Tying the Knot

In a little over a week, the CA Supreme Court will hear oral arguments about the validity of Prop 8. Since the election last November, the GLBT community and our allies have mobilized in unprecedented ways - protests, rallies, marches, vigils, demonstrations, boycotts, viral videos, blogs, conversations, the white knots, people coming out of the closet, straight people postponing their own marriage until the right is granted to all - the commitment, energy, and passion toward this effort has been incredible. Of course, we all know that the decision of the CA Supreme Court will be huge - setting an example, good or bad, for the rest of the country and the world.

On Wednesday, March 4, the evening before the Supreme Court's hearing, there will be events all over California to send a unifying message that equality should not be up for a popular vote, and that the purpose of the constitution is to protect minorities and to make sure that the law treats everyone fairly. You can check out The Eve of Justice website for more info. I plan to go to the demonstration here in downtown L.A.

Also, a short little plug for Milk, which won two Academy Awards last night - the DVD is now on pre-order from Wolfe Video. Yes, you can buy the film at your local Walmart (oh, but dear God - why??), but if you want to support a small, independent, queer-owned business (who in turn supports filmmakers like me), I recommend buying it from Wolfe!

Related posts:
MILK - does a body good
And the fight continues
I believe
The Right Side of History

Where the Future Meets the Past

The technology craze is getting crazier - that much is obvious. I learned the other day that Google launched a new service called Latitude, which allows you to keep track of your family and friends' whereabouts on a map using certain smart phones.


My first thought is - "Why the hell does anyone really care?" It seems pointless, excessive, and yes, a little creepy. But these odd trends fascinate me. Technology has always scared people because they fear it will change us. They fear it will dehumanize and depersonalize us, while giving more control to those in power and less to the rest of us. But in fact, we're ending up with the exact opposite.

We've long since feared that Big Brother would be watching us - little did we know that it would be us watching each other, and the participants would enjoy partaking. Our voyeuristic and exhibitionistic desires are being fed in the most obscure and trivial ways. Your virtual map shows you that John's at work; now he's on his way home. Then you log on to Facebook and John tells you what he ate for lunch, how much traffic was on the freeway, and what he's watching on TV tonight.

But regardless of the uselessness of the information, and the oddity of our attraction to it, it's amazing how technology is mirroring our democracy - not impeding it. The government doesn't really care where you are or what you're doing (if you're law-abiding), but your friends do. And the government can't keep capitalism from putting all the power you need in your own palm. It's something we invent for ourselves - by the people for the people. And whether I like it or not, there's something beautiful in that.

When I discovered the internet in 1995, anonymity seemed to be a big draw. You needed a screen name just to log on to AOL and access the internet; it was as if it was a mandate that you be anonymous. After all, wasn't part of the fun being anonymous? To say what you want and then walk away as if it didn't really happen; it wasn't really you; it didn't really mean anything.

But as the internet matured, so did we. We decided that we didn't want to live in a virtual vacuum. Some of us do, but many of us don't, not all the time. Myspace, Facebook, YouTube, blogs - it seems that the fantasy of being anonymous is surpassed only by the fantasy of being known.

But I don't think it all boils down to everybody getting their "15 minutes of fame." I believe that many people actually do want to connect, in a real and legitimate way, to other people. In this way, I see technology as something that does not change us, but something that preserves us. Communication, information, and entertainment have been around since the cavemen days. We are not reinventing ourselves - we're just getting better at doing these things.

So instead of your cave friends telling you they will be on the other side of the hill, thanks to Google's Latitude, we can see the data right in front of us. I don't know if we need to. I don't know if we should want to. But the urge to connect, to know, to band together as a community, virtual or not, remains the same.

Freedom to Marry

Happy Freedom to Marry Week! I realize it is the end of the week and all, but it doesn't officially end until tommorrow. I first heard about because my friends Leah and Brenda got married in California last October, and they have been busy writing personal and political posts on the topic.

I also saw a very touching video put out by the Courage Campaign in response to the CA lawsuit that would forcibly divorce the 18,000 same-sex couples that were married last year before the passage of Prop 8. It features one of my favorite songs from Regina Spektor, and put together with the photo montage, it's just beautiful.



