The Special Shelf: Streaming LGBTQ Cinema

Jason Shawhan

My, it’s been quite an eternity since the Age of Covid-19 befell us. It’s Pride month, and that always resonates in different ways; but this year has brought a set of circumstances that I can’t even fit into words anymore. Sure, there’s going to be determined and creative folx who are going to do stop-motion videos or use Zoom to make multiple-exposure one-person Pride Parades, and I am thankful for them because I will share those videos on social media and take heart in the spirit of our community. I lack that gumption.

But I’ve been exploring the myriad of streaming options out there and that has led to some nice finds. The Tubi app is a welcome tool for any cinephile, queer person looking for some interesting representation, or just plain cheapskate. I’m all of those things, and though there are periodic ads (let’s just call them built-in breaks), I can’t complain too much about a free service with this much variety.

Even better, Tubi has more varied and extensive LGBTQIA+ film and TV than any other streaming service. Previous Special Shelf films Urbania, Devil’s Path, You’re Killing Me, Jeffrey, and Bathroom Stalls and Parking Lots are all available to stream there. But there’s hundreds and hundreds of titles, and here are a few of my recommendations, all streaming for free on Tubi.

BUT I’M A CHEERLEADER (1999)

Or, why the community rightfully treasures Natasha Lyonne. True to the spirit of those forced to endure conversion camps, but determined to do so with humor and an open heart to make this kind of story bearable. Butch icon Clea DuVall charms, Mink Stole does that thing that only she does, and multiple Oscar nominee/American treasure/Dawson’s Creek survivor Michelle Williams shines. Few no-budget films get at the transitive liberation of queer spaces like this film’s gay bar moment, scored to Saint Etienne’s “We’re In The City.”

CUBBY (2019)

An unexpected treat for anyone who has ever felt so socially awkward that the only way to cope was through ‘charming’ fugue states. Mark (writer and co-director Mark Blane) is an adorable wreck who finds himself ‘living’ in New York City as the regular babysitter for a precocious six-year-old. Medicated, sweet, and unprepared for the ways of the world, Mark copes through the imagined superhero Leather Man, and tries to get his professional, emotional, and sexual lives in order. Imagine if Todd Solondz characters were capable of love, then go from there.

QUEERCORE: HOW TO PUNK A REVOLUTION (2017)

An essential doc about radical queer music and the beloved weirdos (Bruce LaBruce, G.B. Jones, Vaginal Davis, Tribe 8, Team Dresch, Pansy Division, Jayne County, Genesis P-Orridge Breyer) who helped make everyone who was into what was hot and hip have to address uncompromising queer lives (there’s a reason why Kurt Cobain and Green Day were respected by the community). Funny, informative, and determined not to be taken too seriously, this is one of the most enjoyable music docs of recent years.

THE CHAMBERMAID LYNN/DAS ZIMMERMÄDCHEN LYNN (2014)

Phantom Thread star Vicky Krieps is stellar in this German-language film about voyeurism, discipline, and the ways that power dynamics are a double-edged sword. Krieps is phenomenal, as usual, as she explores all sorts of options and dips a toe in all sorts of bodies of water. Kinky, but accessibly so, and always rooted in a genuine sense of character, this is a great film for anyone looking to open a few new doors and have a look around.

GAMING IN COLOR (2015)

A brisk (62 minutes) look at LGBT representation in videogames, this is an interesting gathering of gaymers and designers talking about the issues that proliferate around game culture. It’s not too intense, and thus is just right for anyone (like me) who knows nothing about the how and why of modern gaming (the only games in the past decade that I feel I understand are Duck Game and Alien: Isolation).

IN A GLASS CAGE/TRAS EL CRISTAL (1986)

Every cinematic subgenre has its own “I Dare You” titles—films so shocking because of content and concept that their very existence is spoken of in whispers (or in all lowercase on Internet discussion spaces).So Agusti Villaronga’s Spanish-language shocker is like the gay equivalent of A Serbian Film or Emanuelle in America or Visitor Q (though it is a better made film than any of those). This is a serious film about the legacy of fascism and the cycle of exploitative sexual violence, and it addresses deeply upsetting issues in a respectful but dazzling way. The DVD box has a pull quote from John Waters; do with that knowledge what you will.