Whiskers on Kittens // 8
The queer things we’ve been up to and into
I’ve never been interested in being invisible and erased.
~Laverne Cox1
Meeting the Man: James Baldwin in Paris (1970). As spectators, we bear witness to James Baldwin, the queer Black author, activist, and intellectual, pushing for and ultimately achieving narrative control and agency from Terence Dixon, the documentary’s white “director.” We chose not to list a director name for this short film because the entire historical document is a compelling challenge to documentary authorship and ownership. Over 50 years later, this film highlights the power dynamics of the documentary medium as James Baldwin endures numerous microaggressions during his filmed confrontations with Dixon. Dixon tries to document The Writer Baldwin through his white British lens, stripping Baldwin of his politics and activism. Baldwin refuses to be Dixon’s “object,” instead wanting to capture a slice of his subjectivity as a Black Parisian immigrant, wanting to be interviewed “as a Black man in 20th-century Paris,” acutely aware of how his embodied intersectionality informs all his work. Once Dixon (begrudgingly) relinquishes (some) control of the narrative, the documentary transforms before our very eyes. Baldwin does what he does best in the comfort of artist Beauford Delaney’s studio and it is electrifying to watch Baldwin, an intellectual giant of the 20th century, reclaim the narrative and inform how he is portrayed. In this scene, Baldwin builds to his potent line: “I can’t lead a movement, but I can fuck up your mind.” Our minds have been forever fucked up by Baldwin—and we would not want it any other way.
Why Are You Like This? on Netflix. Here we are; another week with another great little queer show that never got to find itself and a wider audience in a second season. It’s not a new release, but we found our way in the Netflix archives to this Australian Gen Z comedy show about three friends going about their “woke” queer lives. They are all satirically absurd, terrible humans, in the great tradition of characters you love to hate (or hate to love). We found a lot to laugh at and appreciate in this chosen family trio who are so very ridiculous as individuals and even more so together. We applaud Mia as she declares “I’m decolonizing my pussy”; we nod along with earnest Penny as she declares “Dads can get fisted, too, Mia”; and we root for sweet Austin as he does his best despite the fact that he loves “making people’s lives worse.” (Shout-out to Austin’s drag performer nemesis Paddington Bareback.)
Joe’s got Weakest Link game. Okay, so you know how last week we talked with our friend Joe Fejeran about the romance novel Red, White & Royal Blue? When we introduced Joe, we noted that he had been on the Weakest Link game show and had done well in both trivia and charming Jane Lynch. We were able to track down the 2021 episode in the bowels of the internet, so we watched Joe be smart, despite him getting done dirty once in the final three (clearly the other two were petrified of his brain).
The only time Joe surprised was when he got the following question wrong after a slight pause: “What two-time Oscar winner won her first Oscar in 2005 by portraying four-time Oscar winner Katharine Hepburn?” It was kind-of surprising to us he didn’t know the right answer is Cate Blanchett, although we chuckled at his “clearly wrong” answer “Chaka Khan.” Well, come to find out… Joe KNEW the answer and purposefully gave a wrong answer as a strategy to not be *too* good… and, more amazingly, in homage to RuPaul’s 2001 stint on the Weakest Link in which Ru served “dramatic pause + clearly wrong answer.” When we said Joe was a game show legend, we had no idea the depths and layers. See for yourself:
Heather
World in Action (S6:E38) with Quentin Crisp. Queer icon and raconteur Quentin Crisp (1908-1999) became famous for living an unapologetic and visible queer life with a singular flamboyant fashion sense and personality during a much more conformist time. While Quentin as an embodied human has been eclipsed by the social media circulation of witty Crispisms, this documentary short is a crash course in Quentinology, featuring Quentin Crisp the human in their flat. There is a misanthropic undercurrent to Crisp’s social commentary that feels born of a keen queer observation filtered through a life pockmarked with the residual scars from a lifetime’s worth of homophobic and transphobic abuse. While I don’t agree with some of Quentin’s commentary, criticisms, and quips, I always find a thought-provoking sociopolitical layer to analyze, including revelations about how a queer life lived boldly can be snared in the “isms” of its time. In Quentin’s warts-and-all, droll observations, I connect with the vulnerable and painful undertones that stem from living an out, gender-fluid life. And I appreciate that Quentin did this for nearly the entirety of the 20th century.
Amie
Music duo Giolì & Assia. Listen, I am an absolute sucker for a creative-life partner duo. Make it a Sicilian lesbian indie techno pop artistic-and-romantic duo… and I’m done for. These two met on the internet and forged an independent musical path as they found love together, a story that is as inspiring as it is heart-warming. Their music, which brings gorgeous vocals together with club beats, is a perfect pairing with one of my now-infrequent fully-functional-brain-and-an-upbeat-mood days. I won’t be able to go see them at a show any time soon, so I’ll have to be content with their sets in gorgeous locations, like this sunrise at the Temple of Segesta in Sicily and this one at the Fjallsarlon Glacier Lagoon in Iceland. I recommend anyone wanting to make their next household task a hell of a lot more dancy dykey fun to check out their latest album, Fire Hell and Holy Water. I am certain White Lotus darlings Mia and Lucia would be big fans.
Artist Chitra Ganesh. The mixed-media and installation art works that Chitra makes bring complex messages amidst surreal images and a riot of color. I deeply admire the range in her work and thoroughly love the endless stories, harsh realities, and cosmic dreams she manifests. I could get lost in her work for hours, and can imagine it would be infinitely more powerful in person.
https://bust.com/entertainment/14200-laverne-cox-spills-on-self-acceptance-finding-love-battling-the-patriachy-bust-exclusive.html