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posted by zavi 
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Can’t Get a Date: This “reality/makeover” LOGO tv show features six queer characters who wish to overcome the personal quirks and insecurities that make it difficult for them to find a date.
Country: USA, 2006
Original Language: English
Rating: 3.5/5
Watch it on Logo here (full episodes, free).
Zavi thinks: Ahh everyone in this show is so realistically awkward, and I love it. To be honest, I totally hate reality shows, but this show lacks all of the elements that makes me avoid this genre. Though on one hand, it’s the gay lovechild of a makeover show and a reality drama, “Can’t Get a Date” has a totally different feel than similar shows in this category . Instead of boring, angsty interviews and mundane over-analysis, this show is quick, clever and of substance. The narrator of the show rationally focuses on the particular personal issues and fears that are stopping these otherwise totally cute queers from being in relationships and comes up with realistically feasible solutions. …
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posted by zavi 
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The Wedding Banquet (Xi Yan): A Taiwanese-American gay man living happily with his partner succumbs to the pressure of his overbearing traditional parents and arranges an elaborate sham hetero wedding.
Country: Taiwan/USA, 1993
Original Language: Mandarin Chinese and English
Rating: 3.5/5
Available for purchase on Amazon.
Zavi thinks: Many people don’t realize that Brokeback Mountain was not the first major gay film that Ang Lee directed. This film will always hold a special place in my memory because the first time I watched it was for a Chinese language class (and I think the staff who selected it did so because they knew there were a large number of queer students in the program). That random fact aside, many scenes in this movie are hilarious, especially the parts where the main character is ‘being straight’ while on various female dates.
Panda thinks: I am a big fan of Ang Lee and really enjoyed seeing one of his earlier films. It’s neat to see how much …
Click to continue reading QMR: the wedding banquet
posted by zavi 
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After Stonewall: A documentary about queer history from the Stonewall riots era through the new millennium. It features news footage and personal interviews and is a must-see for all queer youth.
Country: USA, 1999
Original Language: English
Rating: 4.5/5
Zavi thinks: Fun to watch, insightful, and available on Netflix instant watch – what more could I ask for in a documentary? This one is definitely not just for the classroom; it’s enjoyable enough to just watch at home for the fun of it.
Panda thinks: Just watched this for the first time tonight! For someone who considers themselves decently well versed in US queer rights history, I was blown away by the amount of new information presented to me by this documentary. Lots of really amazing professional and amateur news footage–really gripping stuff. It is essentially a very straightforward, condensed history of the modern US queer rights movement. This is the sort of film that should be shown in public school history classrooms everywhere.
posted by zavi 
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Milk: A fairly factual account of the personal life and rise to political power of LGBTQ rights advocate Harvey Milk.
Country: USA, 2008
Original Language: English
Rating: 4/5
Zavi thinks: Watching this film allows one to not only get a good overview of the facts and history surrounding Milk’s life, but also of the social and political climate of that era. It really draws you into the struggles of the ’70s and ’80s for queers to obtain basic civil rights and be seen as valuable members of society.
Panda thinks: This was a movie that was waiting to be made for a long time. With all history movies, the story essentially already exists, it’s just a matter of putting it on to film. Some films of this manner are only worth watching for their historical value, but “Milk” is a masterpiece of storytelling as well. Sean Penn is an amazing Harvey Milk. This film could just as easily be shown in an American politics or history class as …
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posted by zavi 
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Sordid Lives: When forced to return to his small Texas hometown for a funeral, a young gay man must finally come out to his family, and the family as a whole must deal with its many secrets.
Country: USA, 2000
Original Language: English
Rating: 4/5
Zavi thinks: It takes a few minutes for this film to get rolling, but once it does, its complex layers of dry humor make it absolutely hilarious. Billed as a “black comedy about white trash,” this film perfectly captures the unique nuances of being in a large Southern family, from the idea that ‘a-statement-isn’t-judgmental-if-you-say-bless-their-heart-at-the-end’ to the concept that ‘even-though-everyone-knows-we-just-don’t-talk-about-it’. This movie isn’t just for the Southern niche, however. Anyone who has ever left a small hometown for a larger city and experienced the challenge of coming home as a different person will relate to it. This movie is endearing, silly and weird all at once and is great for group movie nights.
Panda thinks: I wasn’t sure what to think of this film …
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