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 Rhys Ernst's short film 'The Thing' So we all know that Salt Lake City was awarded the “gayest” city by The Advocate, but friends, as a current resident in SLC who just moved back from Portland, I can tell you that just isn’t true! However, Salt Lake City does occassionally step up its “cool” factor, such as every January when Salt Lake City and Park City host the Sundance Film Festival. This is the time of year where pretty much everyone I know braves the snow and goes up to Park City in the hopes of sighting celebrities in town for the festival. Sundance is a place where independent artists can present their stories free of the commercial pressure of the mainstream movie industry. Many Sundance movies are then picked up by larger distributors and re-released into theaters, such as last year’s Sundance queer favorite, Pariah.
Being a poor, unemployed college student I didn’t make it to many Sundance movies this year, (which can quickly become expensive at $15 a pop!) but here are some queer movies from this years film festival to watch out for:
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  In his new book, Francois Cusset says that: “We need to learn to take the text, turn it over, penetrate it, play with its sex, slip ours into it, follow it to the end of its fine ambivalence, and force it along the way to assume a position.” Finally a writer who shares the same queer biblio-lust as myself! With The Inverted Gaze: Queering the French Literary Classics in America, Cusset presents a new addition to the study of queer theory, dissecting the French literary classics from the point of view of what Cusset calls a “QC” or queer critic.
It must be noted that this is not a book for the faint of heart and is a highly academic read. I have read a few authors who belong to the French canon that Cusset discusses (most notably Proust and Balzac) but I was not nearly as familiar as I would like to be with the authors and works discussed. I think this book would be most enjoyed by someone who is well versed in the French literary canon. I could also see it being a valuable resource in an academic setting for a class about queer theory, especially in regards to French texts.
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  Thursdays march stretched nearly the entire circuitous route from the Waterfront to pioneer square. Photo by Allison Johnson qPDX contributor Nicole McDonald was part of last Thursday’s Occupy Portland beginnings. These are some of her thoughts and pictures experiencing one of the country’s largest “Wall Street protests.”
Thursday’s Occupy Portland protest and rally was one of the largest Occupy Wall Street protests in the nation with a count of around 5,000 people. I was one of the 5,000 people in attendance at the rally and march because I consider myself to be one of the 99%. I chose to protest because last year I applied for over 200 jobs and it took me seven months to get hired at a job that was more than 6 hours a week. I also chose to protest because although I want to go back to school and finish my college degree, I can’t really afford it and am not sure if getting a degree will pay off in today’s economy. The future looks scary for many people that I know. I have several friends and family members who have been laid off of their jobs or feel unable to leave their current positions because of the economic situation. In Portland especially I think people have been hit really hard with all of these things.
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  One of Thursday night’s screenings for the PLGFF was Gun Hill Road by writer-director Rashaad Ernesto Green. The film opens with Enrique, a husband and father, returning home to the Bronx after three years in prison. During his absence he finds that the family he used to know has changed. Not only has his wife, Angela, had an affair with another man but his teenage son, Michael, has started to experiment with his gender identity. Michael dresses up as a woman and wants to have surgery to become fully transitioned.
Although Michael never confronts Enrique about the transformation he wants to make, Enrique has suspicions and discovers it anyway. This challenges Enrique’s ideals about what it means to be a man and what it means for him personally to have raised a son that wants to be a woman. He deals with these challenges from his family and with the challenge of getting out of prison by becoming involved in the same kinds of skirmishes that probably put him in jail. Meanwhile, Angela struggles with breaking off her affair. Though she is supportive and protective of Michael, she seems somewhat oblivious to the transition Michael wants to make.
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  Put This on the Map is a documentary featuring 26 different LGBTQ youth living in East King County. In the film the youth speak about what it means to be LGBTQ and discuss both gender expression and sexual orientation. One of the things I enjoyed most about the film was that youth from across the LGBTQ spectrum were included. We get to hear from youth that identify as trans, gender queer, bisexual, lesbian and gay. They talk about their experiences with bullying, their families, coming out, school, friends, their relationships, and their hopes for the future.
The film offers good basic information but is a little too after school special-esque. It doesn’t really delve into any specific topic as the experiences of so many youth are touched on.
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  Mike Hartman, of Eagle Creek. Of course the cowboy is from Oregon. A new PBS production featuring queer Americans called OUT in America will premiere nationally in June to coincide with National Gay & Lesbian Pride month but Oregonians get a sneak peek on OPB this Thursday.
The documentary is directed by Emmy award-winning director Andrew Goldberg. It examines the stories of queer individuals against the backdrop of public milestones within the LGBT community for the past 50 years. OUT touches upon such issues as the importance of coming out and speaking up for one’s rights. It is a positive, humorous, inspirational, and both heartwarming and heartbreaking portrayal of queer life in America.
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  Tristan Taormino Well known sex writer, columnist, and pornographic film director Tristan Taormino was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at Oregon State University’s upcoming Modern Sex Conference in February. Taormino is the well known author of such books as The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women and the series editor for fourteen volumes of Best Lesbian Erotica. She is also an advocate of non-monogamy and has written the book Opening Up: Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships.
However, just last week OSU cancelled Taormino’s visit to the school because the school administration said it wouldn’t pay Taormino to come speak because she is a pornographer.
Money to pay for Taormino’s visit, (about 3,000 dollars) came from the school’s general fund which is public money paid into by statewide taxpayers.
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  'The Kids are All Right' GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) announed their nominees this past week for the 2011 Media Awards. GLAAD gives the awards to honor fair and inclusive media portrayals of the LGBT community. The GLAAD awards bring together leaders and members of the LGBT community,straight allies, media professionals, and celebrities.
Some of the categories include film, TV dramas, comedy series, music, documentary, reality shows, newspaper columnists, outstanding overall newspaper coverage, magazine articles, digital journalism, blogs, New York theater, LA theater, and comic books.
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