7 Queer Things to Do This Week
01/12/19
On the Basis of Sex
Supreme court justice and cultural icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg's life was explored in the documentary RBG last year. Now, On the Basis of Sex, the biopic about the young lawyer who outperformed many of her male colleagues at Harvard Law School to then go on to become a professor for a time because no firm would hire a woman, goes wide this weekend.
Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything, Rogue One) portrays a feisty Ginsburg as she eventually navigates the tax court case Moritz v. Commissioner that helped her prove discrimination based on gender.
Call Me By Your Name's Armie Hammer plays her attorney husband Martin Ginsburg in the film from Mimi Leder (Deep Impact). Justin Theroux, Sam Waterston, and Kathy Bates costar.
Kehlani’s “Nights Like This”
Kehlani fixes and then romances a female android in "Nights Like This," the latest music video from the queer R&B star. Featuring rapper Ty Dolla $ign, the video's homages range from Terminator to Ex Machina to the new Transformers film Bumblebee, with a plot that centers on artificial life and its ability to both create and destroy. Watch the robotic action-packed video below.
Schitt's Creek
Schitt's Creek is a bright spot on the comedy landscape. Created by Eugene Levy (Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind) and his son Daniel Levy, who is gay, Schitt's Creek brims with absurdist humor that's (mostly) sadly missing from pop culture these days. The series, about a wealthy family that loses it all and is forced to rebuild in the podunk town they happen to own, stars Eugene Levy as the patriarch of the family opposite his frequent on-screen partner Catherine O'Hara, who plays his kooky, over-the-top wife Moira. Daniel Levy plays the family's pansexual son David while the wonderful Annie Murphy stars as their bizarrely worldly daughter Alexis. Over the seasons, David has engaged in relationships with men and women on the show, including the town's motel's owner Stevie, played by out actress Emily Hampshire. Loaded with camp and a queer sensibility, Schitt's Creek continues to be a panacea for the daily news cycle and the show's fifth season promises to be loaded with even more humor and heart.
Schitt's Creek season 5 premieres on Pop TV on January 16.
Iron Curtain Journals: January–May 1965 by Allen Ginsberg
The great gay Beat Generation poet Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) confirms his reputation as "a puckish, irreverent observer of historical events," as Publishers Weekly puts it, in these previously unpublished diaries, edited by Michael Schumacher (also a Ginsberg biographer) for the University of Minnesota Press. Ginsberg details his journeys through Cuba -- where he outraged government officials with his pointed questions about the nation's oppression of gay people -- and Poland, Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. Along the way he gets beaten and arrested, but he's also crowned the King of May by Czech students and has a flirtation with writer and activist Jean Genet. It's the first in a planned series of three volumes of the journals. Find more information here.
Star Trek: Discovery
Star Trek: Discovery made history last year when it introduced the first gay characters -- partners Lt. Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) -- to the Star Trek universe. Many were upset by Culber's untimely demise in season one, with many saying it fed into the dangerous "kill your gays" trope. However, interviews from stars and producers promise that viewers haven't seen the last of Culber or the star-crossed couple. The new season will also focus on the origin story of Spock -- arguably, the show's OG queer character. See it Thursday, January 17 on CBS: All Access in the U.S. or Netflix internationally. Watch the trailer below.
Kamala Harris, 'The Truths We Hold'
Visible and vocal California senator Kamala Harris has just released her second book, The Truths We Hold. The memoir recounts her life -- raised by progressive parents, an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, before ascending to the legal field and elected office -- so far. The 54-year-old politician has a huge future in front of her (including, a likely presidential run) so it's safe to assume this is the first in a series. Out now.
Troye Sivan, "Lucky Strike"
This prolific pop star has just released the fourth video from his hit album, Bloom. In keeping with the lyrics to "Lucky Strike," the video features a relaxed, California vibe, with young beauties frolicking on the beach. "Lucky Strike" also follows a running theme in Sivan's oeuvre -- fantasizing about a hot guy.
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