Proud of PRIDE

With Bloomington’s 10th annual PRIDE Film Festival right around the corner, my biannual struggle with pride festivals is rearing its ugly head again.

Last year I wrote a column that I thought was the word of God on all pride festivals. It essentially looked at many of them as just providing fodder for anti-gay movements across the country.

Naturally, now that I’ve been to more pride festivals since I wrote that article, I’m conflicted once more.

How can I so overtly say no to confetti, street food and a lot of near-nudity? That’s just against my inner instincts.

But I still believe in an overarching sense of class and respect — hence where my instincts and philosophies begin to collide.

I like having fun and being in a sexually charged environment with drag queens as much as the next guy, but outside of the festival atmosphere, I worry about the ultimate affect and image the festivals might convey. President Barack Obama’s recent inaugural speech really hit home how important it is to honor the gay rights movement and events like Stonewall with a certain solemnity.

So, I was having a lot of feelings seeing all the advertisements go up for PRIDE Film Festival.

But after looking at the film selections this year, I can say that I’m proud of Bloomington’s PRIDE.

It’s easy for LGBTQ films to fall into a pit of camp and underwear. I’ve seen many of those advertisements. And while that’s good for jollies, we could do better in terms of artistry and real thematic elements.

The gay rights movement has basically done all the shocking and spectacle it can do.

At one time, assless chaps made a statement by forcing the country to recognize homosexuals. But overt sexuality isn’t necessarily the way to explore the movement anymore.

A bunch of gays watching soft-core porn in a dark room doesn’t exactly push the envelope like it once did.

This year’s PRIDE is full of films that focus on the modern family, gay racial implications and a homosexual challenging of the heteronormative romantic comedy. These are issues that we should be focusing on and discovering. They are the respect that the movement deserves.

We rarely actually hear about the racial issues tied to the LGBTQ experience. We don’t get to see many transsexual stories outside of reruns of MTV’s “True Life.” Obviously these are major issues we should address within the modern gay rights movement, but they often get overlooked in a general parade atmosphere.

We’re very focused on celebrating and challenging heteronormative society, but we’re not so interested in challenging ourselves and our often narrow-minded idea of gay rights.

I’ll probably be at the big ol’ gay dance party, but I am proud to know that’s just one aspect of a weekend of very real LGBTQ issues explored with respect on the big screen. It’s nice to know that I can have my typical pride experience, but learn as well.

The fight for equality is developing on a daily basis. Pride festivals should be developing too.

Luckily, PRIDE Film Festival seems to be a leading member of the change.

­— sjostrow@indiana.edu