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wildeoaths · 4 years

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LGBTQ Book & Film Recommendations

Hello! As someone who tries to read widely, it can sometimes be frustrating to find good (well-written, well-made) LGBTQ+ works of literature and film, and mainstream recommendations only go so far. This is my shortlist.

Some caveats: 1) I have only watched/seen some of these, though they have all been well-received.

2) The literature list is primarily focused on adult literary and genre fiction, since that is what I mostly read, and I feel like it’s easier to find queer YA fiction. Cece over at ProblemsOfABookNerd (YT) covers a lot of newer releases and has a YA focus, so you can check her out for more recommendations.

3) There are a ton of good films and good books that either reference or discuss queer theory, LGBTQ history and literary theory. These tend to be more esoteric and academic, and I’m not too familiar with queer theory, so they’ve largely been left off the list. I do agree that they’re important, and reading into LGBTQ-coding is a major practice, but they’re less accessible and I don’t want to make the list too intimidating.

4) I linked to Goodreads and Letterboxd because that’s what I use and I happen to really enjoy the reviews.

Any works that are bolded are popular, or they’re acclaimed and I think they deserve some attention. I’ve done my best to flag potential objections and triggers, but you should definitely do a search of the reviews. DoesTheDogDie is also a good resource. Not all of these will be suitable for younger teenagers; please use your common sense and judgement.

Please feel free to chime in in the replies (not the reblogs) with your recommendations, and I’ll eventually do a reblog with the additions!

BOOKS

> YOUNG ADULT

Don’t @ me asking why your favourite YA novel isn’t on this list. These just happen to be the picks I felt might also appeal to older teens/twentysomethings.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo - poetry.

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender - trans male teen protagonist.

Red, White & Royal Blue

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda

The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice And Virtue

The Raven Boys (and Raven Cycle)

> LITERATURE: GENERAL

This list does skew M/M; more NB, trans and WLW recommendations are welcomed!

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. One of the most acclaimed contemporary LGBTQ novels and you’ve probably heard of it. Will probably make you cry.

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood. Portrait of a middle-aged gay man.

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. M/M affair, British student high society; definitely nostalgic for the aristocracy so be aware of the context.

Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman. It’s somewhat controversial, it’s gay, everyone knows the film at least.

Cronus’ Children / Le Jardin d'Acclimation by Yves Navarre. Winner of the Goncourt prize.

Dancer From The Dance by Andrew Holleran. A young man in the 1970s NYC gay scene. Warning for drugs and sexual references.

Dorian, An Imitation by Will Self. Adaptation of Orscar Wilde’s novel. Warning for sexual content.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. Two wlw in the 1980s. Also made into a film; see below.

Gemini by Michel Tournier. The link will tell you more; seems like a very complex read. TW for troubling twin dynamics.

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. Another iconic M/M work.

Lost Boi by Sassafras Lowrey. A queer punk reimagining of Peter Pan. Probably one of the more accessible works on this list!

Lie With Me by Philippe Besson. Two teenage boys in 1980s France.

Maurice by E. M. Forster. Landmark work written in 1914. Also made into a film; see below.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. An expansive (and long) novel about the story of Cal, a hermaphrodite, by the author of The Virgin Suicides.

Orlando by Virginia Woolf. Plays with gender, time and space. Virginia Woolf’s ode to her lover Vita Sackville-West. What more do you want? (also a great film; see below).

Oscar Wilde’s works - The Picture of Dorian Gray would be the place to start. Another member of the classical literary canon.

Saga, vol.1 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples. Graphic novel; warning for sexual content.

Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinburg. An acclaimed work looking at working-class lesbian life and gender identity in pre-Stonewall America.

The Holy Innocents by Gilbert Adair. The basis for Bertolucci’s The Dreamers (2003). I am hesitant to recommend this because I have not read this, though I have watched the film; the M/M dynamic and LGBTQ themes do not seem to be the primary focus. Warning for sexual content and incestuous dynamics between the twins.

The Animals At Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey. Plays with gothic elements, set during WW2, F/F elements.

