09/27/19, Vol. 10 Issue 15

IMPORTANT FACTS FOR BIKTARVY®

This is only a brief summary of important information about BIKTARVY and does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition and your treatment.

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BIKTARVY BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects, including: } Worsening of Hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking BIKTARVY. Do not stop taking BIKTARVY without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.

ABOUT BIKTARVY BIKTARVY is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults. It can either be used in people who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before, or people who are replacing their current HIV-1 medicines and whose healthcare provider determines they meet certain requirements.

BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS. Do NOT take BIKTARVY if you also take a medicine that contains: } dofetilide } rifampin } any other medicines to treat HIV-1

BEFORE TAKING BIKTARVY Tell your healthcare provider if you: } Have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis infection. } Have any other health problems. } Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if BIKTARVY can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking BIKTARVY. } Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: } Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, antacids, laxatives, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. } BIKTARVY and other medicines may affect each other. Ask your healthcare provider and pharmacist about medicines that interact with BIKTARVY, and ask if it is safe to take BIKTARVY with all your other medicines.

Get HIV support by downloading a free app at

MyDailyCharge.com

BVYC0103_BIKTARVY_B_10x10-5_GeorgiaVoice_KeepPushing2_DR4_r1v1jl.indd All Pages

(bik-TAR-vee)

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF BIKTARVY BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects, including: } Those in the “Most Important Information About BIKTARVY” section. } Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking BIKTARVY. } Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys. If you develop new or worse kidney problems, they may tell you to stop taking BIKTARVY. } Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat. } Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death.

Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain. } The most common side effects of BIKTARVY in clinical studies were diarrhea (6%), nausea (6%), and headache (5%).

These are not all the possible side effects of BIKTARVY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking BIKTARVY. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with BIKTARVY. HOW TO TAKE BIKTARVY Take BIKTARVY 1 time each day with or without food.

GET MORE INFORMATION } This is only a brief summary of important information about BIKTARVY. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more. } Go to BIKTARVY.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5. } If you need help paying for your medicine, visit BIKTARVY.com for program information.

BIKTARVY, the BIKTARVY Logo, DAILY CHARGE, the DAILY CHARGE Logo, KEEP PUSHING, LOVE WHAT’S INSIDE, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies.

Version date: December 2018 © 2019 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. BVYC0103 02/19

KEEP PUSHING.

Because HIV doesn’t change who you are.

BIKTARVY® is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in certain adults. BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.

Ask your healthcare provider if BIKTARVY is right for you. To learn more, visit BIKTARVY.com.

Please see Important Facts about BIKTARVY, including important warnings, on the previous page and visit BIKTARVY.com.

4/9/19 2:54 PM

voice

georgia VOL.10 • ISSUE 15

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

PO Box 77401 • Atlanta, GA 30357 P: 404-815-6941; F: 404-963-6365

EDITORIAL

Editor: Patrick Colson-Price pcolson-price@thegavoice.com Editorial Contributors: Conswella Bennett, Cliff Bostock, Camryn Burke, Melissa Carter, Mariah Cooper, Dallas Duncan, Aidan Ivory Edwards, Jim Farmer, Luke Gardner, O’Brian Gunn Elizabeth Hazzard, Ryan Lee, Rose Pelham, Dionne Walker

PRODUCTION

Art Director: Rob Boeger rboeger@thegavoice.com

ONLINE

Digital Content Senior Staffer: Katie Burkholder kburkholder@thegavoice.com

BUSINESS

Principal/Publisher: Tim Boyd tboyd@thegavoice.com

SALES

Sales Executive: Dixon Taylor dtaylor@thegavoice.com Sales Executive: Jim Brams jbrams@thegavoice.com Business Advisor: Lynn Pasqualetti Financial Firm of Record: HLM Financial Group National Advertising: Rivendell Media, 908-232-2021 sales@rivendellmedia.com

FINE PRINT

All material in Georgia Voice is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without the written consent of Georgia Voice. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred nor implied. The appearance of names or pictorial representation does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that person or persons. We also do not accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers.

Unsolicited editorial material is accepted by Georgia Voice, but we do not take responsibility for its return. The editors reserve the right to accept, reject, or edit any submission. Guidelines for freelance contributors are available upon request.

A single copy of Georgia Voice is available from authorized distribution points. Multiple copies are available from Georgia Voice office only. Call for rates. If you are unable to reach a convenient free distribution point, you may receive a 26-issue mailed subscription for $60 per year. Checks or credit card orders can be sent to Tim Boyd, tboyd@thegavoice.com Postmaster: Send address changes to Georgia Voice, PO Box 77401, Atlanta, GA 30357. Georgia Voice is published every other Friday by The Georgia Voice, LLC. Individual subscriptions are $60 per year for 26 issues. Postage paid at Atlanta, GA, and additional mailing offices.

The editorial positions of Georgia Voice are expressed in editorials and in editor’s notes. Other opinions are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Georgia Voice and its staff.

To submit a letter or commentary: Letters should be fewer than 400 words and commentary, for web or print, should be fewer than 750 words. Submissions may be edited for content and length, and must include a name, address, and phone number for verification. Email submissions to editor@thegavoice.com or mail to the address above.

YOUR VOICE MATTERS

EDITORIAL

A Sense of Self Patrick Colson-Price I first want to preface that this piece is one that should come with reaction and feedback from my community, as it’s where I think I’ve learned the most over the years rather than trial and error. My husband and I have been together for nearly a year and a half, and we’ve had our share of ups and downs like any couple. I think most of my struggles tend to surround keeping my individuality within my relationship. I won’t divulge too much information but I will say I often ponder on how much of an individual sense of self I should have when in my relationship.

I’ve spoken to many couples who share everything, spend every second of their day together, only have sex with each other, and at the end of the day are happy and content.

Others say they venture out on their own and explore what the world has to offer in many different aspects. Some of these couples travel abroad together while others take week-long adventures individually.

Some couples play together sexually while others only have sex with others and not their partners. Some men are monogamous while others take pride in their polyamorous relationships. There’s such a wide spectrum of accepted activity that nothing can really be considered the norm anymore, especially in gay relationships.

Why do men want to be with other men that aren’t their husbands or boyfriends? It’s a question I ask all the time when I see a couple go off in their respective directions for a night of sexual exploration. Are they not satisfied with one another? Do they not turn each other on? A friend of mine told me one day that it’s not that they’re not satisfied with each other, it’s that one person may have needs that the other can’t meet. I started to understand it more.

Join us online: facebook.com/thegavoice twitter.com/thegavoice instagram.com/thegeorgiavoice youtube.com/user/GAVoice

4 Editorial September 27, 2019

If I’m into fisting which I am (fisting rather than being fisted) and my partner isn’t,

should I put my interests and desires on hold because of his disinterest? In the past, I would’ve answered differently than I would answer today. In the past, I’d agree that you shouldn’t want to do anything else if it’s not with your partner. Today, I say if your partner isn’t into what you’re into, it’s ok to have that conversation about exploring individual fetishes. It doesn’t mean that you don’t love the other person or aren’t sexually attracted to them anymore.

Outside of sex, it’s evident in the social setting too. The past two weekends, I wanted to go out to the club and my husband didn’t.

Instead of conforming to what he wanted to do, I simply asked if I could go out still, and he said yes. I must say, being out without him made me miss his presence more. I was eager and excited to be home to get in bed with him. It’s that longing for something that isn’t right by your side that allows these types of individual activities to feel so much better. Now, going out is quite simple but there are more complicated arrangements that seem to weaken relationships.

For such a long time, I felt like relationships drained the sense of self that I had before I got involved with someone else. I’m here to say that losing oneself is the quickest way to lose your happiness, regardless sexually, socially, emotionally or mentally. I’ve dealt with the effects of conforming to others beliefs and activities. At the end of the day, we must always look out for ourselves and what we need and want. If your partner loves you and wants you to be your authentic, unapologetic self, he or she will understand and gladly encourage such behavior.

I’m a firm believer in giving someone permission to do what they want to exercise their own happiness. It’s not even about giving permission, it’s a right that your partner deserves because he’s not a piece of property or owned by you, he’s a human.

Be open to allowing your partner to spread his or her wings if he or she expresses their need to. The freedom you allow can be just what is needed to bring happiness to a struggling relationship.

“Racism on Grindr Negatively Affects Self Esteem and Life Satisfaction, Study Finds” Lykania Shk: “I block them and move on.”

Will Comeaux: “Racism isn’t good period!

They needed to do a study confirming that? Wow. And a person who feels the need to constantly be racist is miserable … genuinely happy people like to spread peace and happiness and don’t enjoy making people feel inferior.”

“Mike Pence Called Homosexuality “A Choice” in the ’90s” Justin Waldman: “So did he choose to be straight when faced with the options?”

Ernest Villa: “I didn’t choose to be Gay, I just got LUCKY!” “The Stage is Set for Fall!”

Peter Ent: “I saw this show last week and it’s terrific. The cast is outstanding. Every gay person must see this show. If I could I’d give it a Tony right now.”

“More Human Rights ‘Not Always Better,’ Says Secretary of State Mike Pompeo John Beers: “Let’s take away *his* human rights and see how he likes it.”

John Burger: “Privileged rich old white guy at work.”

Tracey Jordan: “Of course they don’t matter, unless it affects them.”

