Queer as Folk, Vito, Cuatro Lunas

Watching movies or shows wasn't something I really did until I got to college...and at that point they were limited with respect to LGBTQIA+ representation. 

Netflix would serve as a gateway to shows and films that showcased queer identities and am grateful for their LGBT/Gay category that afforded the opportunity to see myself in at least some capacity in tv/film. 

Queer as Folk
One of the first tv series that I watched that centered on gay men was "Queer as Folk" All through graduate school I watched all 5 seasons. In the show I remember learning so much about LGBT history and had an appreciation of the life the gay community worked through in the not so distant past. In many ways it helped with some polishing of the lens I try to look at sociocultural issues today. I do have to critique the show in that it mostly centered cisgender white gay men with money. Despite that, it allowed me to feel a connection to a "queer community" that I didn't have when I was in Wisconsin. Admittedly I look back at the show and watch episodes here and there and don't feel the same connection I did when I first watched it, that might be because I've found more queer people of color in other tv series that have spoken to me more than Queer as Folk ever could. Just a few weeks ago Entertainment Weekly did a short video on the cast reunion of Queer as Folk, check it out below! 

Vito
"Vito" was a documentary I first watched on Netflix around the same time I was watching Queer as Folk. (Side note: for my fellow identity theory nerds...it was when I was immersed in all the queer shows, films, music, art, books, etc. that I found myself to be at Stage 5...Identity Pride when it came to being gay.)

This documentary focused on the life of Vito Russo, a gay activist and author of "The Celluloid Closet" that chronicled how LGBT characters were portrayed in Hollywood films. Watching this documentary led me to a rabbit hole of the invaluable research as to the development of stereotypes of queer people today. It made me aware of the need to make space for people of all queer identities to be who they wanted to be. If a gay man was feminine and was into the arts...let him be feminine and be into the arts. If a gay man was into sports and was super masculine, let him be into sports and be super masculine (just as long as it isn't toxic right?). At the same time, if someone wanted to bend and break the rules and be feminine and into sports, or more masculine and into the arts, then let them be. At the end of the day, the film made me aware of the stereotypes I might have been affirming that could be dangerous and harmful...but also gave me language and a lens to allow people to be who they felt was their most genuine self. Check out the trailer to the documentary below! 

Cuatro Lunas (Four Moons) 
Probably my favorite, if not one of my favorite Latinx queer films. Cuatro Lunas follows four different stories of acceptance that ultimately all become interwoven at the conclusion of the film. This is not a film you're able to watch without giving it all of your time and attention. This film specifically hits home with me when you have one of the characters attempt to come out to his mom...and at first the mom stops him before he could say it and tells her son that she doesn't want to know because she couldn't handle whatever he was going to say. As the movie progresses you have that same son deal with heartbreak and the mom welcomes him back in and comforts him by noting how he would one day find the right man who would appreciate him...and that she would be there to love and support him, thus recognizing her son was gay. Best believe when I first watched that scene your boy was crying her life away. It was good for my soul to begin to dive deep not only into gay films and shows, but also gay films that represented the Latinx experience as well. The first link showcases the scene I mention above and the second video is the trailer to the film.