The queer immersion that I
participated in was watching two different documentaries. One documentary was
on LGBT youth in Tulsa, Oklahoma and the other was on LGBT members in Lawrence,
Kansas. The documentary on LGBT youth in Tulsa is centered around what their
lives look like now that they have come out. The other film is on the lives of
LGBT people in Lawrence while they were trying to get “sexual orientation”
added into civil rights city ordinances. Both of these films depict what it is
like to live in states where religion is important and where homophobia is prevalent.
These films reinforced themes that we have addressed in this class, firstly it
addresses the need for queer people to obtain protection from oppression and
secondly, it reinforced the uses of anger in the fight for queer justice.
The first documentary was called “Misfits,”
and it told the stories of 3 queer teenagers in Tulsa, Oklahoma. These teens
had already come out to their family and we’re all a part of a LGBT support
group. Although, they share these commonalities, how their sexual orientation
effected their interactions with world happened very differently. One girl was
a 17 year old lesbian, named Larissa, that had been kicked out of her house
when she came out. She has lived with her girlfriend ever since. Ben was a 19
year old gay youth that experienced mixed responses when he came out to his
family. However, all of his immediate family has come around to accept his
sexual orientation and he still lives at home with them while he works at a
bagel shop. The last person is 16 year old D who is pansexual and deals with a
history of abuse. All of these kids hold a certain aspect of anger and
frustration for the world around them. They take their anger towards the world
for not accepting them for who they are, and turn it into a fierce pride in
their identity. This reminded me of Audre Lorde’s “Uses of Anger,” she says, “I
have sucked the wolf’s lip of anger and have used it for illumination,
laughter, protection fire, in a places where there was no light, no food, no
sisters, no quarter.” (133)
The second documentary is called “Shades of
Grey” emphasizes the importance for protection for LGBT people in government.
It addresses the deep hatred for queer people within conservative Christianity
and therefore shines light on the importance of ensuring that LGBTQIA+ be
supported. One quote that I found hard to hear was when a pastor they were
interviewing said “If you live like Matthew Shepard, you’re apt to die like
Matthew Shepard.” This quote sheds light on the fact that some people would
still be pleased to see violence done towards queer people and may even feel
compelled to act violently. This quote explains the need for Simply Equal, the
city ordinance they were trying to pass in Lawrence. Although, I acknowledge
that civil rights laws don’t erase oppression towards queer people but it does
grant some level of power and protection to them. The people that were
interviewed did not sound very hopeful that they would largely be accepted as
queer in Kansas, they made it seem like this small ordinance would be a big
deal if it passed. This reminded me of Belize’s line from Angels of America,
she says, “The white cracker who wrote the National Anthem knew what he was
doing. He set the word ‘free’ to a note so high nobody can reach it.” The idea
that one small ordinance seemed far fetched to many people, reminded me of the
importance of queer resistance. Simply Equal did end up passing and this small
battle being own reminded me of the importance of community to fight for
justice for the queer community.
Overall, through this experience I’ve been
reminded of the importance of community. The community of Lawrence took action
to give queer people protection through city government. While teens in Tulsa
turned to their LGBT community and/or their close friends and family to find
pride in who they are. These films compelled their viewers to fight for and
support their LGBT community.
Shades of Gray. Dir. Tim DePaepe. Seventh Art Releasing,
2001. Kanopy. Web. 6 Dec. 2018.
Misfits. Dir. Jannik Splidsboel. Digital Media Rights, 2015.
Kanopy. Web. 6 Dec. 2018.
Thank you for this post. I'm glad you found these documentaries to view--they strike me as vivid and compelling ones that fit well with our course focus!
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