“Black Trans Woman Bee Love Slater Burned Beyond Recognition in Florida Meredith Langley: “Violence & murder because someone is different? Narrowminded people who act out of fear of something or someone that is different from them are a danger to society. The fact that we can’t just appreciate each other’s differences and respect boundaries is very sad.”

Charlotte Renee Storey: “I live in a society where the normal (culturally, politically, and religiously accepted) level of hate and bigotry allows human life to be easily devalued. This is bullshit and must be met just as forcefully.”

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

DINNER A W

I VA

•

R

ES

•

LABLE

PRE-SHO

CHANTICLEER

ERV

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Y A D

GRAMMY award-winning ensemble Chanticleer, known around the world as “an orchestra of voices,” will bring their brilliant harmonies to the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center.

Friday, October 25 at 8 p.m.

Byers Theatre

Find your tickets at citysprings.com Call the Box Office for group rates 770-206-2022

NEWS

Candidates Reach Out to LGBTQ Voters Rocking the 2020 Vote

GEORGIA SENATE CANDIDATE JON OSSOFF

PHOTO VIA INSTAGRAM

Katie Burkholder After the presidential election in 2016, Democratic voters instantly knew 2020 was going to be one of the most important elections to date. And with the Trump administration issuing 125 verbal and political attacks on LGBTQ Americans – and counting – 2020 is even more important for LGBTQ voters. With the Democratic primaries just around the corner, candidates are hunkering down on their pro-LGBTQ policies and backtracking on past antiLGBTQ mistakes.

While Sanders touts his LGBTQ victories on his website – voting against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act, cosponsoring and supporting legislation that supports the LGBTQ community in schools, the workplace, and the military, and backing Burlington, Vermont’s first pride march when he was mayor in 1983– he will not get the chance to publicly address them, as he didn’t participate in Friday’s forum and won’t be making an appearance at HRC’s upcoming LGBTQ Town Hall, broadcasted on CNN. While his campaign said that his absence was due to scheduling conflicts, Ross told The Guardian it was “a huge misstep on his part” that told us “all we need to know.”

While Georgia voters have yet to be polled, current national and regional polls predict former Vice President Joe Biden winning the ticket – he leads with 27.9 points nationally and 39.3 points in South Carolina, the closest state to Georgia in proximity and political orientation to be polled thus far. Both nationally and regionally, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, California Senator Kamala Harris, and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg join Biden in the top five.

Biden has a solid LGBTQ record, famously pushing for marriage equality by unexpectedly and publicly supporting same-sex marriage in 2012, but has had some blips in his record.

At the GLAAD LGBTQ Forum in Iowa on September 20, Biden was questioned on his support for the Defense of Marriage Act and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell as a senator in the ’90s, as well as his reference to Vice President Mike Pence as a “decent guy.” He rebutted by referencing his long-time support of same-sex marriage, claiming he “didn’t have to evolve” and has “been a strong advocate.” After the forum, supporters were quick to point out that Biden voted for an amendment to strike Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Buttigieg talked at the forum about his personal investment in the fight for LGBTQ rights, reliving his experience serving in the military as a gay man under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. “I remember the weight lifted when 6 News September 27, 2019

policy she defended. She also highlights her pro-LGBTQ past on her website, noting her establishment of an LGBT hate crimes unit as District Attorney of San Francisco in 2004 and her long-standing support of same-sex marriage, as she was marrying same-sex couples when many Democrats “supported civil unions.” She supports LGBTQ moves that other candidates have supported, like the passage of the Equality Act, but also specifically advocates for a third gender option on federal IDs and documents.

[Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell] was no longer a threat to my career,” he said. He related the past policy to the current transgender military ban – a ban he and other candidates have promised to end once elected president.

Buttigieg has been a consistent advocate for LGBTQ rights throughout his campaign –he promises to pass the Equality Act, pass safe schools legislation to protect LGBTQ youth, and enforce the non-discrimination provisions of the Affordable Care Act on his website. The Christian also been vocal against Vice President Mike Pence’s “religious” opposition to the LGBTQ community.

Trans rights was another one of the key issues discussed at Friday’s LGBTQ forum. Warren, despite her spotty anti-trans past opposing the court-ordered gender confirmation surgery of a transgender prisoner, mentioned the importance of combatting anti-trans violence and listed by name the eighteen Black trans women who have been murdered this year.

Angelica Ross, the host of the forum, praised Warren for it. “For me, it felt like more than an opportunistic moment,” she told The Guardian. “She is someone who is invested [in the LGBTQ community].” Warren has been a vocal ally throughout her candidacy; she has laid out an explicit plan to protect LGBTQ rights if elected president – steps in the plan include reversing the trans military ban, outlawing conversion therapy, and allowing gay and bisexual men to donate blood – and was the only presidential candidate to accept an invitation to this year’s Drag Con. Harris has also been outright with her support of the LGBTQ community despite an anti-trans move she made as Attorney General of California. At the forum, Harris was questioned about a brief she sent as AG that sought to deny gender-affirming surgery for trans inmates. Harris rebutted by saying she convinced the California Department of Corrections to change the

The emphasis on LGBTQ rights seen throughout this campaign cycle proves that 2020 will be a huge year for LGBTQ Georgians – and with former congressional candidate Jon Ossoff announcing his candidacy for Senate, the fight for LGBTQ rights hits even closer to home. Ossoff told the Georgia Voice he’d be “a strong and outspoken ally of the LGBTQ community” when running for Congress in 2017; at an LGBTQ meet and greet, he told his audience he’d “stand up for LGBT Georgians and Americans with everything I’ve got.”

During his campaign, which was one of the most successful Democratic campaigns in Georgia despite Ossoff ultimately losing, he ran with the promise of fighting against “discrimination, hate speech, or violence against Americans on the basis of their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or place of birth.” Nationally and locally, 2020 is proving to be a defining moment for LGBTQ America.

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

NEWS

AIDS Walk to Raise Money for Local HIV/AIDS Organizations Staff Reports The largest HIV/AIDS fundraiser in the Southeast, the 29th annual AIDS Walk Atlanta and Music Festival, is coming to Piedmont Park on Sept. 29.

Participants of the 5K, hosted by AID Atlanta, will run or walk to help raise over $750,000 of critical funds needed by the nine participating local HIV/ AIDS service organizations. The 3.2 mile scenic run/walk through Piedmont Park and Midtown will be followed by a community festival filled with live music and entertainment, food trucks, beverages, the AIDS Memorial Quilt display, free health information, and more. Free and confidential rapid HIV testing will also be available throughout the event.

Amara La Negra, Eric Bellinger, DJ Carisma, Raheem DeVaughn, and Grace Gibson.

Entertainment headliners include Monica,

Walker and runner registration opens at

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

10am, with the opening ceremony and remarks following at 11am. Runners of the 5k will start at 11:30am and walkers step off at 11:45am. The event closes out with the entertainment and festival at 2pm.

AID Atlanta has already raised two-thirds of their goal – $544,300 of $750,000. If you want to help them reach their goal, you can register for the 5K or simply make a donation through our website, thegavoice.com.

September 27, 2019 News 7

OUT ON FILM

Looking Into the History of Out On Film Jim Farmer When Out On Film began in Atlanta back in 1987, it was a different world.

An LGBTQ film festival was vital then for audiences starving for content – and it remains needed now.

The festival began by a handful of community activists, chief among them Rebecca Ranson.

LGBTQ-themed films were brought to town and shown, mostly on weekends. This was long before the days of streaming services or TV stations that regularly host LGBTQ programming, so getting to see depictions of LGBTQ individuals was much rarer.

By 1992, the event had become a week-long festival instead of a weekend one. Ranson was still working on Out On Film under the umbrella of Southeastern Arts and Media Education (SAME) but the event was also costaged by Southern Voice and Metropolitan Deluxe. Georgia Voice publisher Tim Boyd was involved, as was his partner John Kappers, who founded People Living With AIDS. SAME made a documentary about Kappers, produced by Ranson, that was screened at Out On Film in 1994 titled “About John,” featuring Boyd. Many of these folks remained with the festival until it was taken over by IMAGE Film and Video, later renamed the Atlanta Film Festival. Etcetera Magazine was also involved for many years following the name change.

In 2008, the Atlanta Film Festival decided it was time to devote themselves to one festival a year, not two, and a new team took over, including myself as festival director and my husband, Craig Hardesty, as board chair.

That first year was a bit insane determining how to move forward independently but by 2009 Out On Film was ready, producing a spring and fall festival.

The festival has had multiple venues, including Phipps Plaza and the Regal Hollywood 24.

It’s now housed at the Midtown Art Cinema, 8 Out On Film September 27, 2019

“The festival began by a handful of community activists, chief among them Rebecca Ranson (left). LGBTQ-themed films were brought to town and shown, mostly on weekends. This was long before the days of streaming services or TV stations that regularly host LGBTQ programming, so getting to see depictions of LGBTQ individuals was much rarer.” with supplemental venues such the Plaza Theatre, Out Front Theatre Company and occasionally the Phillip Rush Center. Out On Film added a day to its line-up after the new team took over and to celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2017, became an 11-day event. It’s now one of the largest LGBTQ film festivals in the country.

