The Doom Generation
“A heterosexual movie by Gregg Araki,” The Doom Generation’s opening credits read. It’s the first of many jokes for Araki’s first film with a crew, shot for $1 million in January of 1994. None of the humor is apathetic, though. It’s like its characters in that way: caustic, yes, even to a fault at points. But the kids at the center of The Doom Generation aren’t apathetic, at least not at the beginning. They’re a conceptual trio of id, ego, and superego filtered through Araki’s lens to serve the narrative, an anti-American mind due to their identities and personal lives. But as they realize their selves individually and as a whole, their heterosexual, monogamous environment relegates them to sameness. Continue Reading →
The Sixth Reel
Charles Busch writes, directs, and stars in a delightful, frantic, thoughtful picture about the hunt for a lost film.
(This review is part of our 2021 coverage of Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival)
What to do with one’s final reel? Legendary drag performer Charles Busch and longtime collaborator Carl Andress have made a picture that brings heart and humor to issues of restoration and romance. The Sixth Reel is a loving ode to old movies, their material remains, the necessity of their preservation. It’s also a gentle rhapsody about growing older and facing the final act of one’s life. Continue Reading →
Pride
NetworkFX,
SimilarHakata Tonkotsu Ramens, Stay With Me,
Despite it being mid-May, the first signs of summer are already upon us. No, I’m not talking about rising temperatures or the release of tentpole blockbusters, I’m talking about my local PetSmart setting up its pride section. In recent years, gay pride month has gone from niche celebration to a new sort of corporate holiday, with major brands such as Target, McDonald’s, and the aforementioned PetSmart creating advertisements and apolitical merchandise designed to invoke a sort of fun that’s a far cry from the anger that sparked the Stonewall riots. (And let’s not forget how many corporations spend money on both pride floats and homophobic politicians.) Continue Reading →