The Gay Thread

[Dex]

Originally Posted by becca

Dex, we've seen marches turn into parades, but there's also been a period of the word 'liberal' becoming a name-calling slur.

Mark Twain said something to the effect that history doesn't repeat but it usually rhymes. If you look into Berlin in the 1920s-30s during the Weimar republic things were very open and accepting but a lot of angry name-callers wanted to re-fight some old battles they'd lost yet again. There's even photos of the club called Eldorado with it's 'hier ist's richtig' slogan redone over as a nazi party office! Everyone who cares about freedom has to watch for actions more than words, but things always start with the words. My great uncle in Holland organized some labour stikes when people were being marched away and paid the ultimate price. It shows how things snowball when many people 'don't want to know'.

Cabaret should be classified as a gay film being based on Christopher Isherwood's I Am A Camera about his time in Berlin. Someone should package it with some good documentaries.

You're right of course, Becca. But although in some circles "Liberal" is a dismissive/pejorative term, in Canada being accepting of same-sex relationships isn't considered "liberal" anymore, it's completely moderate/mainstream, and I think that's what's so powerful and amazing. And I'm from Alberta where the "ugh, liberals" mentality is probably higher than elsewhere in the country. Homophobia was a mainstream view here until well into the 90s, now it's completely on the fringe. At least until you get into Mormon country south of Calgary, but shhhh.

Originally Posted by Autumn Ocean

What are everyone's thoughts on Brokeback Mountain?

I saw Brokeback Mountain when I was too young/stupid to really appreciate a romantic drama like that. It's filmed around where I'm from, so it was a big deal when it was released, but unfortunately my initial reaction was "it's boring" and I haven't seen it since. I need to give it another try. I do think the symbolic significance of having a completely gay romance in the hollywood mainstream with the budget and star power that BM did was an enormous thing for us and I'll always appreciate it for that. But in terms of the film's actual content, unfortunately, I really don't know what I think of it. What do you, Autumn Ocean?