Looking back at highlights, one of the films that premiered at Out On Film during 2000 was a small indie called “Sordid Lives,” written by playwright Del Shores. It went on to become a cult classic – especially in the LGBTQ community – and spawned a TV series of the same name and a sequel, “A Very Sordid Wedding,” which is the largest grossing film in Out On Film history. One of the biggest guests was in 2007 when RuPaul – well before “RuPaul’s Drag Race” became a sensation – came down for the film “Starrbooty.”

Since Out On Film made the commitment to programming year-round five years ago, it has been able to offer more collaborations and partnerships. In 2018, in a collaboration

with the Decatur Book Festival, Out On Film was able to host an evening with Armistead Maupin, who spoke after a screening of the documentary “The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin” and was able to talk about the just-announced Netflix reboot of “Tales.” Another successful event outside of the normal Sept/Oct festival was a 50 Years of LGBTQ Cinema film festival with Atlanta Pride to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Stonewall.

Every blue moon I get asked why we still need an LGBTQ film festival. People say that they can see LGBTQ-themed films virtually anywhere these days. Why leave the house?

The point is that there is nothing to rival the experience of seeing a movie with your community and having it impact you – or meeting the director or star of a film and getting to hang out with them and learn more. It also has to be said that in these scary political times, where we don’t really know what’s around the bend, it’s nice to offer a safe haven where the community can come together.

Those of us who live in gay-friendly areas have places where they can go and be around colleagues and friends who identify as LGBTQ. Yet not everyone has that luxury.

Many of our patrons live OTP and aren’t even out to their families or their bosses. When they come to Out On Film, it’s one of the few times they can be around similar people.

Out On Film is something I have been doing since 2018 and it’s the greatest professional challenge of my life. It’s hard work and sometimes it wears me and my team to the bone, but it’s so worth it, especially when you touch people and make them realize that they are not alone.

Thanks to all the pioneers who laid the groundwork before the current team – Ranson, Boyd, Swicord, Kappers, Jack Pelham, Jake Jacobsen, Anne Hubbell, Dave Hayward, Gabe Wardell, Paula Martinez, Dan Krovich, Genevieve McGillicuddy and more. Thanks as well to all the patrons and sponsors who make the festival possible each year.

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

OUT ON FILM

A Night Out On Film Your 2019 Review of This Years Feature Films Steve Warren It’s time for our yearly review of those feature films being shown at the 2019 Out on Film Festival, and we’re excited! Most of the films in this festival have at least one of three goals: 1. Celebrating our victories: If you can barely remember when same-sex marriage was illegal, you need a history lesson from someone who remembers Stonewall and what life used to be like for LGBTQ people.

2. Planning to move forward: There’s still room for improvement in achieving full equality, with new “religious freedom” laws legalizing discrimination, Trump banning trans troops, 40 percent of transgender teens attempting suicide, and many states not including us in their equality laws.

3. Screw it. Let’s just tell a good story.

Clockwise from above: The Garden Left Behind; Sell By; and Gay Chorus Deep South. (Publicity photos)

While I’m only reviewing features, don’t forget the 15 programs of shorts, many of them free. They’re perfect for brief attention spans, and if something doesn’t appeal to you, you’re only stuck with it for a few minutes, not an hour and a half or more.

While previewing this year’s Out on Film, I watched “Sell By” and “Straight Up” back to back. I felt the former was a too-in depth story about a group of friends that keeps the rest of us at arm’s length, while the latter resonated with me so deeply I wasn’t sure anyone else would get it (I’ve since talked to someone else who saw it and he enjoyed it as much as I did, so there are at least two of us, but a third didn’t like it at all).

The quality of festival films seems to improve every year, even if many are the work of novice filmmakers with little or no budget.

Though few will have theatrical runs, many compare favorably with some of the films that open wide because they’re thought to have the potential to reach a broader audience.

You can read elsewhere about distributors losing bundles by overestimating the appeal of movies they’ve released. It’s a tough call, even in programing a festival for a specialized audience, as Out on Film Director (and GA Voice contributor) Jim Farmer does so well.

10 Out On Film September 27, 2019

So while I’ll be offering positive and negative views on several films in the next and online, the best advice I can give is to take a chance if something sounds interesting to you. It would be a dull world if we all had the same taste.

Of the 20-some features I’ve previewed so far, I’d pick “Straight Up” as the best narrative film and “For They Know Not What They Do” as the best documentary.

This year’s festival runs September 26-October 6, with all films through October 3 at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinemas and the closing weekend at the Out Front Theatre Company and Plaza Theatre (as noted in reviews in the next issue and online).

It’s always wise to check the festival’s website, www.outonfilm.org, for last-minute changes.

The ratings for the festival features in the next issue and online are on a four-star scale, but I never give anything four stars.

More in depth reviews available at thegavoice.com.

SELL BY (H H) September 28, 9:15pm The honeymoon is over for Adam (Scott Evans) and Marklin (Augustus Prew) after five years together. Marklin has struck it

rich with a fashion website, while Adam is a struggling painter, doing works in the style of a pretentious artist (Patricia Clarkson, appearing briefly) who sells them as her own. They’re part of a group of mostly thirtysomething New York yuppies, all of whom have their own stories. Writerdirector Mike Doyle seems to have made “Sell By” for the characters it’s about. If you don’t fit in with their clique, and I don’t, you can feel excluded; and I did.

THE GARDEN LEFT BEHIND (H H H) September 29, 5pm Like a contemporary version of “Pose” without the ballroom aspect, Flavio Alves’ first feature follows 30-ish Tina (Carlie Guevara), who’s lived with her grandmother (Miriam Cruz) in New York since coming from CONTINUES ON PAGE 11 TheGeorgiaVoice.com

OUT ON FILM CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 Mexico at five, as she begins transitioning to womanhood. A lot of information about the process transgenders face (it ain’t easy) is woven into the story, which focuses on Tina, her supportive, already transitioned friends, and a couple of men in her life, one of them a wild card. The script glosses over some financial questions but it covers a lot of bases, most of them very well.

GAY CHORUS DEEP SOUTH (H H H) September 29, 7:15pm After the 2016 election the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus toured five Southern states (not Georgia) to start a conversation about discrimination against LGBT people while states were passing “religious freedom” laws. David Charles Rodrigues’ documentary includes several well-sung songs in rehearsals and performances, but it’s not a concert film.

It’s more about the conversation, including personal stories of chorus members and others. A few have touching family reunions along the way. The film reminds us how much can be accomplished by leaving our bubble, getting to know the people we disagree with and letting them get to know us.

THE BLOND ONE (H H 1/2) September 29, 9:30pm Most foreign films require too much patience for American viewers. This one, by writerdirector Marco Berger, may set a record in that regard, but not unintentionally. In Buenos Aires Juan (Alfonso Barón) has rented his spare room to a co-worker, Gabriel (Gastón Re). Both men have girlfriends; divorced Gabo has a seven-year-old daughter who lives with his parents. The sexual tension between them mounts ever so slowly for more than half an hour before anything happens, and there are many uneventful stretches after that. It’s frustrating but effective, and I can’t deny being seriously turned on.

AN ALMOST ORDINARY SUMMER (H H 1/2) September 30, 7pm This year’s Big Gay Italian Wedding isn’t as good as last year’s, but it’s not bad.

Toni (Fabrizio Bentivoglio) has invited his own family and that of Carlo (Alessandro Gassmann) to his fabulous vacation home TheGeorgiaVoice.com

Clockwise from top: An Almost Ordinary Summer; Billie & Emma; Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street; and Leonard Soloway’s Broadway. (Publicity photos)

so the men can announce their engagement.

Carlo’s homophobic son Sandro plots with Toni’s daughter Penny to prevent the union.

The dramedy runs out of laughs about halfway through and it’s a chore to keep track of all the characters, but the overall story of two older men finding themselves and each other makes it worth the effort.

LEONARD SOLOWAY’S BROADWAY (H H H) October 1, 5pm Leonard Soloway was born a theater queen. If you were too, as I was, you’ll enjoy Jeff Wolk’s biographical film. Cleveland-born Soloway has been a fixture in New York theater for 70 years or so, and he’s been out most of that time. You don’t know him because he’s

played spotlight-averse roles like producer and general manager for more than a hundred shows. The film’s framework involves his efforts in 2014 to bring Maurice Hines to New York in “Tappin’ Thru Life”; but there are plenty of interviews with Soloway (at 90!) and his friends to provide backstage gossip.

SCREAM, QUEEN! MY NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (H H H) October 1, 7pm It wasn’t planned but “Freddy’s Revenge,” 1985’s sequel to “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” became a gay cult classic. Mark Patton, who played Jesse, thought it would make him a star; but the public thought he and it were “too gay.” In the year Rock Hudson was outed while dying from AIDS,

gay actors didn’t work. Patton vanished for almost 25 years, until another “Elm Street” documentary started him attending horror conventions, including a celebration of “Nightmare 2”’s 30th anniversary. Afterward we see Patton confronting writer David Chaskin, who’d thrown him under the bus initially. Will this be “Mark’s Revenge”?

BILLIE & EMMA (H H H) October 1, 9:15pm Has there ever been another Filipino lesbian high school romance? Back in the ‘90s, Billie (Zar Donato), the new girl in the Catholic school where her aunt teaches, begins a romance with Emma (Gabby Padilla), one CONTINUES ON PAGE 12 September 27, 2019 Out On Film 11

OUT ON FILM CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 of the smartest, most popular girls. Then Emma finds out she’s pregnant. She’s hoping for a scholarship, but Catholic schools aren’t big on pregnancy or abortion (not to mention homosexuality). Writer-directorLGBT activist Samantha Lee takes on a lot of responsibility here and it’s remarkable how smoothly she makes it all work together at a good pace without seeming rushed.

