‘Red Rainbow’ centers BIPOC queer joy

RAINBOW continued from page 6 few scenes later, we see her “confront death” via a flashback to the moment when she attempted suicide on her New York City fire escape. Ixchel’s queerness is seemingly boiled down to something harmful to herself and to her family.

Nevertheless, this production found ways to be enjoyable. There is no way to overstate the amount of work, time and passion each and every actor, staff member, designer and crew personnel put into this production. Characters like Farmer (Elias Rodriguez) breathe fun and light-hearted energy into the show. Every time the Aerialist (Ledao Gavaldà) mounted her silks, eyes would widen in fascination — and a bit in fear. Moonface (Kulfi Jaan) most definitely stole the audience’s attention as the show closed out with their enticing vocals.

Overall, as an attempt at telling a story of “Queer Magic” and specifically Black and brown “Queer Magic,” the production fell flat. The source material allowed for much creativity design-wise, but the production failed to create a story that your typical audience member could watch, understand and continuously engage with.

Still, there is a note of hope.

As Mengesha writes, it remains hopeful that “Red Rainbow” “creates space for Black, Brown, and Indigenous

Menkes explains how female directors also fall victim to sexist film techniques. She explores some who “do it right” and others who she believes contribute to harmful portrayals of women. Julia Ducournau, director of the previously mentioned “Titane,” is pitted against Chloe Zhao, director of the much different “Nomadland” (2020). According to Menkes, Ducournau’s presentation of her female character grinding atop a car made the camera predatory, thus contributing to a predatory culture. Zhao, however, was a mark of real change to Menkes, as her female lead not once stripped and did a sexy dance.

So, who does it right? Why, Menkes herself, of course. Quite unabashedly, she lauds her work as the golden standard of female portrayal. In her films, women engage in sex, but the act is seen as laborious and unenjoyable. In this sense, Menkes subverts the sexualized gaze of women.

The next steps for women in the film industry are left rather unclear. The talking heads briefly discuss how they would reconfigure an objectifying scene from the 2019 film “Bombshell.” But their fixes would simply include increased censorship. While nudity is not always necessary in filmic portrayals of women, the context is ignored yet again here. Desire and sex are undoubtedly important topics to discuss and topics that are not going anywhere anytime soon. To simply say “show less nudity” or “make sex unenjoyable” is reductive and undermines the nuances of filmmaking and desire.

Following the film, Menkes joined the screening via Zoom for a Q&A. Someone asked what Menkes thought the next steps for filmmaking were. Was it establishing a female gaze in cinema? Menkes was quick to say no. She doesn’t believe in all-encompassing blanket terms like that. The female gaze is certainly not something to scoff at, but Menkes’ point was that film portrayals are not about gender but about power.

Burton said it best: “It’s not the camera, it’s who’s holding the camera. It’s not male or female, necessarily. It’s someone who wants to exert power over someone else.”

Drag Me to Tufts

Mark your calendars because Friday, March 31 is International Transgender Day of Visibility. This is an annual awareness day that allows the accomplishments of transgender people to be spotlighted and offers schools and communities an opportunity to create and celebrate more trans-inclusive spaces.

Many schools take this time to go over gender terminology, help students understand pronouns and give a platform for trans voices on their campuses. In the past, student organizations at Tufts have posted resources for students to access and opened dialogues about what this day signifies. 2023 would have been no different if it weren’t for the Tufts University Social Collective and the Tufts LGBT Center’s new program, Drag Me to Tufts.

This event stars RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants Kerri Colby and Raja and will mark the inaugural performance of the Jumbo Drag Collective. This new student group on campus was inspired by Professor Kareem Khubchandani’s Critical Drag class that was offered in Tufts’ Theatre and Performance Studies Department. The course covered the intersectionality of gender, race, sexuality, class and much more when it comes to drag performances and led to the creation of the Jumbo Drag Collective.

This event is inspiring and offers a way for students interested in pop culture to go support their peers who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. Understanding drag and taking part in it is an important aspect of the identity of many trans individuals and can be affirming to their gender identity.

Notably, Raja was the winner of the third season on RuPaul’s Drag Race and Colby reached the top 10 of season 14. It is exciting to see campus resources valuing its students by looking for unique and exciting ways to engage with its queer population. Run by both Tufts’ LGBT Center and TUSC, what better way to honor International Day of Transgender Visibility than by bringing in two of the biggest trans and nonbinary stars in contemporary media?

Looking for ways to support the trans community outside of the show? Check out organizations such as the National Center for Transgender Equality, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, The Trevor Project and the Marsha P. Johnson Institute to find more ways to offer assistance and support to the trans community. There are so many ways to get involved, so let’s not stop the support at the upcoming drag show. We can continue to uplift and support trans voices from this point forward.

Tickets go live on TuftsTickets on March 27 at 10:30 a.m., so set your alarms because this is a show you won’t want to miss!

Saba S. is a columnist at the Daily. Jack Clohisy is a senior studying computer science. Jack can be reached at jack.clohisy@tufts.edu.

students to see the theatre as a place for them.”

Without a doubt, this production opens the door for future BIPOC queer theatre at Tufts, and hopefully more is on the horizon.

Fun & Games

Last Week’s Solutions

Sudoku

Julia: “Everyone has to lose their Vermont virginity this semester.”

Crossword

Difficulty Level: Getting out of bed in the middle of a fake nor’easter

Missed Connections

You: a humongous whopping nor’easter that was supposed to sweep me off my feet Me: sad and downtrodden in the freezing pouring rain on a walk to my 9 a.m. When: Chewsday Where: Not Somerville, apparently

You: A 4-foot-tall statue of the red M&M mascot. Me: A man gazing in wide-eyed bliss upon your four feet of plastic glory only to become overwhelmed with disappointment upon reading your outrageous price tag. Someday, sweet prince ... someday. When: This past weekend. Where: Outside an antique store in Vermont.