36 J » a t mm* i
octo bat 15. 1999
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TELEVISION
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QUBRTV
JY h E. GAY AND IX5&IAN OUTRE. ACIi of 5T PHILIP NETI
15 SPONSORING A
fall harvest iarty
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22
CARVLIN HALL * 5 L DIVI5 ION at iéth
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POOD- &EVCRAGE.5 - DANCING - DJ. at 5 30 PM
ALL
now through Halloween.
Buy one item of clothing and receive the second item
of equal or lesser value at no charge.
W illiam T emple H ouse T hrift S tore
2230 NWGIisan Street in Portland • 222-3328
Sung in French with translations projected above the stage.
NOW ON SALE!
November 6, 8,10,13
P o rtla n d C iv ic A u d ito riu m • 7 :3 0 pm sh arp !
for tickets call (503) 241-1802 or (503) 790-ARTS
Tickets from $25
Tickets also available at all
ou tlets includ ing GI Joe's, M eier & Frank,
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toonish. The show’s protagonist is Jerri Blank,
a 46-year-old woman who, after being a teen­
C ontinued from P age 35
age runaway on the streets for 30 years, returns
to high school as a freshman. The show is
W arrior P rin cess (syndicated, times and days
billed as “the after-hours after-school special,”
vary). At least the writers have acknowledged
and in each episode Jerri does Learn Some­
the huge dyke following and are promising to
thing, such as “I don’t like other people. I just
enhance the ambiguous relationship between
like me."
Xena and her sexy sidekicking pal, Gabrielle.
Jerri’s sexuality is dubious in every sense of
(O G )
the word— let’s just say the woman’s
teeth and fashion sense perfectly reflect
30 hard, hard years on the streets— but
she seems to lust after more girls than
guys. Jerri’s no softy on those who find
themselves an unfortunate object of her
lust. In one episode, after Jerri catches an
unsuspecting female crush innocuously
saying hi to a young man, she accosts
her: “Is that how they say h ello ... in
W HOREVILLE?”
Two of Jerri’s male teachers are hav­
ing an affair and, apparently unaware
that this is homosexual behavior, main­
tain a virulently homophobic front in
Michael Boatman (right) as Carter, standing firm
the classroom. T he irony, in light of the
on Spin City
fact that they’re sleeping together, is
both cutting and hysterical.
Though vociferously anti-PC, all of these
programs offer a subversively hilarious expose
of the complacency in our own back yards.
They probe middle-class hypocrisy and its
insidious homophobia with the added gift of
he Flintstones may have been the prototype
tension-easing laughter— which is, after all, the
for prime-time animation, but the current
best medicine. (CM )
batch of cartoons making their way onto
prime-time television screens are anything but
prehistoric. They’re much more apt to mock
the nuclear family model than revere it, and
! T V continues to play an important part
they feature a bounty of queer characters.
in presenting sexual minorities without
Years before Ellen came out of the sitcom
I a lot of sensationalism. Six of the eight
closet, T h e Sim psons (8 p.m. Sundays on Fox)
seasons
of T h e R ea l W orld (weekly, various
established a nice, nonchalant gay presence.
times and days) have featured lesbians, gays
Mr. Smithers, an administrative assistant at the
and bisexuals among the seven strangers cho­
nuclear plant where Simpson patriarch Homer
sen to live together for a number of months in
works, has had a barely repressed crush on
fabulous digs.
crotchety plant owner Mr. Bums for five or six
No matter how much the show has been
seasons now. Much fun is had with this by the
show’s writers, much less because Smithers’
blasted by some critics— “They all seem so self-
absorbed...” duh, they’re in their early 20s—
crush is on another man than because Mr.
The Real W orld remains fascinating for it’s cul­
Bums is so unattractive in every imaginable
turally, racially and sexually diverse cast.
way.
A Simpsons episode featuring the voice of
The lowest point of queer presence on the
queer film director John Waters is considered a
show has to be this season’s inclusion of 21-
classic by fans of the show. One episode even
year-old Justin, who comes across as a self-
had Homer, the most Archie
Bunker-esque of the show’s charac­
ters, under the mistaken impression
that Mr. Bums had the hots for him.
Homer’s un-Bunkerlike response:
“Sir, I’m flattered. Maybe even a lit­
tle curious. But the answer is N O.”
South P ark (10 p.m. Wednes­
days on Comedy Central), which
tracks the hideously offensive but
extremely funny misadventures of
four potty-mouthed Colorado third-
graders, will never beat The Simp­
sons at dead-on social satire. But it’s
willing to offend every group equal­
ly with its cheerful political incor­
rectness, and gays are included via a
Is he or isn’t he? Jon Stewart often plays gay on
hilarious talking stereotype named
T h e D aily Show
Big Gay Al.
Big Gay Al runs a Big Gay Boat Ride, eerily
centered little queen as he alienates people in
similar to Disneyland’s “It’s a Small World”
the house with his manipulative tendencies.
ride. Big Gay A l’s ride, however, illustrates the
His premature departure from the show is cause
history of gay men through puppet ice skaters
for celebration. This season also features
and S/M leather-scenesters. This summer’s
Ruthie, who identifies as bisexual and has
South Park movie even featured full-frontal
issues with alcoholism.
nudity from Big Gay Al. (Let’s just say he’s not
The high point of queer presence on the
afraid to use the Lady Schick. Ahem.)
show happened in the third season, which was
Strangers w ith C andy (10 p.m. Mondays
set in San Francisco. Openly gay Pedro Zamora
on Comedy Central) isn’t animated, hut it
did a great job of using the show to share his
breaks the same rules the above programs do,
struggle with HIV. He eventually succumbed
and its over-the-top tone is nothing if not car-
to AID S and was honored by President Clin-
Don’t be fooled—these
cartoons are not for kids
T
Not for the squeamish