5B (H H H) (October 2, 7pm) In the early 1980s, many doctors and nurses, let alone friends and relatives, were afraid to go near AIDS patients before anything was known about the disease but its high fatality rate. San Francisco General became the first U.S. hospital to have a separate AIDS ward, Ward 5B, where patients could receive compassionate care from health care professionals and volunteers who were willing to take calculated risks to be humane.

Several of them survived to take part in this documentary by Paul Haggis and Dan Krauss about the first decade of HIV/AIDS, which is a well-deserved tribute to them.

CUBBY (H H H) (October 2, 7:15pm) That Mark Blane wrote, co-directed and stars as Mark, who also hails from Indiana, could lead you to expect an element of autobiography in his impressive debut, a comedy about a 30-ish gay misfit on his own for the first time in New York. He finds a group apartment to share and gets part-time work babysitting a six-year-old. Mark, who draws gay sex he hasn’t experienced, has an imaginary friend, Leather-Man, who he discovered in a hidden magazine when he was six years old. Mark can be lovable or scary but he’s always fun to watch – from a safe distance.

THE SHINY SHRIMPS (H H H) (October 3, 7:15pm) We’ve seen many movies about a reluctant coach turning a bunch of losers into champions, but the gay water polo team in this French comedy is based on a real team.

Forced to train the Shiny Shrimps for the Gay Games is Matthias (Nicolas Gob), who has to 12 Out On Film September 27, 2019

Clockwise from top: Bit; All Male, All Nude: Johnson’s; Cubby; and Changing the Game (Publicity photos)

redeem himself for using a homophobic word on television. The seven gay men and one trans woman on the team each have stories, some rather dramatic or melodramatic.

After a funny start the movie becomes overly serious as their stories play out, but it retains a positive energy that saves the day.

ALL MALE, ALL NUDE: JOHNSON’S (H H 1/2) October 3, 9:15pm Gerald McCullouch’s follow-up to “All Male, All Nude,” about Atlanta’s Swinging Richards, is less nude but still, er, visually stimulating, and provides some insight into the club business. It’s about Johnsons, a similar bar in Fort Lauderdale-adjacent

Wilton Manors, that was opened by former SR d.j. Matt Colunga. To qualify as a “go-go bar” they make dancers keep certain things covered, even if customers don’t keep their hands or money to themselves. Colunga may overstate what a clean business he runs and how well he treats his employees, but testimonials of customers, dancers and staff lend credence to his claims.

BIT (H H ) October 4, 7pm “Bit,” an ambitious attempt to reinvent the teen vampire genre, bites off more than it can chew. The character of Laurel and Nicole Maines, who plays her, are both trans, but that’s neither obvious nor relevant. Laurel

graduates high school in Oregon and heads to L.A. for a gap summer. She’s soon sucked into a group of vampires, led by Duke (Diana Hopper), who are lesbian but more importantly feminist. A lot of exposition is devoted to their history and special rules, but one gets the idea that their cure for toxic masculinity is worse than the disease.

CHANGING THE GAME (H H H) October 5, 2pm Out Front Theatre Should there be a “T” in Team? Michael Barnett’s documentary about three transgender high school athletes in CONTINUES ON PAGE 13 TheGeorgiaVoice.com

OUT ON FILM CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 different states (Texas, New Hampshire and Connecticut) with different rules, studies legitimate questions. It may require the wisdom of Solomon to come up with a solution that’s fair to everybody, because none fully resolves the issue of testosterone, natural or injected, giving one an unfair advantage over cisgender female competitors.

The film’s not “fair and balanced,” but it can save lives. That and getting to know three likable young folks – Mack, Sarah and Andraya – make “Changing the Game” supremely worthwhile.

MOM + MOM (H H H) October 5, 9pm Out Front Theatre Lesbians are forbidden to co-parent in Italy, so Karole (Linda Caridi) and Ali (Maria Roveran) travel to Barcelona to get Ali inseminated, and they’re not immediately successful. I enjoyed being plunged into their

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

wacky world, based on the experiences of director and co-writer Karole Di Tommaso.

Her overabundant imagination leaves the impression that everyone in Italy (except our heroines, of course) is eccentric. I wondered why Karole’s brother doesn’t inseminate Ali, but the film’s odd wavelength is too irresistible to be spoiled by logic.

STRAIGHT UP (H H H 1/2) October 5, 9:30pm Plaza Theatre I think I’m in love with writer-director James Sweeney, who also stars as OCD-afflicted Todd in this odd romcom. I know I’m in love with his movie. Todd can’t stand bodily fluids, so he doesn’t want to have sex – with anyone, even though he’s obviously gayer than Pride.

Rory (Katie Findlay) is a wannabe actress who blows every audition. Individually they’re a mess, but together they’re a perfect match; but is a lack of sex a dealbreaker for a young couple? “Straight Up” isn’t for everyone, but it sure is for me!

MAKING SWEET TEA PUBLICITY PHOTO

MAKING SWEET TEA ( H H H) October 6, 4:15pm Out Front Theatre Despite its haphazard organization there’s a lot to like about “Making Sweet Tea,” in which Dr. E. Patrick Johnson (call him Patrick) visits or revisits, some in Atlanta

and Decatur, six of the men he profiled in his book “Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South.” The film is partly about adapting the book into a stage play, apparently a solo show with Patrick playing all the characters.

He tells their stories well in their voices, but the film is at its best when it just lets the men spill their own tea.

September 27, 2019 Out On Film 13

FILM

TrEasURe HuNt FINDING HIDDEN GEMS IN GEORGIA’S FILM INDUSTRY 1. Swan House

Patrick Colson-Price

We’ve got something fun for you to do this weekend, and it involves a comfy pair of shoes, your favorite iced coffee, and your Google maps! As you already know, Atlanta is the Hollywood of the South and it’s evident when you drive around the metro. We’ve put together some of the top filming locations found in some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbuster films!

1

Located at 130 West Paces Ferry Road, NW in one of Buckhead’s most upscale neighborhoods, the Swan House was the property used as President Snow’s mansion in the “Hunger Game” films.

2. Goat Farm Arts Center

Located at 1200 Foster St. NW, the venue was used for filming District 12 in the “Hunger Games,” home to Katniss Everdeen.

While exploring the lot, keep an eye out for pieces of coal on the ground. During production, they were used as props to bring to life District 12’s coal mining industry!

3. High Museum of Art

Located at 1280 Peachtree St. NW, the exterior of the museum was used in the scene from “Black Panther” where Michael B. Jordan steals an ax from a London museum.

4. Atlanta City Hall

Located at 55 Trinity Ave., the building was used in a post-credit scene where T’Challa addresses the United Nations in “Black Panther.”

5. Wheat Street Towers

2

3

9

6

Located at 375 Auburn Ave. NE, the low-income apartment complex east of downtown Atlanta is where the “Black Panther” monumental opening and ending scenes were filmed portraying apartment projects in Oakland, California.

6. Piedmont Park

Atlanta’s largest green space has been used in films, including “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” and “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.”

7

7. The Georgian Terrace

8 5

Located at 659 Peachtree St. NE, this hotel has a long legacy of film connections. The Grand Ballroom was used for a gala that coincided with the premiere of “Gone with the Wind.” More recently, 1974’s “Cockfighter,” “Identity Thief,” “The Change-Up” and “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” all used the hotel as a filming location.

8. Atlanta Marriott Marquis

4

Located at 265 Peachtree Center Ave. NE, it has the largest atrium in the world, which makes it a unique filming location. In “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” the hotel stands in as the Victor’s Capital Housing. In “Flight,” Denzel Washington’s character, Whip Whitaker, gets drunk in the hotel lobby the night before his hearing. The unique atrium was also used recently in “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”

9. The Silver Skillet

Located at 200 14th St. NW, this old school diner has been up and running for nearly 50 years, and has been previously featured in “Remember the Titans,” “The Founder,” and “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.”

14 Film September 27, 2019

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

FILM

A Look Behind the Lens LGBTQ Actors Share Their Experiences as Extras, Leads in Georgia-based Productions

lawyer Bryan Stevenson, who defends wrongly accused inmates and those who can’t afford legal representation. Stevenson is portrayed by actor Michael B. Jordan, and Barnes’ residence was his home in the film.

Dallas Anne Duncan

“This gentleman called us; he was a scout who looks for places for the movie industry and wanted to come out and look at it,” Barnes said. “He came out and then came back a second time and brought people who were a little more influential in the film.”

Georgia’s most well-known crops are collectively referred to as “the five Ps:” peaches, pecans, pine, peanuts, and poultry. It might be time to add a sixth “P” for production; film, TV and commercial production, specifically, as the state’s industry is blossoming.

She said they spent more time measuring the entirety of the home than they did filming inside of it – the camera crew was there for only a day – and used much of what was in the home as its furnishings in the movie.

“Our industry took off during the recession,” said Craig Dominey, camera-ready program manager for the Georgia Film Office. “A lot of people who were out of work at the time crossed over into the film industry and have been there since.”

