Pride 2024: A Q+ Celebration!
June 20
Glee
Glee aired on television in the United States from 2009 – 2015 and was heralded as a national treasure by the queer community. While not exclusively a queer show, Glee tackled more LGBTQ+ issues for queer youth than any other show of its kind at the time.
Set in Lima, Ohio at the fictional McKinley High School, the narrative focuses on the varied and mixed participants of the school’s glee club. When the show starts, the glee club’s fearless leader, Mr Schuster (Matthew Morrison) is in the throws of a dysfunctional marriage. He has no idea that his wife is crazy and is about to lead him on the biggest hijinx of his life. He lives for the kids and he loves his role as glee club supervisor.
The actual club itself is comprised of Lima’s most musically talented kids, but they’re all really different. Some of them play football, some are cheerleaders. Some of them are the weird, unpopular kids, and some of them are the wayward gay kids. Music is the thing that unites them and allows them to work through their adolescent issues.
From a queer perspective, the show champions a lesbian relationship, a gay male relationship, a lesbian cheerleader coach, and a butch trans football coach who transitions later in the series.
The show tackles homophobia, parental rejection, the joys and pitfalls of first love, and the queer desire to love whoever you want. The show finished out with an epic lesbian and gay dual wedding as Brittany (Heather Morris) and Santana (Naya Rivera), and Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Blaine (Darren Criss) tie the knot, proving that young love can and sometimes does prevail.
Glee enjoyed much success and won a whole host of Emmys, Screen Actor’s Guild awards, a GLAAD Media award, People’s Choice, and Golden Globe awards and the list goes on. If you’re into musicals and you like teen drama, Glee is definitely a pride must-watch for you!
Where to watch? Glee is available to stream on Disney Plus.
Surrender Your Sons by Adam Sass
Connor Major is having a rough time. He makes the decision to come out to his exceptionally religious mother, and surprise surprise, she doesn’t take the news well at all. She puts him on communication lockdown and seizes all of his technology. She forces him to take a job at the Meals on Wheels group in her religious community, and one of Connor’s clients dies.
Then, because he’s not suffering enough already, she organizes for Connor to go to Nightlight Ministries – a conversion therapy camp. The woman actually pays someone to have Connor kidnapped in the middle of the night and whisked off to this camp on an island in the middle of nowhere. The hurt and betrayal Connor feels when he gets to the camp is intense.
But there is so much else happening that Connor doesn’t really get a chance to focus on it for too long. When he gets there, Connor realizes that he’s not alone, as there are many other kids there just like him who were forced into the Nightlight Ministries situation against their will. The camp operations are brutal and the kids who attend are threatened with violence, intimidation, and the fear of never being able to leave, because, as Connor was told, he can’t go home until he is “normal again”.
However, it isn’t long before he also realizes that he and his co-campers are the very epitome of unsafe and he devises an epic plan to escape, and take the rest of the kids with him.
Described as suspenseful, traumatizing, yet utterly unputdownable, Surrender Your Sons is a must-read if you’re looking for poignant, provocative fiction this pride. While the idea behind the story is fiction, the act of conversion therapy is not. More awareness regarding this cruel practice has never been more needed.
Where to buy? Surrender Your Sons is available to purchase through all reputable booksellers.
Down Low
Down Low is the story of Gary (Zachary Quinto), a closeted and terminally ill man who is just trying to get some life experiences in before he kicks the bucket. Recently divorced on account of all the gayness he’s been hiding, Gary solicits the services of Cameron (Lukas Gage) for a bit of hanky panky in his home so he can say that he’s had at least one gay experience before he dies.
Enter Cameron – young, spry, and cute. He shows up at Gary’s house for a good time, but the whole encounter is just awkward, to say the least. Cameron begins to service Gary, and in mid-production, learns that it’s his very first time ever. Cameron decides to escalate the experience and lures another sex worker to the house. Cameron is determined to make sure that Gary leaves this Earth completely debauched and sexually satisfied.
When the second sex worker shows up, things get even more complicated. Despite the fact that he responded to a call for a gay advertisement for sex, the guy who shows up at Gary’s house swears that he’s not gay. Things get weird and heated and the man ends up dead. Gary, freaking out, tries to call 911, but Cameron stops him. What started out as a first foray into homosexuality ends up in the weirdest murder cover-up of the century.
There’s some hallucinogenics involved, a splash of necrophilia thrown in, and a whole lot of craziness. Down Low is an exceptionally quirky story, but really, we’re okay with that. Not everything needs to have a profound message about queer life and queer experiences, and this film certainly has none of those. If you’re looking for something a little left of center this pride, Down Low might be just what you’re looking for.
Where to watch? Down Low is available to stream on Max and Netflix, depending on the region. You can also rent or buy it on Prime Video and Sony Pictures now.
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