Queer Film Blog

Boys Don’t Cry is a 1999 biographical film directed by Kimberly Peirce based on the murder of Brandon Teena. Brandon Teena was a transgender man living in Nebraska who was raped and later murdered by two men, John Lotter and Tom Nissen. As a trans person living in Nebraska, the film and the real-life events that it’s based on hit close to home. This, along with the graphic depictions of rape and acts of violence that are shown in the movie, is why I’m personally not watching this film. So, instead of watching the film and providing a review, I thought I would go into detail about why I am not watching it, showing that sometimes reasons why one doesn’t watch a film can be just as insightful as a film review.       As I mentioned before, Boys Don’t Cry is based on the murder of a transgender man living in Nebraska. Halberstam described the film as having a “decidedly queer and unconventional narrative” that is ascribed to the film's success. However, I don’t see what ...

Milk is a biographical drama film about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California and one of the first in the United States. The film follows his move to San Francisco, his political career, and his ultimate assassination by fellow supervisor Dan White. While some have criticized the film for sanitizing Milk’s life and making him out to be a martyr, many view the film as a wide success. As someone who only knew the baseline information about Milk and his work, I thought the film was interesting and educational. It’s clear that a lot of thought and care was put into this film, from the time it took to actually begin production to the thought-out set design. It was intriguing reading about and then seeing how the producers of the film created a time machine back to when the events of the film occurred. I can’t imagine what it was like for those, like B. Ruby Rich, who were alive during Milk’s work to walk onto set and be transported back to that time. Even though I...

Hedwig and the Angry Inch , directed by J ohn Cameron Mitchell, is a 2001 campy, punk rock musical film based on the off-broadway musical. The film follows Hedwig and their band as they attempt to gain recognition for the songs stolen by their former, albeit too young, lover. When you think of Hedwig and the Angry Inch , you think punk, camp, queer and... Muppets? Although arguably a wild comparison, Hedwig and the Muppets do have a great deal in common. First off, Hedwig is set in the 70s/80s, a time when the Muppets were taking the world by storm. It's no wonder there are visual similarities between the two when they share that time period and most likely draw from the same inspirations of the time. I mean, Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets, is also well known for his musical film with a queer, blonde, extravagant wig-wearing character. Starting to see possible connections? But back to the Muppets. First off, there is the most obvious similarity, one that I'm sure we were al...

Carol is a 2015 film about the relationship between Carol, a soon-to-be-divorced mother, and Therese, a store clerk with hopes of becoming a photographer. The film, set in the 1950s, begins with the two meeting for dinner, then flashing back to the start of their relationship, going through their story until we are back to where we started at the beginning of the film. After its release, the film received high praise and many nominations, although no academy awards. Despite its lack of mainstream recognition, the film was and still is popular among queer circles for its portrayal of lesbian relationships, as well as its subversion of typical lesbian tropes.  For example, despite the age difference between the two characters, the older woman (Carol) isn’t framed as predatory, which is often a trope in lesbian films. Carol actually considers the age gap and is concerned about it. And instead of using her age as a way to control Therese, she listens to what Therese wants. This is an i...