The influx of production crews, creative teams, celebrities, actors and everyone else associated with a shoot means more business in local businesses. Caterers are sought out to bring food to set, dry cleaners are required for frequent costume changes and laundry services. The Georgia Film Office has a Georgia Production Registry where interested parties can list their business, support service or interest in being on a crew, which is then shared with production companies.

Atlanta and Savannah are the cities with the most film appearances, and Columbus and Augusta are becoming more popular as well.

But it’s not just the metropolises creative teams seek.

“It’s fun to see these smaller communities in Georgia that don’t see much production suddenly get one of those,” Dominey said.

A field out in Chattahoochee Hills was home to the Wakanda scenes in “Black Panther,” and “The Marks,” a ’90s-style coming-ofage comedy, was recently filmed in smaller towns around Atlanta, including Villa Rica.

“They were excited to host us, these small 16 Film September 27, 2019

ATLANTA-BASED ACTRESS LAURIE WINKEL (R) COURTESY PHOTO

towns, and some of them have these thriving backyard wrestling communities,” Atlantabased actress Laurie Winkel, who identifies as bisexual, told Georgia Voice. “Some of the small towns were welcoming and people came out for free to be extras.”

Location, location, location Each of Georgia’s 159 counties has a film liaison, and Dominey oversees that network.

“We’re sort of the starting point for a lot of the productions that are looking to shoot here,” Dominey said. “We do take trips out to [Los Angeles] and let people know about us and connect with folks who are thinking of shooting here or have shot here.”

Most of the time, the conversations begin with a phone call or an email from a production company that’s looking to film in Georgia.

“They may be looking just for Georgia, or various states or various countries, depending on what the script calls for,” Dominey said.

“With locations, we try to find areas of the state that would work location-wise for what the story calls for in the TV series or film.”

The Film Office oversees a publicly accessible photo database in which county film liaisons and citizens can upload and share potential locations for filming. Dominey said sometimes the production companies have been through this database and found places, but many times the Film Office puts together a photo package to submit after the initial phone call.

“If it’s a story that is calling for a main location, a swamp, a small town, a farm, we’ll find locations in this database and group them into those categories. So when they open it on their end, they can say, ‘OK, here’s the scene that takes place in the swamp and here’s some locations in Georgia that might work for that,’” Dominey said. “A lot of times they’ll decide to come here with a creative team … we’ll go around and visit some places. Hopefully based on a trip like that they decide we have the total package creatively, and the incentives and the other amenities, and they decide to shoot the project here.”

That’s precisely what happened to Atlanta resident Martha Barnes, whose late motherin-law’s house was scouted in Conyers for use in “Just Mercy,” a movie about Alabama

“We’re very interested to see how [the movie] comes out,” she said. “It’s a beautiful house.”

Hayley Lathem and her fiancée Elisa Atkins, both Augusta residents who identify as pansexual, got to work on-location and on an indoor set as extras in the DC-inspired series “Doom Patrol.”

“It’s surprising they did so much to change the city street. It was more just structure that was there and everything else was so different than what it looks like in normal life,” Lathem said. “The staging and the set inside was so cool because you would walk from one set to another and see the inside of whole houses in the building, and you come out of that set and you realize you’re in a warehouse. Think of two or three Wal-Marts built together with nothing in it, and that’s how huge it is.”

Extra, extra!

One of Atkins’ friends worked on the Netflix series “Stranger Things” and got a casting email asking for same-sex couples, which she forwarded to Atkins and Lathem.

“When we applied, they were looking for same-sex couples and drag kings and queens, and I’m also a drag king,” Lathem told Georgia Voice.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 17 TheGeorgiaVoice.com

FILM

HAYLEY LATHEM AND HER FIANCÉE ELISA ATKINS COURTESY PHOTO

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16 And for what it’s like to get to be a real-life same-sex couple playing a fictional samesex couple?

“We just got to hold hands the whole time,” Atkins said. They also got to kiss on-screen.

“It was kind of cool to know that I didn’t have to change myself or who I am to fit ‘society standards,’ and that I could just be myself,” Lathem said, adding that she also got to help teach the series’ makeup team how to transform someone into a drag king.

“The makeup artists that were doing this and setting it up and giving us all of our makeup did not understand the difference versus drag kings and drag queens. I got to show them pictures of what I looked like as a drag king in the real world versus them trying to put makeup on me to make me look like a drag king.”

She and Atkins agree that meeting other extras and those with larger roles is their favorite part of being in the industry.

“A lot of people do this for a living, especially in Atlanta, because the Atlanta film industry is so huge. Just meeting how down-to-Earth these people are, even the cast and crew, the celebrities,” Lathem said. “It’s so cool to know like, I’m sitting next to Brendan Fraser in several scenes or Matt Bomer.”

Winkel is one of those who act full-time.

She’s been in several true crime shows “getting murdered left and right,” but has TheGeorgiaVoice.com

had several co-star appearances, which have 10 to 12 lines, and even the leading role in “The Marks,” where she gets to be a wrestler.

“I think every actor wants an experience where they have to learn a whole new skill,” Winkel said. “Indie films sometimes you get to stretch your talents and like, be a wrestler.

They can sometimes be more adventurous.”

Her true crime roles could also be described as adventurous: “I’m like the red herring; the younger woman who was having an affair with the guy who died and maybe I did it. I did wear some ridiculous ’80s lingerie and lounged around in silky red pajamas,” Winkel said.

One of her most unusual projects was a show called “Snapped: Notorious,” which was a mini-series about the BTK Killer.

“They had to tie me up in like, scantily clad underwear and I was hog-tied. There’s a very capable stunt coordinator on set, but it was a very vulnerable position to be in. We had several positions where I was being choked or thrown or being thrown to the ground, and at one point there was a bag being put over my head,” she said.

Winkel’s also been cast in the show “Dark Waters,” which required traveling to Miami, Florida, and filming multiple death scenes on a crowded boat in freezing-cold water.

To read more about Georgia’s LGBTQ film industry, visit our website at thegavoice.com.

September 27, 2019 Film 17

FILM

Late Night, Double-Feature Picture Show Atlanta’s Starlight Drive-In celebrates 70 years Dallas Anne Duncan Forget stepping back in time – Atlantans can drive back in time every day of the week at the Starlight.

The nostalgic drive-in theater has been an ITP mainstay long before there was a perimeter to be inside: 2019 marks the 70th year of cinematic magic for the Starlight Drive-In on Moreland Avenue in Atlanta.

“It’s just like any other movie theater,” general manager Ralph Nardoni told Georgia Voice. “It is a first-run venue, which means it’s playing all the current movies as they come out.”

As of press time, “It: Chapter Two,” “Rambo: Last Blood” and “Hustlers” were among the titles playing at the drive-in’s four screens.

Moviegoers flock to Starlight in the evenings for their showings between 45 and 90 minutes before showtime; flock to the snack bar for a soda, popcorn and candy bars; then snuggle into their vehicles and tune into the theater’s FM broadcast station. Most tickets are double-headers, meaning the nostalgia even includes the price of admission: kids watch for $1, and ages 9 and up can see two movies for $9.

She recommends the hot dogs at the snack stand.

Randy-Ashley Jackson-Dawkins, an Atlanta resident who identifies as a lady gay and queer lesbian, first learned of the Starlight from her girlfriend – now wife – who planned a date for them there.

By the height of their popularity in the ’50s and ’60s, there were more than 4,000 drivein theaters in the US.

“I remember going to drive-ins in the ’80s and it was always so much fun. I love being snuggled up in the car with my love or tailgating with friends and food,” she said.

“I love the open air and community feel. …

My last time at Starlight was for a friend’s birthday. She brought a grill and tons of food. We ate, laughed, talked to strangers and made memories.”

18 Film September 27, 2019

Days of drive-ins past New Jersey was home to the first patented drive-in theater, which opened in June 1933.

According to a piece by the New York Film Academy, or NYFA, it was created “as a solution for people unable to comfortably fit into smaller movie theater seats,” and was advertised as a place where “the whole family is welcome, regardless of how noisy the children are.”

“They maintained popularity as both a space for families to spend time with each other as well as an affordable date night option,” the NYFA piece states.

As the 1970s and its oil crisis rolled around, however, drive-ins began to lose their appeal: they were weather-dependent; Americans wanted to save money on gas; and the VCR was invented, making the original “Netflix and chill” an appealing

way to watch movies at home.

Commercial development was also on the horizon, and many drive-ins were shuttered, sold and demolished to make way for malls or other corporate architecture.

Yet the Starlight, unlike similar theaters in Atlanta, survived. Starlight originally had multiple owners, one of whom was out West involved in several other theaters and flea markets. He kept it after the other owners took a step back.

“The other thing that kept it going was the land value at the Starlight is relatively low, so there were no options for development. It was profitable enough to keep the operations going,” Nardoni said. “An instrumental part was being able to start a flea market there which is a daytime use for the property.”

In its early days, Starlight had a single “massive” screen, per its website, and in 1956 added a second screen and changed its name to the Starlight Twin. Going along with an industry trend of having multiple screens – both at drive-ins and sit-in theaters – in 1983 four screens were added, and

“It’s just like any other movie theater.

It is a first-run venue, which means it’s playing all the current movies as they come out.”

—General manager Ralph Nardoni daytime use for a regular swap meet began.

