HONG LE - BLACK, BROWN & QUEER ON FILM

I didn't really enjoy Mosquita y Mari since the film is not really my type. The plot of two different students with two different situations, both trying to figure out their sexual orientation together is somewhat cliche to me. However, the film still conveys the idea of teenagers confuse about their sexual orientation, and the blurry line between friendship and romance. Mosquita y Mari (2013) The two students Yolanda and Mari get along together naturally, one who is a good student with better family background, while one is struggling and has a worse family background, respectively. They start knowing each other through study. And as time goes by, the line between friendship and romance between them seems to be blurry. The two protagonists both realize the tension between them. However, as teenagers, it is confusing for them to realize or accept their sexual orientation, especially in the society that exists homophobia. There are scenes that they hang out with boys, and one feels...

 Even when Signature Move (2017) is not my type of movie but what remains in me after watching the movie is beautiful. After watching Signature Move, I really respect the character Zaynab. Seeing the situation she is in and how she chooses to deal with her situation in the best way that she can, she reminds me of the character Alike from the movie we watched last week, and her reason of having her own life and living her life in her own way is what remains in me. Signature Move (2017) While Alma is so frustrated that Zaynab lies to Zaynab's mother about her sexuality and keeps secret, Zaynab tries hard to channel her anger into wrestling so that she can think about her situation better. Instead of choosing love over family, or choosing family over love, Zaynab chooses to come out with her mother and let her mother know that she is the one deciding her own life. Knowing that she is everything to her mother, and it is no point in hiding the fact that she is a lesbian from her mother ...

 I really enjoyed this week's movie Pariah (2011). There are some really touching scenes that remain in me after watching the movie. I love the way the protagonist Alike is developed throughout the movie. The fact that she accepts herself and chooses the path she wants to follow, instead of running away from who she is, and still loves her mom even when her mom does not accept her for who she is, I found that makes the movie really meaningful. Pariah (2011) One of the most touching scene for me is the scene when Alike's parents are in a quarrel about her father cheating on her mother and Alike is a lesbian and Alike intervenes in the quarrel. When her mother asked her loudly and angrily about her sexual orientation, Alike bravely confirms the fact that she is a lesbian. Despite being not accepted by her mother, being hit by her mother, Alike stills know for sure that she is just who she is and she even boldly claims that there is nothing wrong with her. I found that scene touc...

 I love Tangerine for how the movie manages to depict the different bravery of each queer person to really come out. While the plot of the movie is the typical plot of chick drama, Tangerine conveys more significant facts than just a drama. Tangerine (2015) The movie first started with the scene of Alexandra telling Sin-Dee that Sin-Dee's boyfriend and pimp Chester cheated on her with a cisgender woman. The movie then goes on with Sin-Dee trying to find Chester and that woman. While the chick drama goes on as the main story line of the movie, drug addictions and trans sex work are also presented, giving the audiences more insight about the community. One of the scene that I like the most in Tangerine is the scene of a taxi driver finding a trans sex worker with a penis to satisfy his need. On the outside, he seems to be a "normal" man, in term of society's definition, who is straight and even has a family. He puts on that mask to deal with the standard of the societ...

 I enjoyed Paris is Burning . I did not have any knowledge or insight of ball culture. Thus, Paris is Burning  gave me an insight of ball culture and acknowledgement of a community. However, as I did not have any knowledge about the ball culture, our Tuesday's class discussion amazed me when the classmates expressed their disagreement with the film because the film did not present AIDS crisis, prostitution, gay rights accurately. It was interesting for me to listen to the discussion while I could not discuss anything since my knowledge is limited and I do not have any authority or experience in this matter.  Paris Is Burning (1990) While many classmates did not agree with some aspects of the film, to me, the film was informative. I especially love how the characters were developed as inspiring characters. They expressed their queerness and pursued what they wanted even though there were concerns inside them. While I cannot make any further comment, I found the film is rea...

 Pelo Malo talks about the desire of a boy who wants to straighten his hair, and his great amount of concern of his look makes his mother doubts his sexuality. Pelo Malo is a slow paced movie with a plot that, for me, is considered a little bit triggering because there is a scene that the mother forces her son to watch her and her boss have sex in order to give her son a strong male influence. In Pelo Malo, there are things that are worth pointing out and discussing about: family to the queer child, and the effect of the media on race. Pelo Malo (2013) In Moodle forum of this week, the meaning of family to queer culture was discussed. This topic is also presented in Pelo Malo. The film uses the contrary inside the family to point out this matter. While the mother prevents her son from straightening his hair and tries to fix his sexual orientation to heterosexuality, his grandmother allows Junior to straighten his hair and also supports his femininity. Even when mother and grandmoth...