George Elkind
A Kind of Defiance: In Lansing, an Overlooked – and Leading – History of Queer Activism
It’s only natural for a state capital to become a center for political activism. But in the case of Lansing, both local and state-level queer activism have taken on a remarkable variety of forms. From early flickers of visibility there in the [...]
In Shyamalan’s 'Knock at the Cabin,' a Rare and Affecting Depiction of Queer Parents
In the opening minutes of M. Night Shyamalan’s new thriller “Knock at the Cabin,” a little girl named Wen (played by Kristen Cui) is approached by Leonard, a hulking stranger (Dave Bautista), who offers to help her catch [...]
An Erotic Film Series in Michigan Has Revived This Vigorously Directed Punkish Lesbian Sci-Fi Flick
In the second week of 2023, “Skinamarink,” a shoestring-budget independent horror work shot in Edmonton, Alberta, opened to wide release and found an American audience. Directed and written by queer filmmaker Kyle Edward Ball, the [...]
Tár' Is a Staggering Lesbian Success Story. But Whose Success Is It?
In writer-director Todd Field’s latest film, “Tár,” there’s a sense of intoxication in play, an air of fascination in the treatment of his leading character as a kind of monument — albeit one shadowed with [...]
How Optics and Inclusion Tussle for Space in 'Bros'
“Not all gay people are nice,” says Bobby Leiber, played by Billy Eichner as the lead character in “Bros,” the new Judd Apatow-produced feature which Eichner also co-wrote and executive produced. As one of Bobby’s many [...]
For Ann Arborites and Detroiters, Queer Delights Are Only 45 Minutes Away
Ann Arbor and Detroit may be close enough together to share an atmosphere, but they rarely seem to mix. Each city offers enough queer community to overflow into the other, yet somehow, a 45-minute drive or train ride between them can seem like a [...]
Gender Roles at the Movies: Which of These Classic Horror Films Got It Right?
Part issue movie and part throwback slasher, Blumhouse’s new horror film “They/Them,” out Aug. 5 on Peacock, aims to flip the script for how queer characters are treated in horror films onscreen. Since the gender-bending twist in [...]
The City Without Closets: How Ferndale Became So Queer
Ferndale has been known as one of Michigan’s biggest queer hubs for decades. With many of the hallmarks that distinguish a Greenwich Village, a Castro, an Andersonville — traits like a walkable downtown, a diverse array of restaurants, [...]
6 Iconic Road Trip Movies That Symbolize Queer Self-Discovery
For queer audiences, the rich symbology of cars and road films — along with their enduring outsider associations — has made them tantalizing objects to re-interpret through a queer lens. Evoking ideas of mobility, rebellion and [...]
A Queer Slate, In Focus: The Studio That Brought Us ‘Brokeback Mountain’ Turns 20
For 20 years now, Focus Features has been distributing and funding queer-focused movies, marketing them successfully to a wide audience even early on. As a specialty distribution and production company responsible for works as disparate as [...]
Revisiting ‘Shortbus’: How John Cameron Mitchell Used Unsimulated Sex to Make Striking Bush-Era Social Statements
“Let’s face it: monogamy’s for straight people,” says Jamie (PJ DeBoy) in one early moment in John Cameron Michell’s “Shortbus.” The film was restored and rereleased by Oscilloscope Laboratories and will [...]
The New Queer Cinema Movement Paved the Way for Today's Mainstream LGBTQ+ Films. But at What Cost?
“We’re not like them,” says one man to another, laying atop him on a dirty roadside. “We don’t have as much time — so we’ve got to grab life by the balls and go for it.”The top in question is Luke [...]