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fedruary 6. 2Û 04 » ¡m at a o t 5
J ust Out colum nist L isa B radshaw hated the first episode of The L Word. Queer
Willamette Week columnist Byron Beck loved it. W hat did you think? Are you loc
forw ard to the rest of the season?
T
his show is H -O -TU ! O ne episode in
and I’m already addicted! It’s provoca
tive, sexy, dramatic and funny ail rolled into
one. The story lines and the characters are
easy to relate to and very enjoyable. I will be
glued to my T V screen every Sunday night at
10! 1 love it!
C ori P ierce
Portland
• • •
e had a party with 12 of us, all lesbians.
We all loved it. We cheered, checked
out all the girls on the show and talked about
how real it was. And some o f us related to the
characters. It’s mind candy like Queer as Folk. I
was homy has hell at the end o f the show. I
wonder how many others at the party had fun
when they got home?
W
I
t was a good start. It was soapy at times,
moving at times. Com paring The L Word to
Queer as Folk or other current gay-themed
programs would be missing the point. I
believe the point is to offer a story of how this
group o f people— mostly women, mostly les
bians— live, love, learn, etc. T his is not every
lesbian’s story; fortunately, we as people are
not that one-dimensional.
I have not had an opportunity to read Ms.
Bradshaw’s review; however, I did
enjoy Mr. Beck’s. A nd the
answer to your question, Mr.
Beck, is yes, most lesbians do
remember the nam es of
every woman they slept with.
Although that is my experi
ence, maybe that should be
Ju st O ut's question for
the next issue.
W endy D e V oe
E va H offman
Tigard
Milwaukee
• •
• •
I
was disappointed in the show. It reminded
me of Meg Christian’s infamous song “Here
Come the Lesbians.” Do we really leap into
your beds, break up your hetero relationships
and sit around looking for fresh meat? Maybe in
Los Angeles! 1 was hoping for a more intelli
gent portrayal of my life as I’ve lived it. I will
continue watching, hoping the content and
the characters evolve into something I can
relate to. Or do I need to relocate?
J ulia R ichards
Elmira
F
inally, a series
just for us fellow
lesbians. The expecta
tions had to be high
and, o f course, after
reading Lisa’s witty
comm ents, my e x
pectation s were
not that high. I
was in fact really
unhappy
but
then,
after
w atching the
pilot, pleasant
ly surprised. Well, not too bad, but 1 agree,
why so stereotypical— and what was this, just
picking up some random guy to get his
sperm? W hat normal, intelligent woman
would do that?
So then came the second episode— but what
was that? When it was over “suddenly” after 45
minutes we (a group of five guys and women)
agreed that the episode was not good at all. Why
in the world are they trying to put so
much in one short episode?
There is a reason why, for exam
ple, Sex and the City successful
ly deals with only four char
acters. I do hope that in the
future the episodes will be
more realistic and not
press everything in 45
minutes; less is some
times more.
And, yes,
there is one
thing I also
com plete
ly agree
with Lisa
about:
We
will watch it be
cause it is the only
lesbian series on TV,
but that doesn’t mean I
will take everything with
out criticism, and I do not
want to see me portrayed
on TV like the stereotype
certain people have in
their heads.
Y vonne P. B ehrens
Portland
l l p M * t T T T r n i ^ xen rabk&y anti-gay figures like Fred Phelps and Roy Moore come to town, should the
1
1 . I
(jM£er community stage counterprotests, or is their presence not even worth acknowledging?
Which is better— confronting them or ignoring them? (Please see related item on Page 7 .) Respond at
w w w.justout.com . (D on’t forget to include your nam e, city and daytime telephone number.)
learn more about LG BT aging to contact the
Lesbian and Gay Aging Issues Network of the
American Society on Aging. Founded in 1994,
LGAIN brings together individuals from across
the country to raise awareness about the con
cerns of LGBT people ages 50-plus and to advo
cate for improved resources and services for our
often-underserved elders.
LGAIN’s newsletter and conference presenta
tions offer professionals who work with older adults
a chance to learn about the unique needs of LGBT
elders. And our home page offers all visitors access
to an annotated directory of nearly 400 Web sites
dealing with LGBT aging as well as a monthly
news update and a list of recommended resources.
For more information visit www.asaging.org/lgain
or write to lgain@asaging.org.
G erard K oskovich
Lesbian & Gay Aging Issues Network
Don’t believe the hype
To the E ditor .-
found Gary Morris’ review of The Merchant of
1 Venice impossible to believe [“Venice the
Menace,” Jan. 23). The play was so bad I almost
booed at the end.
Charles Borland, who plays Antonio, may
have a great body, but the guy cannot act. He was
motionless, could not recite his lines and had no
acting capability at all. O f the rest of the cast,
only Scott Gxipwcxxl as Shylock and Wade
McCollum as Launcelot really were capable. The
role of Portia by Jennifer Roberts was acceptable.
The staging and directing were more
involved with hype and glossy effects rather
than a message or any thought of Shakespeare.
The directing was absolutely awful, as was most
of the acting. I only hope that the remainder of
my season tickets are worthwhile.
M ichael M ase
Portbnd
Leave Ashton alone
To the E ditor :
i
can only assume that Lisa Bradshaw was
punk’d, or else she just doesn’t like science
fiction with an actual story. Far from being at
the bottom of the bag, The Butterfly Effect was
quite a good movie with some excellent acting,
particularly by the kids who play the younger
versions of Evan [“What’s PoppinT Jan. 23).
It also carries a powerful message about the
negative effects of child abuse— perhaps too pow
erful for most of the critics panning this movie. It
does get a little intense. But if that’s the case, say
so. If you just don’t like Ashton Kutcher’s previ
ous juvenile works, it seems counterprcxluctive to
hold them against him when he starts branching
(XJt into quality films with some substance.
A lan B atie
Beaverton
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