The Hours by Michael Cunningham. References Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway. Probably a good idea to read Virginia Woolf first.

The Immoralist by André Gide. Translated from French.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline MIller. Drawing from the Iliad, focusing on Achilles and Patroclus. Contemporary fantasy that would be a good pick for younger readers.

The Swimming Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst. Gay life pre-AIDS crisis. Apparently contains a fair amount of sexual content.

What Belongs To You by Garth Greenwell. A gay man’s coming of age in the American South.

> LITERATURE: WORLD LITERATURE

American and Western experiences are more prominent in LGBTQ works, just due to the way history and the community have developed, and the difficulties of translation. These are English and translated works that specifically foreground the experiences of non-White people living in (often) non-Western societies. I’m not white or American myself and recommendations in this area are especially welcomed.

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson. The memoirs and essays of a queer black activist, exploring themes of black LGBTQ experiences and masculinity.

A People’s History of Heaven by Mathangi Subramanian. Female communities and queer female characters in a Bangalore slum. A very new release but already very well received.

Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima. Coming-of-age in post-WW1 Japan. This one’s interesting, because it’s definitely at least somewhat autobiographical. Mishima can be a tough writer, and you should definitely look into his personality and his life when reading his work.

Disoriental by Négar Djavadi. A family saga told against the backdrop of Iranian history by a queer Iranian woman. Would recommend going into this knowing at least some of the political and historical context.

How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones. A coming-of-age story and memoir from a gay, black man in the American South.

In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado. Another acclaimed contemporary work about the dynamics of abuse in LGBTQ relationships. Memoir.

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo. Contemporary black British experience, told from the perspectives of 12 diverse narrators.

> POETRY

Crush by Richard Siken. Tumblr loves Richard Siken, worth a read.

Diving Into The Wreck by Adrienne Rich.

He’s So Masc by Chris Tse.

If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho, trans. Anne Carson. The best presentation of Sappho we’re likely to get.

Lord Byron’s works - Selected Poems may be a good starting point. One of the Romantics and part of the classical literary canon.

Les Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire. The explicitly lesbian poems are apparently in the les fleurs du mal section.

> MEMOIR & NONFICTION

And The Band Played On: Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts. An expansive, comprehensive history and exposure of the failures of media and the Reagan administration, written by an investigative journalist. Will probably make you rightfully angry.

How to Survive A Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS by David France. A reminder of the power of community and everyday activism, written by a gay reporter living in NYC during the epidemic.

Indecent Advances: The Hidden History of Murder and Masculinity Before Stonewall by James Polchin. True crime fans, this one’s for you. Sociocultural history constructed from readings of the news and media.

Queer: A Graphic History by Meg-John Barker. It’s illustrated, it’s written by an academic, it’s an easier introduction to queer theory. I still need to pick up a copy, but it seems like a great jumping-off point with an overview of the academic context.

Real Queer America by Samantha Allen. The stories of LGBTQ people and LGBTQ narratives in the conservative parts of America. A very well received contemporary read.

The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson. Gender, pregnancy and queer partnership. I’m not familiar with this but it is quite popular.

When Brooklyn Was Queer by Hugh Ryan. LGBTQ history of Brooklyn from the nineteenth century to pre-Stonewall.

FILMS

With films it’s difficult because characters are often queercoded and we’re only now seeing films with better rep. This is a shortlist of better-rated films with fairly explicit LGBTQ coding, LGBTQ characters, or made by LGBTQ persons. Bolded films are ones that I think are likely to be more accessible or with wider appeal.

A Single Man (2009) - Colin Firth plays a middle-aged widower.

Blue Is The Warmest Colour (2013) - A controversial one. Sexual content.

Booksmart (2019) - A pretty well made film about female friendship and being an LGBTQ teen.

Boy Erased (2018) - Warning for conversion therapy.

BPM (Beats Per Minute) (2017) - Young AIDS activists in France.

Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Cowboy gays. This film is pretty famous, do you need more summary? Might make a good triple bill with Idaho and God’s Own Country.

