Archive for May 11th, 2008
Small Town Gay Bar (2006)
A powerful argument for gay people not to live in Mississippi, and for those who do to lose weight! The interview with the “Reverend” Fred Phelps was reminiscent of watching Hitler cut loose on the Jews–I think the pathology is the same. Finally, I thought that the film presented a very skewed sample of the population–those who not only haven’t moved away from MS (!) but also whose social lives revolve around a bar scene or drag performances–so don’t expect enlightenment.
Get a Life (2006)
2006 film by Toby Ross–supposedly a gay comedy but the joke will be on you if you rent this. Take any aspect of film critique–script, casting, acting, lighting, music–prefix with the word “bad”, and you’ll have an accurate statement.
The History of Latin America (2007)
Marshall Eakin’s survey of Latin America for the Palgrave Essential Histories series is a wonderfully readable journey through over 500 years of complex evolution. Like viewing earth from the moon, it gives a fact-filled yet comprehensible picture. For example, did you know that Brazil “imported” about 35% of all the Africans brought in bondage to the Americas, the Caribbean basin another 45%, Latin America 10-15%, and the United States 6%? Or that the United States has invaded and occupied several Latin American countries, some more than once?
