BlackBrownQueerCZ

     This week's film Pariah was a very moving film. I was able to follow the story clearly the whole way through and really felt for the main character Alike. I was intrigued by some of the cinematic decisions of the film. For example, the use of light or the lack thereof. I noticed that most of the film was very dark in color. In the beginning of the film, I believe it opened with Alike and Laura at a club. Even in Alike's home, it lighting was always dark. Only when Alike was performing her writing to the class or to her teacher was there light. Also, there was light in the last scene when Alike was on the bus leaving for her summer writing program.     In class, my breakout room and I discussed Pariah in relation to an article by Caleb Luna. We focused on topic of being unlovable and how falling in love when queer is dangerous. These ideas were reaffirmed by the actions of the church girl who practically "used" Alike without expressing upfront that she was s...

    I remember stumbling on the movie Tangerine years ago. At that time, I had only watched about 20 minutes of it before giving up. To be honest, when I first attempted watching it, I thought the storyline was insane, I wasn't too fond of the acting, nor was I fond of how the film was shot. Looking back, I should've definitely given it more of a chance.  I'm glad to have been to able to watch it the whole way through this time as I wouldn't have been able to appreciate the beauty and culture of this film otherwise.      The film was really funny althroughout. At first I didn't really understand the role of the cab driver. Having gotten to the end, I now know the weight of his role. The cab driver represents the many men out there who fetishize transgender women while trying to maintain their "normal", standard lifestyle. I found the scene where the cab driver pushed the prostitute out of his car after finding out she does not have a penis really disturbin...

     This week's film Paris is Burning was really interesting. During Tuesday's class, my classmates brought up some really interesting points that I hadn't considered. Initially, my reaction towards Paris is Burning was  that I was happy for the fact that the LGBTQ, black, and brown communities were gaining recognition and exposure through this film. In addition, being someone that had no prior knowledge of ball culture, it was really insightful. During Tuesday's class, there was a lot of discussion around the movie not providing an accurate representation of black and queer communities during this time. Specifically, the negative aspects of ball culture such as the problem of AIDS and prostitution, the residents of the house not having attainable goals, etc. While I definitely felt that those things were important to discuss, I don't know how different of a vibe the movie would've had if it had discussed those issues. I, personally, just enjoyed learning abou...

 I really enjoyed this week's film. Though it was a bit slower spaced than what I am used to, I found myself very intrigued with the story the entire way through. There are many challenaging though necessary aspects to consider with this film; gender, sexuality, and race. Something that made it difficult for me was the idea that the boy thought that he needed to have straight hair in order to pursue his dream of being a singer. I find it fascinating how much media influences our appearance and it was hard to see how obsessive the boy was at such a young over something that genetically out of his control. The contrast between the grandmother and the mother was both refreshing but also difficult to watch. I loved that the grandmother allowed the boy to straighten his hair and almost encouraged him to be as feminine as he wanted. It really combatted the treatment he was getting at home with his mother. Though, I can only imagine how confusing this must've been for a growing young ...