Today, Starlight has a fully upgraded digital production system so fans “now enjoy double-features with the sharpest, brightest picture and crystal-clear sound broadcast right to their car stereo.”

“When you’re in your vehicle you’re in your own little realm,” Nardoni said. “It’s almost like watching TV except you’re not actually in your own home. It’s a way of getting out and just be very casual.”

Given the choice, Jackson-Dawkins said she’d pick a drive-in “100 percent” over a modern sit-in theater any time.

“There’s nothing like being curled up on an air mattress on the back of a pick-up truck, watching a great movie with friends,” she said.

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FILM

The Always Uncertain Future of

Atlanta’s Oldest Theater Aidan Ivory Edwards

THE PLAZA THEATRE PHOTO VIA FACEBOOK

The Plaza Theatre, located on Ponce De Leon Avenue, is a historic landmark for Atlanta. It is the longest operating movie theater in the city, the only independent one, and resides in one of the first strip malls in America.

Now tucked between The Righteous Room, and a Fed-Ex, the theater first opened its doors inside of the Briarcliff Plaza on Dec. 23, 1939 with a showing of “The Women” starring Joan Crawford. The Briarcliff Plaza was developed by Relnac Inc., with the architectural mastermind George Harwell Bond behind the blueprint.

Bond also devised the Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in 1937, one of the three churches known as “Jesus Junction” in Buckhead as well. The theater has served as a historical bookmark for the urban ripple that began to take place in Atlanta. Before the plaza’s existence, it was a residential location full of apartment buildings and personal homes.

Looking at the Briarcliff Plaza, it’s easy to imagine that it was one of America’s first strip malls. Although the stores have changed, it still gives off a vintage aura that can’t be replicated in any other fashion other than standing the test of time. However, the Plaza Theatre entrance bears the classic marquee – signifying it’s graceful age. In the past, the plaza was pinned down with the name Plaza Drugs because of a pharmacy of the same name that occupied the same space where Urban Outfitters now resides.

The pharmacy’s name certainly didn’t help because the plaza was riddled with drug paraphernalia and prostitution. Accordingly, The Plaza Theatre was showing X-rated films, most likely to correlate with the vibe that the plaza was giving off.

This continued until George LeFont bought the theater in 1983 after Robert Griffith made a push for renovations of the plaza. LeFont 20 Film September 27, 2019

began the trend of improving the venue, a chain reaction that has laid the groundwork for future owners. The drastic improvements came with LeFont pushing the showings of independent, art-house, and foreign films.

He took the initiative to convert the second balcony into another seating area. Despite his best efforts, he was forced to put the theater up for sale in 2006 due to the competition from other metro Atlanta theaters.

In 2006, the theater was bought by Jonathan and Gayle Rej. Due to the need for extensive renovations, in 2013 they passed the theater onto Michael Furlinger of Furlinger Cinema Services. He brought the financial and business means to allow for the theater to prosper. The current owner, Chris Escobar, had been in the background – witnessing the changes as the executive director of The Atlanta Film Society. In 2017, the theater was purchased by Escobar. However, Furlinger

still has a hand in the theater collaborating with Escobar, embracing the needs of the theater to ensure its survival.

There has been a looming cloud over the fate of the movie theater due to distribution rights, surrounding competition, the convenience of streaming entertainment, and the inevitable gentrification of Atlanta. The plaza currently has pending proactive preservation which would protect the property from being pushed out by larger companies. The idea of an independent theater is daunting – but this theater is a community who pour their heart into its success. Contrary to the belief that the theater has been on thin ice due to the rapid changes of ownership, and other stipulations beyond its control, it’s doing well.

Speaking with Richard, an employee of five years from the Plaza Theatre, he has no concerns about the future of the theater. “I’ll

“The plaza currently has pending proactive preservation which would protect the property from being pushed out by larger companies. The idea of an independent theater is daunting – but this theater is a community who pour their heart into its success.”

always be optimistic about this theater. We are doing very well,” he says. “Our partnerships are strong because they are our friends.” The theater’s partnerships include the Atlanta Film Festival and the LGBTQ film festival Out On Film. The theater shares hosting Out on Film along with Landmark Midtown Arts Cinema and the LGBTQ venue Out Front Theatre Company (Sept. 26 through Oct. 6).

The Plaza Theatre is a one silver screen venue that seats up to 434 guests from the floor to the balcony. There’s a full-service bar, precisely thought out according to the films that are being shown. The concessions stand isn’t intimidating, it holds an older popcorn machine, and Cheerwine on a fountain machine. The theater is instilled with a heart full of love from the Atlanta community, and hones a sincere appreciation for all of the motion arts – the Plaza Theatre is here to further its history.

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

FILM

Little Town of Horrors Rocky Horror Gives Statesboro a Chance to Get Weird

THE CAST OF THE STAESBORO “THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW” PHOTOS VIA INSTAGRAM

Jessica Vue In the small college town of Statesboro, Georgia, the home of Georgia Southern University, Statesboro residents and college students look forward to an annual fall tradition: The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

It began to take root in Statesboro in the early to mid-2000s says Megan Bowen, the producer and organizer of the Rocky shadowcast. She says Rocky began as “a lowbudget, closet-costumed, thrown-together performance.”

The RU Theatre is also where Statesboro’s Rocky Horror Picture Show first took place, according to Bowen.

Taking place in downtown Statesboro for the past eleven years in the Averitt Center for the Arts, Rocky has had a shadowcast where ushers wear fishnets and shiny underwear, actors and dancers reenact the movie while it plays and Transylvanians dance in the aisles, pick virgins (first time audience members) to be sacrificed (play games on stage) and act as a guide to use prop bags during the movie.

GSA will be facilitating advertising, reservations, etc. for Rocky, according to Carr. Theatre South member Michael David Singleton, a senior communication studies major, will be assistant director and choreographer.

Rocky began as a musical in 1973 and became a movie in 1975. The shadowcast has become a longtime Rocky tradition since the movie debuted and became a Statesboro tradition since 2008. With fishnets, corsets, red lipstick and consensual butt touching, Rocky gives audience members and virgins a chance to yell out call backs, dance and get weird in a safe place.

In a conservative, small, southern town, Rocky is one of the few events where queer people can openly conglomerate and connect. “I have had so many cast members come through the show over the years who felt comfortable coming out for the first time in their lives because of our show, or who had their first experiences ever of not being judged for their identity, by being a part of our cast,” Bowen said. “That has been the crowning achievement of our show – not selling out the theatre (which we have also done for years).”

22 Film September 27, 2019

Although the Rocky live stage will be new to Statesboro, this will be the fourth Rocky liveshow that Robert Cottle, the art director for the Averitt, will be directing this year.

Cottle has previously served as a music director at Savannah’s Bay Street Theatre for Rocky’s live stage shows. Melanie Moore will be serving as this year’s assistant director.

“I’m excited to share this project,” Cottle said. “I’ve had a wonderful cast and I hope that the audience has much fun as I do.”

In May, the shadowcast announced on Facebook that it was no longer playing at the Averitt Center for the Arts, who had decided to go in a different direction with the broadway version of Rocky last fall.

Although the shadowcast was offered to be involved in the broadway Rocky, they declined due to creative differences.

“I understand that the stage show is the original,” Morgan Carr, the director of the

Rocky shadowcast, said. “With a live stage version, that requires more time requirement, more ability to sing and dance and more downsizing. We usually have about 30 to 40 people.”

The shadowcast went on to collaborate with GSU’s student organizations Gay-Straight Alliance and Theatre South to produce the show in the Russell Union Theatre, located in Georgia Southern University’s campus.

The live stage includes the same storyline, the same callbacks, and an additional song, according to Cottle. The Rocky liveshow will be taking place in October from the 10th to the 12th, starting at 7:30pm in the Averitt Center for the Arts. Admission is $20. You can get tickets at the Averitt Center for the Arts website. The Rocky shadowcast will be taking place on Oct. 25. The time is to be announced. Admission is free.

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ACTING OUT

Just in Time for Halloween Jim Farmer With Halloween just around the corner, Found Stages has a new show that will help audiences get their spook on. “Frankenstein’s Funeral” is a new look at Mary Shelly’s classic novel – with a twist.

It’s an immersive experience where St. John’s Lutheran Church becomes a Gothic campus. The show will feature holograms, magic, live music, ballet, special effects, period costumes and items to touch, taste and smell. It’s taken a year to put together, involving more than two dozen Atlanta artists, and only forty patrons will be allowed per performance.

The event is a follow-up to the company’s “Frankenstein’s Ball,” an immersive New Year’s Eve experience from last year. They tell different stories in contrasting ways but are envisioned as companion pieces, feels Nichole Palmietto, the company’s artistic director and co-founder. “In ‘Funeral,’ audiences will go on a journey through the novel and Mary Shelley will also be a character, as a guide,” she says.

“The audience has been invited to the funeral of Frankenstein. Shelley is giving his eulogy and she wants the audience to realize all the lives he has cost. We go back in time and we see a Frankenstein who is intelligent and articulate with humanity.

We travel the campus and watch the Monster come to life.”

Palmietto feels LGBTQ audience will be able to identify with the misunderstood lead character. “The Monster’s story is about fighting for acceptance and being part of society,” she says. “It’s easy for some to look at others who speak or look differently than we do and think of them as monsters. That is the story I hope people leave with – no matter how different someone seems from us they are still part of our community.”