Cabaret (1972) - Liza Minelli. Obvious plug to also look into Vincent Minelli.

Calamity Jane (1953) - There’s a lot that could be said about queer coding in Hollywood golden era studio films, but this is apparently a fun wlw-cowboy westerns-vibes watch. Read the reviews on this one!

Call Me By Your Name (2017) - Please don't debate this film in the notes.

Caravaggio (1986) - Sean Bean and Tilda Swinton are in it. Rather explicit.

Carol (2015) - Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara are lesbians in 1950s America.

Clouds of Sils Maria (2014) - Hard to summarise, but one review calls it “lesbian birdman” and it has both Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart in it, so consider watching it.

Colette (2018) - About the bi/queer female writer Colette during the belle epoque era. This had Keira Knightley so by all rights Tumblr should love it.

Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) - Lesbian love in 1920s/80s? America.

God’s Own Country (2017) - Gay and British.

Happy Together (1997) - By Wong Kar Wai. No further explanation needed.

Heartbeats (2010) - Bi comedy.

Heartstone (2016) - It’s a story about rural Icelandic teenagers.

Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party (2015) - Queer teens and religious themes.

Je, Tu, Il, Elle (1974) - Early Chantal Akerman. Warning for sexual scenes.

Kill Your Darlings (2013) - Ginsberg, Kerouac and the Beat poets.

Love, Simon (2018)

Lovesong (2016) - Lesbian and very soft. Korean-American characters.

Love Songs (2007) - French trio relationship. Louis Garrel continues to give off non-straight vibes.

Mädchen In Uniform (1931) - One of the earliest narrative films to explicitly portray homosexuality. A piece of LGBTQ cinematic history.

Maurice (1987) - Adaptation of the novel.

Midnight Cowboy (1969) - Heavy gay coding.

Milk (2008) - Biopic of Harvey Milk, openly gay politician. By the same director who made My Own Private Idaho.

Moonlight (2016) - It won the awards for a reason.

My Own Private Idaho (1991) - Another iconic LGBTQ film. River Phoenix.

Mysterious Skin (2004) - Go into this film aware, please. Young actors, themes of prostitution, child ab*se, r***, and a lot of trauma.

Orlando (1992) - An excellent adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novel, and in my opinion far more accessible. Watch it for the queer sensibilities and fantastic period pieces.

Pariah (2011) - Excellent coming-of-age film about a black lesbian girl in Brooklyn.

Paris is Burning (1990) - LANDMARK DOCUMENTARY piece of LGBTQ history, documenting the African-American and Latine drag and ballroom roots of the NYC queer community.

Persona (1966) - It’s an Ingmar Bergman film so I would recommend knowing what you’re about to get into, but also I can’t describe it because it’s an Ingmar Bergman film.

Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975) - Cult classic queercoded boarding school girls.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) - By Celine Sciamma, who’s rapidly establishing herself in the mainstream as a LGBTQ film director. This is a wlw relationship and the queer themes are reflected in the cinematic techniques used. A crowd pleaser.

Pride (2014) - Pride parades with a British sensibility.

Rebel Without A Cause (1955) - Crowd-pleaser with bi coding and James Dean. The OG version of “you’re tearing me apart!”.

Rocketman (2019) - It’s Elton John.

Rent (2005) - Adaptation of the stage musical. Not the best film from a technical standpoint. I recommend the professionally recorded 2008 closing night performance instead.

Rope (1948) - Hitchcock film.

Sorry Angel (2018) - Loving portraits of gay French men.

Talk To Her (2002) - By Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar.

Tangerine (2015) - About trans sex workers. The actors apparently had a lot of input in the film, which was somehow shot on an iPhone by the same guy who went on to do The Florida Project.

The Duke of Burgundy (2014) - Lesbians in an S&M relationship that’s going stale, sexual content obviously.

The Gay Deceivers (1969) - The reviews are better than me explaining.

The Handmaiden (2016) - Park Chan-wook makes a film about Korean lesbians and is criminally snubbed at the Oscars. Warning for sexual themes and kink.

