival website and/or websearch the film's titles for more info.
Queertoons
A wonderful collection of both enchanting and downright hilarious animated films.
Most awesome: The Girl Bunnies: BIG TREE
Honorable mentions: White Paper, Truth Takes Time, and Cankered and Cursed
The latest installment of Girl Bunnies was super cute, as always. I really love the soundtrack. With a bit of webstalking I find that the director creates the music first, then the story. Very cool!
Who's the Top?
Jennie Livingston’s short is an eccentric musical comedy focusing on the waning passion in Alixe and Gwen’s relationship.
I always seem to love musicals and this was no exception. I felt like this short would be right at home in some fannish meta on female desire, especially a discussion about non-con fantasies. Also, it had dancing girls with antennae. Very cool!
Paris is Burning
Dip back into LGBT history with a retrospective screening of seminal documentary Paris is Burning. Between 1987 and 1989, director Jennie Livingston documented the lives of gay and trans performers, mostly black or Latino, who compete in New York City’s balls and dream of achieving celebrity status. Visually striking with an intensely saturated color palate and gorgeous film grain, Paris is Burning is a profound record of an inspiring moment in time and an underrepresented culture.
Livingston’s film shows that drag performance is far more complex than an exaggeration of gender—the subjects in this documentary rely on ball culture to deconstruct race, class, and homophobia as well. Through intimate interviews and winding monologues, we learn the real life experiences of a variety of performers. The subjects’ willingness to speak candidly and thoroughly about their identities, experiences, and goals helps to shed light on a burgeoning subculture from the late 80s that was largely ignored by the straight world and the white gay mainstream. Before Madonna, before Glee, there was Paris is Burning.
I can see why this documentary was such a big deal when it came out. Rather than tackle any of that, though, I want to talk about how I spent a lot of time during the movie thinking about the parallels between ball culture and slash fandom: the founding mothers with their jaded opinions about the young whipper snappers of today, the current legendary children (i.e., BNFs) at the top of their game garnering attention from the mainstream, and the vast explosion with the internet generation who build on what came before in fierce new ways but with almost no visibility of how far back the roots go. Attitudes, jargon, fads, community norms, change … it all felt so familiar, you know?
The Rescue
Looking for a new boyfriend? Why not adopt? You’ve got lots of boyfriends to choose from, if you’ve got a good home and an open heart.
This short was very cute; playful and clever and sweet. The story was cute enough to exist on its own, but using an actual kennel as the set for the "Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Boyfriends" shelter really boosted the humor. Yay!
eCupid
Having relationship troubles? There’s an app for that! Marshall thought that he would have it all by now, but on the verge of his 30th birthday he’s still trapped in the same dead-end job with a serious case of seven year itch with his boyfriend, Gabe. He stumbles upon a peculiar app late one night called “eCupid,” that promises him true love.
This was pure marshmallow fluff. Nothing objectionable, but also nothing particularly funny or exciting either. I thought the random frat boy did a great job with his small part, but it only highlighted how plastic everyone else was. Oh well. I think I was intrigued by the modern-tech twist on the old love potion plot and got my expectations set too high.
Becoming Chaz
Growing up with famous parents, constantly in the public eye would be hard for anyone. Now imagine that all those images people have seen of you are lies about how you actually felt. Chaz Bono grew up as Sonny and Cher’s adorable golden-haired daughter and felt trapped in a female shell. Becoming Chaz is a bracingly intimate portrait of a person in transition and the relationships that must evolve with him.
This was fine, really, but I think it suffers a little in comparison to Chely's story from last night. The documentary just didn't reach the same highs or go through the same darkness as the other. I do applaud Chaz for using his "fame-adjacency" to promote understanding of gender transition. That is important work and the film is certainly a much-needed addition to the canon of films that tell trans-people's own stories and provide role models for their families and friends. Chaz's girlfriend Jenny in particular seems like a pretty cool person; really brave and honest.