The company was founded in 2014 by 24 Columnist September 27, 2019

“Frankenstein’s Funeral” COURTESY PHOTOS

Palmietto and Neeley Gossett, who became friends after seeing each other while regularly attending local shows. When they decided to work together, their first show was “Beulah Creek,” which took place during the summer of 1936 during a Baptist camp meeting in the middle of South Georgia. In it, a pastor’s wife meets a photographer who is there to take photos of a revival – and the two women enter into a forbidden romance.

It was staged at Dunwoody Nature Center and having it be successful made the two realize they were on to something. “We felt like we were addressing a need that no one else was addressing,” Palmietto says. “That was for immersive, site-specific theater that became more than just a play and involved the audience in the story and allowed them to become part of the narrative and further the plot. Even in immersive theater, I

have not seen audiences given this level of responsibility.”

Following that was “Joy Luck Club,” inspired by the Amy Tan novel, in which guests got to learn and play Mahjong with a character and share a memory of their own mother. The company has also produced digital plays as well and last year even staged a text message play.

Neither women identity as LGBTQ although Palmietto is an ally who is active in the Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

SHOWING TIMES Frankenstein’s Funeral Oct. 4 – Nov. 3 St. John’s Lutheran Church

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

EATING MY WORDS

Little Italy in Big Buckhead Cliff Bostock Recently, the website “Money Wise” announced that Maggiano’s Little Italy is America’s favorite “casual dining restaurant” – the usual term these days for a full-service chain restaurant. I typically dislike chain restaurants and had no idea that a Maggiano’s has stood on Peachtree near Lenox Square for about 20 years. So, when my friend Frank received a discount card, another friend and I joined him for dinner there last week. I viewed it as an anthropological expedition.

It was indeed an expedition. As soon as you open the door of this truly enormous place, you are sucked into a retro dimension of dark wood booths and mirrored panels, of blue floral carpeting and red-and-white checked tablecloths. The light is golden. We were whisked through the main dining room to a smaller adjoining room, then led to the back corner. It was the worst table in the house – we did have a reservation – and our principal view was of a toddler drooling and heaving bits of food from his mouth while his mama clutched a bag of paper diapers. Then the magic began. At the other end of the room, a man sat down at a piano with a trombone and began singing Sinatra-era songs. I was suddenly a kid, watching my parents dance in our living room to records they played on the hi-fi.

The enormous menu is as nostalgic as the music. “Little Italy” refers to neighborhoods populated by Italian immigrants in cities like New York and Chicago at the end of the 19th century. Unable to get all the fresh ingredients to prepare the food they grew up eating, they developed what’s become known as Italian-American cuisine. For example, tossing meatballs with pasta is an American novelty, as are popular dishes like chicken and veal parmigiana.

Maggiano’s offers a twofer that both my dinner companions fell for. If you buy a specialty pasta, you can choose a full serving of a “classic pasta” to carry home in an over-

sized paper bag. They both selected the carbonara specialty – spaghetti in a relatively light, creamy sauce with green peas and pieces of bacon. It was topped with a poached egg. Their take-home choices were Fettucine Alfredo and spaghetti and meatballs in a meat sauce. I understand the miserly appeal of spending $19 on the carbonara and then getting a $15 freebie, but, bitch, please! I’d prefer to go to BoccaLupo and spend $20 or so for a spectacular pasta than eat something mediocre to get a second portion of greater mediocrity.

I resisted the great bargain and ordered the chicken saltimbocca. In Maggiano’s $20 version, it is two pounded chicken breasts topped with a layer of prosciutto so skinny I barely noticed it. Further, it was covered in a thick layer of melted provolone cheese. All of this was served in a pool of wine sauce. You know, despite the microfiber prosciutto, it was okay. The chicken was tender, the cheese was creamy. It had a nicely pungent whiff of sage. What I would never order again is the side “chopped salad.” For $6.99, I got a bowl of hacked up iceberg thinly topped

with crumbled blue cheese, a couple of avocado slices, some tomatoes, and some more indiscernible prosciutto. If you order this, get the damn dressing on the side. It was pure sugar.

The menu here is truly huge, with lots of veal and beef entrees, as well as starters and desserts. The service is excellent and it’s clear that Maggiano’s is a regular gathering place for lots of people, including many gay boys – some accompanied by half-smiling parents. But here’s some news: Not far away is a new chain taqueria called Blue Velvet.

That’s where you need to take your money.

I’ll write about that next time.

Cliff Bostock is a longtime Atlanta restaurant critic and former psychotherapist turned life coach; cliffbostock@gmail.com.

MORE INFO Maggiano’s Little Italy 3368 Peachtree Road 404-816-9650 Maggianos.com

26 Columnist September 27, 2019 TheGeorgiaVoice.com

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September 27, 2019 Ads 27

BEST BETS Our Guide to the Best LGBTQ Events in Atlanta for September 27 – October 10 Friday, Sept. 27

Friday, Oct. 4

Theatrical Outfit’s version of the LGBTthemed “The Laramie Project,” running in rep with the classic “Our Town,” continues tonight.

7:30pm, through Sept. 29

Event planners, wedding service providers and other professionals interested in expanding their knowledge about inclusive wedding planning are invited to attend the Fox Theatre’s first-ever event presented with Equally Wed Pro, We Do! Inclusive wedding planning for Atlanta’s LGBTQ community. Lunch and beverages will also be included with the seminar ticket.

11am Fox Theatre

The only hoedown in Atlanta! It’s all-night dancing to a mix of country, swing, and pop. Handsome good ol’ boys, dashing dames. There’s line dancing, two-step, west coast swing, and more! Something for everyone. You won’t want to miss it!

8pm – 3am Heretic Atlanta

Meet up with MAAP at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art for their HIGHFrequency Friday: YP Takeover tonight.

MAAP will be co-hosting a Pride-themed activity with the High’s Young Professionals during this evening of casual networking, live music, signature cocktails, and performances throughout the galleries. Look for the MAAP check-in table near the museum entrance.

6 – 9pm

Saturday, Sept. 28

The 32nd annual Out On Film continues today and it’s Georgia Voice day, with films and shorts programs all day culminating with the acclaimed “Circus of Books” “Sell By.” 7pm and 9pm Midtown Art Cinema Dudes, Daddies, Discreet, Don’t Know …

DILF is for ALL MEN! Joe Whitaker & The DILF Party Present … a special leather and gear event, DILF “Leather Me Up Daddy” featuring DJ James Anthony from New York.

10pm – 3am Heretic Atlanta

Sunday, Sept. 29

DJ Phil Romano is back at Xion after hours for a morning of non-stop dancing!

3am – 7am BJ Roosters The AIDS Walk and Music Festival gets started with music in the park to follow.

10am Piedmont Park

Monday, Sept. 30

Don’t be shy at Fetish Monday tonight.

7pm – 3am Atlanta Eagle

Wednesday, Oct. 2

It’s bound to be one of the biggest productions of the fall. The Alliance Theatre presents the world premiere of “Becoming Nancy,” based on the young adult novel by Terry Ronald about a teenage boy who tries out for a musical

EVENT SPOTLIGHT Saturday, Oct. 5

Positive Impact Health Center’s annual event, Party With Impact, raises money for HIV medical care, supportive services, prevention, and testing throughout metro Atlanta. Come out tonight for a Pre-Pride event dancing to all your favorite ’80s songs and live performances by Martha Wash (above) and Taylor Dayne (inset).

8 – 11:30pm. Tabernacle Atlanta. (Publicity photos) and is cast in a female part. It’s directed by the legendary (and out) Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell.

7:30pm, through Oct. 6 Charis welcomes debut novelist Julie E. Justicz, for a wide-ranging conversation about art, music, and activism with musician Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls. Justicz will share pieces of her novel, “Degrees of Difficulty” which tells the story of Ben, a boy with multiple seizure disorders, and his siblings and parents who struggle in various ways to connect with him and care for him. Julie will be joined in conversation by her longtime friend, Emily Saliers. Emily will share a few songs and talk about the similarities and differences in their respective creative processes. Julie will sign books and light refreshments will be served.

7:30 – 9pm

Charis Books and Moore

Thursday, Oct. 3

Building on the feminist activist tradition of consciousness-raising groups, each month Charis invites community members to join this lightly facilitated group to talk about issues in their personal lives or society as a whole that they are trying to process or deconstruct. The group will then use intersectional feminist strategies as tools to help talk through those issues. Group members will share resources, books, websites, and support. The goal is for this group to grow from a place of venting and expressions of solidarity into concrete actions and collaborations. People of all genders, levels of political experience, and education are welcome. This is a Charis Circle Founding the Future of Feminism Event. The suggested donation is $5.

When Jodi Isaac flies across the country to visit her famous fashion mogul father for his 70th birthday, she finds that his posh downtown New York townhouse has a new resident: dad’s new boyfriend who is 20, and a porn star. This blistering new comedy by Joshua Harmon, “Bad Jews,” “Significant Other” hilariously excoriates America’s obsession with youth, sex, and physical beauty.

