QR Day 8 - Rothaniel

Day 8 of Queer Rep: I wasn't really aware of Jerrod Carmichael until early this year, but he's quickly become one of my favorite people in comedy. He was definitely my favorite SNL host of the season, and his HBO special Rothaniel is fantastic. He's funny, insightful, raw, and honest. 🏳️‍🌈

Check out the ongoing master list of my Queer Representation challenge here!

QR22 Day 7 - Gideon the Ninth

There honestly aren't a lot of books out there that I wish I'd written. I love a lot of books, but mostly...I write what I want to read, because it isn't already out there, yeah? But for Day 7 of Queer Rep I've chosen the first two books in a series that I 100% wish I had written because I love eVerYtHiNG about them.

"Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space!" If that tagline isn't enough, these books somehow found a direct line to my type of funny because I think they are hilarious (think all your favorite memes somehow smashed into science fantasy books in a way that...really works?). And fascinating (I love discovering more and more about the necromantic magic system). Also heartrending. And so, so good. Gideon and Harrow and Ianthe and Camilla and Palamedes and...I adore them all. Hands down these are my top two books I've read in years--years!--and I eagerly await book three in Tamsyn Muir's series this fall. In short, the queerness is strong with these books, and also I truly love them. 🏳️‍🌈

(Link to ongoing QR22 list here.)

QR22 Day 6 - Severance

 

QR Day 6: the Apple TV series Severance. (This one includes a single very mild spoiler about two people who start a relationship on the show.)

Severance is delightful on so many levels. The central premise is simple (people getting “severed,” i.e. partitioning their brain between work life and home life) but with far-reaching consequences, and the show really digs into some fascinating (and sometimes frightening) possibilities. It’s incredibly well produced, from the creepy opening credits sequence to the cinematography to Ben Stiller showing a deft directorial hand. But, as is the case with most things I truly love, the characters run the show. The entire cast is phenomenal, but I’ll give particular props to John Turturro and Christopher Walken as Irving and Burt respectively. Irving and Burt’s relationship is lovely. And also gay. Severance is an incredible show, and you should totally watch it if Apple TV is something you have or are considering.

And, of course, here’s the ongoing master list for QR22.

QR22 Day 5 - The Wilds

Day 5! The Wilds! (Check out the comprehensive master list here.)

Think Lost meets Lord of the Flies meets...Gossip Girl? Or something. Look I'll be honest this show is kind of insane but that's kind of why I love it. Also a lesbian relationship emerges that I consider the heart of the show, and more queerness shows up in the second season. Basically, if you like your crazy with a healthy sprinkling of more crazy but also some genuinely compelling characters, you should check out The Wilds! 🏳️‍🌈

QR22 Day 4 - The FEAR STREET Trilogy!

Day 4! (check out my ongoing comprehensive list here)

This should be old news, but I love horror films. And I went into this trilogy with pretty low expectations--I never read the Fear Street books growing up, but I read plenty of Goosebumps, and, I mean, those were great when I was twelve or whatever, but I wasn't expecting a lot here.

But to horribly mix metaphors, these films were firing every cylinder at an eleven. Solid jump scares, oppressive sense of dread, characters that weren't just believable and likable but also smart and capable...I was surprised by how good the first film in the trilogy was, and just sort of expected the other films to go downhill, but they didn't. They form a cohesive triptych that tells a complicated, interesting story, and they do it in a compelling way.

Also, some of the main characters are gay! A trilogy of really fun horror movies with some really good characters who happen to be gay. You should watch these films. Assuming horror is your thing, anyway, because the trilogy is Very Horror and I'd take the rating seriously. :-) 🏳️‍🌈

QR22 Day 3 - Annie on My Mind

For day three, let's go back in time forty years (uh-yeah). Annie on My Mind was written by Nancy Garden in 1982, and it's credited as being one of the first teen books to feature lesbian characters in a positive light. I can't decide what's crazier, that a book portraying lesbians in a positive light was already circulating in 1982, or that it took until 1982 for a book that portrayed lesbians in a positive light to circulate. There were some very vocal people who were unhappy about it (it was banned and even burned in several cases), but there were also a lot of people who were finally reading about characters like them for the first time in print. It's an important book.

But it's also a good book! It's a testament to Garden's writing and the story she tells (and, unfortunately, to how little some aspects of society have changed sine the 80s) that it really feels timeless. It honestly felt very contemporary while reading it--perhaps not as plausible in NYC proper, but in plenty of other settings in America. Liza and Annie are delightful, endearing, heartbreaking and heartwarming. As an advisory, there is some sexual content, but not so much that I think it's inappropriate* for most teenagers (although it depends on the teenager, you know?).

In short, it's quite good, and if it remotely strikes your fancy, you should read it! 🏳️‍🌈

(Also, check out my ongoing master list here.)

* That said, your standards of appropriateness may be very different from mine, so don't take my word for it. There's your disclaimer.

Queer Representation MASTER LIST 2022

As previously noted, I've decided that for each day of Pride Month I'm going to talk about my favorite queer books, TV shows, and films (and some other things). (Hereafter referred to as QR22!) If any of this stuff sounds good to you, check it out! I think more *quality* representation is only a good thing.

1. Heartstopper (2022 YA romance series on Netflix)
2. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018-2020 children's--and adult!--sci-fi cartoon on Netflix)
3. Annie on My Mind (1982 YA romance novel)
4. The Fear Street Trilogy (2021 horror film trilogy on Netflix)
5. The Wilds (2021- thriller/survival series on Amazon Prime)
6. Severance (2022 psychological thriller series on Apple TV)
7. Gideon the Ninth/Harrow the Ninth (2019- sci-fi novel series)
8. Rothaniel (2022 comedy special on HBO Max)
9. If I Was Your Girl (2016 YA romance novel)
10. Kelly Quindlen (YA romance author)
11. Happiest Season (2020 holiday romcom on Hulu)
12. The Last of Us (and sequels) (2013- survival horror video games on PS3/4/5)
13. Saving Face (2004 romcom)
14. Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022 absurdist comedy/drama)
15. Just Juliet (2016 YA romance novel)
16. Continuum (2021 short nonfiction book)
17. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents: A Day In The Life Of Marlon Bundo (2018 children’s book)
18. But I’m a Cheerleader (1999 teen romcom satire)
19. Love, Simon (2018 teen romcom)
20. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2004 horror/drama/comedy series)
21. Teenage Bounty Hunters (2020 teen comedy/drama on Netflix)
22. Warrior Nun (2020 fantasy drama on Netflix)
23. Our Flag Means Death (2022 periodic romantic comedy series on HBO Max)
24. Little Girl (2020 French documentary)
25. The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020 gothic drama/romance on Netflix)
26. Crush (2022 teen romcom on Hulu)
27. Hacks (2021 comedy-drama on HBO Max)
28. The Unspoken Name (2020 fantasy novel)
29. Dickinson (2019-2021 historical comedy-drama on Apple TV)
30. Schitt's Creek (2015-2020 sitcom)