I hope you will sign the petition on the Courage Campaign website in support of same-sex couples at www.couragecampaign.org/divorce

Also, just in time for Valentine's Day, Ariztical Entertainment had me edit a video montage for them that features the best on-screen queer kisses from their collection. Check it out below -

Sundance Wrap-up

(If you want to read all my Sundance 2009 posts, click here and scroll down)

When I drove back home from Park City, it was the first time I saw Utah in the light. I don't know if the pictures quite capture it, but it really was beautiful.




Two other movies I would have liked to have seen while I was in town are I Love You Phillip Morris and Humpday.


In Phillip Morris, Jim Carrey plays a gay sociopath (OK, so maybe not the media attention we're looking for, but it does sound intriguing) with Ewan McGregor as his love interest. I read that there is a graphic sex scene in the first 10 minutes. And, interestingly enough, the film is described as a light and farcical dark comedy.

I actually really like Jim Carrey's repertoire outside of his Ace Ventura-esque comedies. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of my favorites, and The Truman Show is another one that easily makes my top ten.


Humpday is affectionately called a "bromance" film, where two straight dudes decide to make a gay porno. OK, so it sounds like cheap entertainment (not that there's anything wrong with that). There aren't any name actors in it and the pic from the movie that Sundance advertised on their site is awful (could it really be any worse? It's like a double mug shot). But it seemed to be one of the most talked about movies while I was there, and I am convinced that this must be a great movie - funny, great character depth, exploring the nuances of sexuality, etc. After I found out that it was directed by a woman, I was even more intrigued. I'm sure Sundance selected the film based on its original thematic elements, but if it really is just two dudes trying to go at it, then that's good enough for me. Even if they do look like they need a shower and a personality makeover. What can I say - I'm easy.

Sundance Day #4

Today was my last day in Park City. I started the day off by going to two panels at New Frontier - "Web Content - Where are the Big Ideas for Small Screens?" and "Meet the Sundance Filmmakers."



In the second panel, three different filmmakers showed clips from their movies and talked about them. One film in particular that I would have loved to have seen but it was sold out was the documentary We Live in Public, which went on to win the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary.


It was shot over a 10 year span of various people living their lives in front of the camera, and edited from over 5,000 hours of footage (doing the math, I figured that it would take you over 208 days, 24 hours a day, just to watch all the footage!). More than just exploitative reality entertainment, the film serves as a cautionary tale to the role that technology plays in our lives.

After that, I caught the last half of a panel at Queer Lounge called "Navigating Hollywood with GLBT Content." They showed the trailer for a new lifetime movie with Sigourney Weaver called Prayers for Bobby which is based on a true story of a gay rights crusader whose teenage son committed suicide due to her religious intolerance.


Despite the generic-feeling of the plot, I actually got teary eyed just from watching the trailer! (although I made sure that none of my fellow butches saw me)

After that, I went to a shorts screening at New Frontier called Lunch Films (not officially part of the Sundance programming - just an event that one of the Sundance lounges sponsored). The idea behind Lunch Films is basically that a filmmaker is taken out to lunch, and in return he/she makes a short film for the cost of the lunch. Rules and inspirations are written out on a napkin contract. I don't know if the films have to be experimental or not, but all of them were; a few were quite good, others were...I don't want to say horrible, but well - not that enjoyable. But I love the concept of Lunch Films, and that the founder spends his own money commissioning films on a budget. He tours around the country with his collection, screening it at various theaters.


That evening, I had two Sundance screenings to attend - a shorts program and Helen, a feature staring Ashley Judd, whose character deals with severe depression.


Although I can appreciate a good gut-wrenching movie, it just didn't grab me and pull me in the way I think it should have. I found the movie a little boring, like it was a one-note tune playing over and over (i.e. she's depressed and it sucks). However, during the Q&A I could tell that many people in the audience were very affected by it. It reminded me of the movie When a Man Loves a Woman where Meg Ryan plays an alcoholic, although I thought that movie was much more powerful.

Sundance and Slamdance - Day #3

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