8pm, through Oct. 5 Actor’s Express

Saturday, Oct. 5

A Conversation with Love, Simon author Becky Albertalli. New York Times bestselling author Becky Albertalli will discuss her books, including the highly acclaimed novel that inspired the major motion picture “Love, Simon,” and what it was like working with Hollywood. Bookmiser will be on hand to sell Albertalli’s full catalog of books, including “The Upside of Unrequited” and “Leah on the Offbeat,” and Albertalli will sign autographs following the talk. FREE but Ticket required. (Space is limited) beckyalbertalliroswell.eventbrite.com/ 770-594-6232 4pm Roswell Cultural Arts Center

CONTINUES ON PAGE 29

28 Best Bets September 27, 2019 TheGeorgiaVoice.com

BEST BETS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 28 Get ready for the 2019 Stride Into Pride Warm-up Party featuring DJ Jackinsky!

10pm – 3am Heretic Atlanta

Monday, Oct. 14

Sunday, Oct. 6

DJ’s Travis and Eric, the dynamic duo, are back at Xion to keep the party going!

3am – 7am BJ Roosters Atlanta United hosts the New England Revolution in a pivotal pre-playoff game.

4pm Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Out On Film and the Consulate General of

Monday, Oct. 7

Trans and Friends is a youth-focused group for trans people, people questioning their gender and aspiring allies, providing a facilitated space to discuss gender, relevant resources and activism around social issues.

6:30 – 8pm Charis Books and More The PFLAG support group for parents and families of LGBTQ children meets today.

7:30 – 9pm Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta

Tuesday, Oct. 8

Hang out with some friends and enjoy Taco Tuesday at Friends Neighborhood bar tonight.

Wednesday, Oct. 9

Bulldogs hosts Karaoke with DJ Kaye G! 8pm Across town, Thad Stevens hosts Karaoke tonight.

9pm My Sister’s Room

Thursday, Oct. 10

Tony Conway and the team at Legendary Events are thrilled to invite you to join Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms for the second annual Mayor’s Pride Reception. On the eve of National Coming Out Day, Mayor Bottoms will host her second annual Pride reception, which will be an evening of celebration, just before Atlanta Pride. Guests will enjoy

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

Ireland screen the film “The Queen of

EVENT SPOTLIGHT Sunday, Oct. 13

With a programming team who can’t be bothered to look at an Atlanta calendar, talk show icon Rachel Maddow visits the Fox Theatre this evening. 5:30pm.

(Photo via Instagram) speakers, live entertainment and more!

Attire: cocktail or business casual, Flourish, 7 – 9pm Atlanta-born and Georgia-raised (and lesbian fave) musician Caroline Aiken performs tonight at Eddie’s Attic.

7pm WUSSY MAG & For All Humans present Playhouse with Alyssa Edwards and over 20 local performers including LaLa Ri, Diego Serna, Melissa Coffey, Brigitte Bidet, Molly Rimswell, Ivana Fischer, The Kourtesans, House of ALXNDR, EllaSaurusRex and more.

8pm Buckhead Theatre

UPCOMING Saturday, Oct 12

The third annual Bottoms Up Drag brunch is tonight with Tammie Brown of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” Noon – 4pm Annex Bookstore

Are you ready for some Pride in Atlanta?

Join us as we present “Geared: 50 Years of Pride”! We love our leather, rubber, spandex gear so break out your best and join us for a night of fun and friskiness as DJ Neon the Glowgobear spins the hottest tunes.

10pm – 3am Atlanta Eagle Film Love presents: Andy Warhol’s “Empire,” brought to Atlanta by the Hambidge Center and The Works Upper Westside. The event is free to the public, but seating is limited so get tickets on their Facebook page.

Ireland,” with a Q and A by its star, the

iconic Irish dag personality Panti Bliss and

a reception to follow.

Sunday, Oct. 13

Following three decades in the spotlight, numerous GRAMMY, CMA, and ACM Awards to her name, countless multiplatinum certifications, and millions of fans entertained, the same passion still motivates and moves Trisha Yearwood. She performs tonight.

7:30pm Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre

7pm

Midtown Art Cinema

September 27, 2019 Best Bets 29

THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID

Honk Honk! Atlanta’s Traffic Nightmare Melissa Carter I contend the issues with Atlanta traffic are 50 percent population growth, the other 50 percent self-fulfilling prophecy.

Let me give you just a few examples.

I was traveling along 285 East and had to jump onto 75 North. If you’ve never attempted this route, there is a short ride where everyone in the left lanes are continuing onto 285 while the right-laners are heading to 75. Inevitably both do not have the same amount of volume, so one is usually congested while the other should flow smoothly. However, I witnessed a traffic jam in our lanes where there should have been none and wondered where the clog was. Further up I realized people had been slow by watching the other lanes. In other words, if the lane next to them had traffic then certainly they better slow down in their lane in anticipation. At the split they realized, Hey wait there’s no traffic where I’m going and sped up. I was dumbfounded.

The other night I was trying to get onto 285 and noticed construction was taking place in the right-hand lanes. Being dark, a policeman’s car and lights were quite alarming but was simply there to warn you not to merge onto the far right lane.

However, the car at the front of the onramp came to a complete stop and stayed there, long enough for the rest of us to have to go around them. When we go on the interstate there were drivers in the open lanes who used the police lights as an excuse to try and stop on the interstate, I assume so they could look and see what was happening. I barely made it out of that cluster without a scratch.

In both cases it was human error and not our population that caused the hazards.

There are countless examples of unnecessary traffic, the biggest being caused by slower 30 Columnists September 27, 2019

traffic not keeping right. There is a reason the lanes are set up that way, so that the faster cars can pass and slower cars can be passed and there is always a flow. I know people who justify staying in the left lane as a slower driver in order to avoid accidents that apparently happen in the right lanes.

To avoid some phantom fender bender they are really contributing to an hour-long commute for others.

The other big contributor is panic. If you missed an exit, missed a turn, made some kind of error in your route, you slam your brakes and attempt to correct it immediately. Your mistake is no one else’s emergency. Go to the next exit, go to the next turn, stop panicking.

Like I said traffic is a flow and your brakes should be used as little as possible. Forcing others to pay for your lack of preparation is one of the biggest offenses on the road. The world won’t end, figure it out further up the road.

Are you first in a turn lane but miss the green light because you were on your phone, the time costing two or three other cars to miss that turn and have to wait again? Do you stop in a roundabout? Next time you complain about traffic, first take a look in the mirror and help the half of the issue we can control.

One of the first out radio personalities in Atlanta, Melissa’s worked for B98.5 and Q100.

Catch her daily on theProgressive Voices podcast “She Persisted.” Tweet her! @MelissaCarter TheGeorgiaVoice.com

SOMETIMES ‘Y’

Free Ed Buck?

Ryan Lee

ED BUCK

SCREENGRAB PHOTO

American society tried to convince me to hate my father based on a century-old lie, and it might have succeeded had I not learned more about who my mother was and remains. My parents’ romance began in 1977, a few years after my mother moved to Chicago from all-white Rockford, Illinois.

My father was the first black person she ever socialized with, and the night they met was her first time doing heroin. Rather than a traditional love story, their relationship reads like a manifestation of one of our country’s most enduring stereotypes.

There is no single reason drugs were initially outlawed in this country more significant than the fear of black men luring and corrupting little white girls (even those in their twenties through eighties). It is a paranoia that has persisted throughout the school integration era and even until today, such as when former Maine Gov. Paul LePage blamed his state’s heroin crisis on “guys with the name D-Money, Smoothie, Shifty.”

“These types of guys – they come from Connecticut and New York, they come up here, they sell their heroin, they go back home,” LePage said in 2016. “Incidentally, half the time they impregnate a young white girl before they leave, which is a real sad thing.”

This framing allows the residents of Rockford and Maine to believe that dark, outside forces are more responsible for their children’s plights than alcoholism, abuse and bourgeois expectations of their home lives.

My understanding of my beloved mother – based in part on observations of her and our family, painfully candid conversations between the two of us, and passages from a diary she kept at age 15 – colors my father as incidental in the development of an addiction that lasts to this day.

A lifetime of resisting race-based propaganda about drug use inspires a skepticism toward TheGeorgiaVoice.com

770-321-3433

snappyservices.com the modern trope of wealthy gay white men using crystal meth to seduce and sabotage young black gay men. It would be insanely naive to suggest such encounters do not occur or are unworthy of thoughtful discussions, but a boogeyman does not explain or reduce the prevalence of crystal meth use among a majority of black gay users who have never had a snowy sugar daddy.

Democratic donor Ed Buck is a demented human being who preyed on vulnerable black gay men by paying them with cash and drugs to fulfill his sexual fetishes, which resulted in the overdose deaths of two men at his home and a third who barely survived. The federal complaint that led to his Sept. 17 arrest details a pattern of horrifying exploitation and many acts that warrant imprisonment, such as allegedly slipping drugs into men’s drinks and injecting them with meth while they were unconscious.

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As damning as the pleading appears, it cannot help but expose the familiar interplay of exploitation and usery between benefactors and financially desperate addicts, or a mother’s yearning conviction that her sweet boy’s woes were traceable to a single act a malevolence. It would again be naive to accept on first read any case brought by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency or to ignore the vacillating power dynamics within drug culture.

In a better world, Ed Buck would be dead instead of the men he targeted, and if he committed any number of alleged acts he should die in jail. However, to view his case as “drug-induced homicide” expands a novel criminal liability for millions of users who could be prosecuted when their contribution to an overdose was incidental.

September 27, 2019 Columnists 31