The Favourite (2018) - Period movie, and lesbian.

Thelma And Louise (1991) - An iconic part of LGBTQ cinematic history. That is all.

The Celluloid Closet (1995) - A look into LGBTQ cinematic history, and the historical contexts we operated in when we’ve snuck our narratives into film.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018) - Adaptation of the YA novel.

The Neon Demon (2016) - Apparently based on Elizabeth Bathory, the blood-drinking countess. Very polarising film and rated R.

The Perks of Being A Wallflower (2012) - Book adaptation. It has Ezra Miller in it I guess.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) - No explanation needed, queer and transgressive vibes all the way.

They (2017) - Gender identity, teenagers.

Those People (2015) - They’re gay and they’re artists in New York.

Tomboy (2011) - One of the few films I’ve seen dealing with gender identity in children (10 y/o). Celine Sciamma developing her directorial voice.

Tropical Malady (2004) - By Thai auteur Apichatpong Weerasethakul. His is a very particular style so don’t sweat it if you don’t enjoy it.

Vita and Virginia (2018) - Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West biopic

Water Lilies (2007) - Celine Sciamma again! Teenage lesbian coming-of-age.

When Marnie Was There (2014) - A Studio Ghibli film exploring youth, gender and sexuality.

Weekend (2011) - An indie film about young gay love.

Wilde (1997) - It’s a film about Oscar Wilde.

XXY (2007) - About an intersex teenager. Reviews on this are mixed.

Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001) - Wonder what Diego Luna was doing before Rogue One? This is one of the things. Warning for sexual content.

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graphicsfrost-blog · 7 years

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CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES: PRESENT A DETAILED CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF A CULTURAL TEXT

GEMMA FROST - GRAPHIC DESIGN

CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES: PRESENT A DETAILED CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF A CULTURAL TEXT

In this essay, I will be focusing on looking at the significance of a piece of cultural text and the relevance of it within our society today. The piece of cultural text that I have decided to look at is an advert that was released in March 2015. The advert cleverly uses the means of social culture and modern day society rules to engage the world with a case of domestic violence awareness.

2015, Salvation Army campaign advert against domestic abuse, South Africa.

