Pride Watch: Pariah
Jun. 1st, 2018 07:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
glitter_n_goreHappy June!
I’m actually taking this month off from most social media stuff for several reasons, but I do have a watch list, and many things checked out from the library or queued up on NetFlix, so we’re going to have a marathon.
First up: Pariah. Directed by Dee Rees in 2011, this movie is a coming-of-age / coming out story for Aleke, aka “Lee” (Adepero Oduye), who knows she’s a lesbian but doesn’t know how to live her truth yet. This hits a lot of familiar beats for a coming out story--the homophobic parents, the experimentation with someone who wasn’t really that into it in the first place, the struggle with what to tell people at school--but it also feels fresh and organic. We have dozens of coming out stories. But we don’t have another one quite like this.
More specifically, we have a lot of coming out stories centered on white, cisgendered men. The fact that Lee is a butch lesbian from a Black family with traditional Christian roots creates additional nuance and texture for her background. There are expectations on her that I didn’t have put on me, being a white kid from a middle class family. Although I will say that the struggle to choose my own clothing is . . . ongoing. What is this thing certain parents have against tom boy type clothes? Lee sneaks different shirts, hats, and jackets into her school bag to change as soon as possible, and fights for her right to wear pants instead of skirts, and I feel her frustration.
Lee’s also a writer trying to find her voice. Her favorite teacher is incredibly supportive and encouraging, and she pushes Lee to go further, dig deeper, try harder. One of the best pieces of advice I ever got writing-was to write about what scares you. Finding your own voice, owning it, and sharing it with the world is scary. That’s what Lee does in the end, and while it does scare her, it also brings her joy and purpose.
Now honestly, I was half-dreading watching this that something irreparably awful would happen. I always have this fear watching new-to-me movies with explicitly queer characters, because it seems to be inevitable so much of the time. And while there is definitely a fair bit of angst and some tense family scenes that are difficult to watch: this has a happy ending. This is a burst of positivity and light. If you haven’t seen it yet, add it to your watch list.
I’m actually taking this month off from most social media stuff for several reasons, but I do have a watch list, and many things checked out from the library or queued up on NetFlix, so we’re going to have a marathon.
First up: Pariah. Directed by Dee Rees in 2011, this movie is a coming-of-age / coming out story for Aleke, aka “Lee” (Adepero Oduye), who knows she’s a lesbian but doesn’t know how to live her truth yet. This hits a lot of familiar beats for a coming out story--the homophobic parents, the experimentation with someone who wasn’t really that into it in the first place, the struggle with what to tell people at school--but it also feels fresh and organic. We have dozens of coming out stories. But we don’t have another one quite like this.
More specifically, we have a lot of coming out stories centered on white, cisgendered men. The fact that Lee is a butch lesbian from a Black family with traditional Christian roots creates additional nuance and texture for her background. There are expectations on her that I didn’t have put on me, being a white kid from a middle class family. Although I will say that the struggle to choose my own clothing is . . . ongoing. What is this thing certain parents have against tom boy type clothes? Lee sneaks different shirts, hats, and jackets into her school bag to change as soon as possible, and fights for her right to wear pants instead of skirts, and I feel her frustration.
Lee’s also a writer trying to find her voice. Her favorite teacher is incredibly supportive and encouraging, and she pushes Lee to go further, dig deeper, try harder. One of the best pieces of advice I ever got writing-was to write about what scares you. Finding your own voice, owning it, and sharing it with the world is scary. That’s what Lee does in the end, and while it does scare her, it also brings her joy and purpose.
Now honestly, I was half-dreading watching this that something irreparably awful would happen. I always have this fear watching new-to-me movies with explicitly queer characters, because it seems to be inevitable so much of the time. And while there is definitely a fair bit of angst and some tense family scenes that are difficult to watch: this has a happy ending. This is a burst of positivity and light. If you haven’t seen it yet, add it to your watch list.