One of the most noted aspects of this year's Oscar presentation was George Clooney's acceptance speech. I would like to second his motion in favor of those who are out of touch.
What does it mean to be out of touch? It means NOT to jump on the bandwagon. It means NOT to follow the trends. Most importantly, it means NOT to let others do your thinking for you. It means to view the world from a different angle, and, as anyone remotely acquainted with optics can tell you, at least two points of view are necessary to see the world in all its three dimentions. How incredibly dangerous to think that whatever the majority believes must always be right! I'm constantly surprised that this nation -- home of the power of the individual -- is also soooooooooooo demanding that everyone conform
Moreover, I hardly need point out that to many Americans the Founding Fathers were out of touch when they decried the monarchy. Abraham Lincoln was out of touch when he ended slavery. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were out of touch when they attempted to realize the promise of freedom. Germaine Greer and Bela Abzug were out of touch when they fought for the rights of women.
Of course, the great irony of the Right's claims about Hollywood elitism and separatism is that Hollywood only makes the product that will sell to Middle America. The job of show biz really is to be directly in touch with the audience. The best evidence of this is the ENORMOUS economic and success of pornography. Somebody out there is buying it. Oh, I know. You're just buying it so you can speak out against the garbage dirtying our nation. Because it will corrupt the mind of anyone who sees it. Except of course you.
So, try to be a little more out of touch. Try to find new ways to see the world. You can always get back in touch, but chances are, you won't want to.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Saturday, March 04, 2006
The Kissing Closet Part II
Well, I've been thinking some more about the problems caused by keeping our physical affection in the closet, and today, during a heated debate following an appearance by Diana Ossana -- co-writer of Brokeback Mountain -- I almost got a chance to speak my mind, but time was short, so I didn't. Anyway, that's what blogs are for, so here goes.
If you read my profile, you know that I'm a graduate student at the University of California at Santa Barbara. As do many major universities, our university claims to be a haven of acceptance for LGBT people. There are gay organizations, gay meetings, openly gay students, openly gay faculty and staff, huge visible rainbow flags at the University Center, stickers on many professors' office doors that say "Safe Zone." All of that is wonderful.
But then I began to think, "Wait a minute. When was the last time I saw a same-sex couple kissing or even holding hands on campus?" Answer: Never! A woman at the appearance today seconded my feelings when she argued that the situation in Brokeback Mountain does not exist just in that place and time, but exists right there on the university campus. What is up with that? It proves once again that much of society is just fine with us as long as we are eunuchs. Some of our biggest supporters would groan if they saw us kissing. You know what? Will I be the one to start? Probably not. But look, folks, we have to start (with apologies to Stephen Sondheim) somehow, someday, somewhere.
In fact, my partner, who goes to school at Cal State University, Long Beach said that, at least in his music department, no one would think twice about two guys or two girls kissing. And that means that much of the problem is our own internalized homophobia because we're afraid people will freak. Well, maybe they will and maybe they won't. That's their problem.
If we lived in Wyoming in 1963 when there was no gay community for support and we might actually have risked death, maybe things would be different. But we don't. So let's get out there and start locking lips!
If you read my profile, you know that I'm a graduate student at the University of California at Santa Barbara. As do many major universities, our university claims to be a haven of acceptance for LGBT people. There are gay organizations, gay meetings, openly gay students, openly gay faculty and staff, huge visible rainbow flags at the University Center, stickers on many professors' office doors that say "Safe Zone." All of that is wonderful.
But then I began to think, "Wait a minute. When was the last time I saw a same-sex couple kissing or even holding hands on campus?" Answer: Never! A woman at the appearance today seconded my feelings when she argued that the situation in Brokeback Mountain does not exist just in that place and time, but exists right there on the university campus. What is up with that? It proves once again that much of society is just fine with us as long as we are eunuchs. Some of our biggest supporters would groan if they saw us kissing. You know what? Will I be the one to start? Probably not. But look, folks, we have to start (with apologies to Stephen Sondheim) somehow, someday, somewhere.
In fact, my partner, who goes to school at Cal State University, Long Beach said that, at least in his music department, no one would think twice about two guys or two girls kissing. And that means that much of the problem is our own internalized homophobia because we're afraid people will freak. Well, maybe they will and maybe they won't. That's their problem.
If we lived in Wyoming in 1963 when there was no gay community for support and we might actually have risked death, maybe things would be different. But we don't. So let's get out there and start locking lips!
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