Firstly, I will go through the history and significance of the advert and how it shook many people. The Salvation Army decided to use the imagery of one of the current (at that time) internet sensations to create an eye-catching advert against domestic violence. The dress that is shown in the advert is said internet sensation for the reason that when viewed, some people saw it to be black and blue and others saw it to be white and gold. ”The dress that broke the internet” went viral straight away and the salvation army weren’t waiting to pass this opportunity up so decided to turn it into an amazingly strong advert in awareness for domestic violence against women. After the first image of this dress was released on the internet, it blew up a storm, leading on to create memes, the news and as a fun conversational piece and test to whoever hadn’t already seen it. The advertising team in the South African, Salvation Army quickly took the iconic dress and presented it once more, but using the aspect of colour to create a chilling piece of advertising. The jarring ad shows a woman in the mythical white-and-gold version of the now infamous Roman Originals dress, but that’s not the only thing that covers her: She is also abundantly bruised, cut and scraped, with violet welts on her knees and a massive black eye. She stares directly into the camera, her defiance in stark juxtaposition to her horrific bruising, and appears alongside the question: “Why is it so hard to see black and blue?”. The main thing that strikes me personally about this quote taken from the advert is that, it isn’t trying to sell you something and it isn't telling you to believe something. It is an advert that really implores you to self-reflect on the topic that it is trying to create awareness for. By using the term “self-reflect”, I mean that it creates a sense of guilt and worry for that particular woman in the advert and in a broader sense, all domestic violence victims. I think this makes the advert as strong as it is because it isn't a form of social and cultural manipulation, it is a form of realisation via media that creates awareness for something that sadly only recently has become considered as a horrendous crime. “In the last decade, domestic violence against women has been realised as an appalling crime and an infringement against human rights. Thankfully, domestic abuse is now acknowledged as a serious health concern and is no longer considered a private matter between partners.” (Drennan, 2012). In 2014, a study showed that 85% of domestic abuse victims were women, that along with the fact that 1 in 6 women are subjected to domestic violence is shocking evidence of how the world is uncultured to the evolution of gender equality along with what is considered as social acceptance within an intimate relationship. Domestic violence is usually thought of as physical violence against, or an assault on, a woman. This is because a physical assault is the most visible form of domestic violence. In reality domestic abuse can and does include several forms of abuse including sexual, emotional and psychologically abusive behaviours (Box 1). - (Baird, K. & Salmon, D. 2006). One sad fact of the act against domestic abuse is that is has only been illegal in the united states since 1920, proving that time hasn't allowed our generation to evolve even a century on from when “wife beating” was considered to be a private, family matter. This being linked back to the advert’s slogan (why is it so hard to see black and blue) shows in context how the world is still so ignorant when being faced with the statistics of domestic abuse cases. It also begs the question as to why it took a dress to really get through to the heart of the media and social structure of today’s society. 'The best hijacking of the online culture I've seen recently. Bravo to the Salvation Army.' - Blakely, Andrew, (13:03, 6 March 2015), The Daily Mail, Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2982551/Why-hard-black-blue-Salvation-Army-launch-powerful-anti-domestic-abuse-advert-featuring-dress.html [accessed on 26.02.2017]. An interesting theory is that domestic abuse against women under the hand of men is so common because of the way people have been institutionalized in life. Theorist Judith Butler says, “Indeed, much of the most important work with feminist and lesbian/ gay studies has concentrated on actual regulations: legal, military, psy- chiatric, and a host of others. - Butler, Judith (2004). This got me thinking that because of the socialistic structure that mainly women are trying to break away from, the hand of men in this case is somewhat assumed to put women where they are considered to be their “place”. Whether this is with physical,, emotional or financial abuse, it's a sad fact that it happens. Linking back to the advert, one question that got me thinking is why they only choose to represent women as the victims of domestic violence in this advert. Of course, the dress being primarily feminine would indicate to put forth a female advert; however I’m unsure as to why the advertisers didn't include to promote awareness for male victims as well within the slogan’s subtitles. A part of me thinks that using the cultural relevance of the location of the advertisers (South Africa), it could have had an impact on the reason to not include the mention of male victims. “Second, and from the perspective of the advertising company, we set out to detect possible gender bias in the choice of the person responsible for the presentation of the creative proposal. Finally, our work offers recommendations for advertising creation with gender sensitivity” - Ruiz, A.H. & Llaguno, M.M. (2013), Being gender biased in advertising is definitely not unheard of, but in this case, for me it begs the question why it is still focusing on one gender in the cultural text I am exploring. And why if they decided just to focus on women in this advert, they didn't make a second advert that focuses on men. This essay has allowed me to engage with the significance of advertising with the use of cultural and socially viable sources, such as the “dress that broke the internet” and also explain my thoughts and ideas that come from comparing the advert to the relevance of culture today. Looking at the sources that i have included has given me the opportunity to open a debate with the decisions that were made upon making the advert and has automatically developed a personal discussion that could be never ending. I hope to have left a balanced unbiased approach to this cultural text and using my research, come away from it with a better understanding of the impact it has had.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Baird, K. & Salmon, D. 2006, "Identifying domestic abuse against women and children", Primary Health Care (through 2013), vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 27-31. Blakely, Andrew, (13:03, 6 March 2015), The Daily Mail, Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2982551/Why-hard-black-blue-Salvation-Army-launch-powerful-anti-domestic-abuse-advert-featuring-dress.html [accessed on 26.02.2017]. Butler, Judith (2004). Undoing gender. New York/London: Routledge, pp 40 Ruiz, A.H. & Llaguno, M.M. 2013, "El sexismo en publicidad: estructuras, discursos y recomendaciones1/Sexism in advertising: structures, discourses and recommendations", Historia y Comunicación Social, vol. 18, pp. 147-156.

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