Brian Chow 20017512
Professor Burcu Habibe Baba
GNDS 125: Gender, Race and Popular Culture
February 13, 2020
Reelout Review: Queer Intimacies
Queer Intimacies dedicates itself to portray the diverse kind of relationships queer people engage in by compilating many short films that depicts relationships, sex and connections not just between queer people, but in queer ways. Every short film is unique in that it has its own story, its own set of characters, a distinguishable plot point, different directorial styles, its style, etc. However, there are many common themes that reoccur throughout the screening, emphasizing the set of problems that are specific to the LGBTQ+ community. A recurring theme for films with lesbian protagonists revolves around the very confusing fine line between platonic and romantic love, causing the lead characters to live in uncomfortable situations they feel powerless to overcome. On the other hand, the short films with male leads reflect the negative social constructs of homosexuality that causes men to be unwilling to commit to same-sex romance. All of the short films, whether the protagonist is male or female, depict a sense of loneliness that can specifically attributed to their sexuality. Overall, Queer Intimacies does an exceptional job at articulating the realistic experiences that queer communities struggle through in their pursuit of intimacy.
Queer Intimacies’ best feature is its ability to portray LGBTQ+ relationships for everyone to understand. The short film makes it very easy to draw parallels between each story. The Tragic Fall of Valerie Mallory Finnkerstein and Maybe Today are two different stories based on the same struggle. The female protagonist in both stories have a best friend that the film portrays as heterosexual. Both protagonists want to pursue a romantic relationship with their best/close friend but are scared to ruin their already-existing platonic relationship. Both films then montage various flashbacks to draw a very fine and undistinguishable line between best friends and potential love interest. The Tragic Fall… uses a tool called “Queerbaiting,” which refers to the writers/director attempting to attract an LGBT audience by hinting at same-sex relationships between characters, though they’re never actually consummated (Mitchell). In Valerie’s flashbacks, her friend Ava is seen dancing and smiling with/at Valerie in a very intimate manner. While daydreaming, Valerie daydreams a sexual encounter with Ava. The film then fast-forwards to present-time where Valerie indirectly implies her love interest for Ava and Ava ends their friendship, thus denying the LGBTQ+ a same-sex relationship. In Maybe Today, the unnamed protagonist has similar flashbacks and daydreams as Valerie did in the previous film. However, instead of queerbaiting its audience, the friend turns out to be lesbian as well. Thus, if the protagonist acted faster, she may have gotten the intimacy that she longed for. By combining both films, Queer Intimacies shows the chokehold experience that lesbians experience, where any choice they make seems irrelevant to their outcome. They can admit to their love and end their friendship or hide their feelings and miss their opportunity for romantic intimacy.
Things that Happen in the Bathroom and Amateur Dramatics focus on homosexual male protagonists. In Thing that Happen in the Bathroom, the protagonist invites a man over to have sex with him, but viewers quickly learn that the protagonist wants a romantic relationship with this man. However, the love interest, who expresses himself as much more masculine than the lead character, only comes over to have sex. Viewers also learn that the love interest is bisexual and has had previous sexual encounters with women. When the protagonist is unable to perform sexually, the love interest leaves, and our protagonist suffers through heartbreak for the remainder of the film. Amateur Dramatics focuses on two teenage boys practicing their lines for a theatre audition. After reading Romeo & Juliet lines to each other, sexual tension gradually builds up and they kiss. Afterwards, one of them turns out to have a girlfriend, and the film ends with the two boys pretending like nothing happened between them. Both of these short films address an underlying problem; heteronormativity provides comfort in heterosexuality, to the point where those who do not identify as heterosexual are acting against the norms of society (Ahmed 122). The stigma around homosexual males prevent the love interests in both films to commit to their homosexuality and thus, preventing them from pursuing a romantic relationship with another man. Their actions then lead each protagonist to feeling devastated, heartbroken and confused. Therefore, these movies centered around covert homosexuality successfully articulate the harm that heteronormativity inflicts on young men seeking queer intimacy.
While Queer Intimacies diversifies itself across several intersectional groups, it is clear that all of the short films have one common theme in particular. That is, every protagonist feels lonely, but not due to just any reason; their sexuality is the cause to their tragic experiences. If each protagonist were heterosexual or “normal,” they would not have to suffer the way they do in their respective films. This is definitively the message that the screening expresses. Viewers that identify or do not identify as LGBTQ+ can easily see this, which is a praise to how well Queer Intimacies communicates with its audience.
Queer Intimacies is a fantastic screening that compiles the attempts and tragic failures of queer individuals seeking love. It successfully separates struggles that specific groups have to deal with. The films with lesbian protagonists are centered around the indistinguishable fine line between platonic and romantic love. The films with male leads are centered around the harm that covert homosexuality inflicts on potential lovers. Queer Intimacies also communicates with its audience a common theme that all queer groups go through. The normativity that surrounds heterosexuality is a direct cause of each protagonists’ loneliness. Thus, Queer Intimacies provides a very informative experience by convincingly articulating the struggles that are specific to the LGBTQ+ community.
Works Cited
Ahmed, Sarah. “Being in Question”, Living a Feminist Life. Duke University Press , 2017, read-dukeupress-edu.proxy.queensu.ca/books/book/1933/chapter/191590/Being-in-Question.
Mitchell, Bea. “Queerbaiting: What Is It and Why Is It a Problem?” Pink News, 26 Feb. 2018, http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/02/26/what-is-queerbaiting-everything-you-need-to-know/.
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Reelout 2020 Review 