The One Where Harrison Goes to EVERYTHING!

And by that I mean like 3 or 4 events...

Ebertfest - Wednesday, April 17 - Days of Heaven

I have been to Ebertfest once in the past, and I met Tilda Swinton that time. I asked her to sign my copy of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button because it is one of my favorite movies. She kind of scoffed, said "I was barely in this," and then signed it anyway. It is no surprise she plays the fucking white witch of Narnia. She's the best kind of bitch.

The organ at the
Virginia Theatre

Anyway, this time I wanted to see the Virginia Theatre in all of its glory while also getting to sit with film nerds who love the most pretentious cinema. Days of Heaven would go in that category for me. The film in its imagery is gorgeous, but does that make it a good film? Did I think about anything from it? ...eh. A majority of the film was shot during the Golden Hour, making the lighting very even and gorgeous across the fields of wheat that the characters are working in. The film was made in the seventies but some lighting elements make the film look much younger and sexier. I loved the look and pretty much all of the acting. I did not like the story. It dragged on and it made the experience boring. I can't look at beautiful imagery if I'm asleep.

Chaz and some other guy.

That night we also watched a short film called I Remember. The film showed a young woman folding clothes, receiving a phone call, finding a note from a lost love (maybe to death), crying and then jumping on the bed. There are some shots of the beach cut into these actions. It was a mundane film and still was deeply moving and emotional. The story seemed very typical, yet it was fresh. I thoroughly enjoyed this short.

The rest of the night was fairly emotional. The festival came shortly after Ebert's death and his wife Chaz hosted the event giving us notes from Robert on why he chose what he did and who he was. There were many touching things said and even some group singing (to the ever-depressing "Those Were the Days").

I skeezed a pass from someone so I didn't have to pay to get in. Even better.

My skeeze face.

Day of Silence - David Yost

This event was pretty decent. David Yost was the blue power ranger, Billy, in the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. He had been struggling with his sexuality and experienced harassment from his producers during his time on the show. He ended up leaving because of this harassment. He then went on to live in Mexico for a year (?) and then come back to come out to everyone, become a producer of several television shows (Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Children's Hospital) and do activism for gay stuff. His talk was decently interesting. He said the famous line, "IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!" So that made it good. I got pictures with him afterwards. I feel as though with these famous guest speakers, it doesn't matter what they say, but more so the fact that they're famous. So many people afterwards were kind of starstruck, and I was excited, but honestly the content of his lecture did not hold much substance for me other than the same ol' same ol'. I'm sure others had a much more meaningful experience than me.

A bunch of us that went. Power rangerin it up!

What I Learned at Straight Camp - Ted Cox

This was great.

The speaker, Ted Cox also had some other fun names for his presentation. Such as, "Undercover Cox" "Cox talks Cocks" and "Cox Goes Deep." But alas, we get the humorous "What I Learned at Straight Camp."

Cox started with an overview history of ex-gay programs in the United States.

1968 - Psychiatric institutions try electric aversion therapy of sexual deviations
1957 - Dr. Evelyn Hookes writes "The Adjustment of the male over homosexual"
1960s/70s - "The Jesus Freaks"The Jesus Movement - Christian Rock, Casual Church (later becomes known as 'Rock Church')
1969 - Stonewall Riots

Because yes, all little gay boys have
big gay uncle's butt-punching them.

1973 - Love in Action is formed (1st ex-gay ministry), same year APA declassifies homosexuality as a mental illness
1975 - "The Third Sex?" is written
1976 - Michael Bussee starts Exodus International
1998 - John Paulk and his wife get married and say they are both ex-gays. Featured on TIME

Ted Cox attended two weekly ex-gay ministries, two weekend conferences, two counseling sessions with a Catholic priest, and a 48-hour retreat.

Cox read from the book "Alfie's Home" Look at this photo -> it is pretty awful. This is the common explanation for why men are gay according to many ex-gay ministries: gay men just were either molested or not paid attention to by their fathers. Their mothers were over-bearing and so they just want to feel the warm embrace of men.

One of the holding positions practiced at
Journey Into Manhood called "the Motorcycle"
Because what better way to become straight than
to have six men grope you?

There are 5 steps to becoming straight:

1. Get right with Jesus (because through the good Lord you can accomplish anything)
2. Grab a workbook (because you need to spend money to be straight)
3. Control your thoughts (because thinking about Hugh Jackman too much might lead to impure thoughts)
4. Get counseling (spend more money)
5. Head off to the woods with 50 other gay dudes because celibacy is the goal

The workshop Cox went to was called "Journey Into Manhood" where fifty men were in the woods holding each other and sharing their intimate moments with each other. One of the worst moments he encountered was a man beating a bag with a baseball bat to represent beating his "old father." The conference was $650 + airfare, a two-day counseling session was $1000. So going straight ain't cheap.

Ted Cox then went into details about how some of these groups have fucked up over their history:

Exodus International's creator comes out and gets married to another man who led the group with him. John Paulk was spotted in a gay bar in Washington D.C. Dr. George Reker who runs a group about family pediatrics is seen with a Rentboy who is basically a male escort. Alan Chambers, who is the current Exodus leader says that he denies what comes to him naturally for Jesus.

99.9% have NOT experienced a change. But Ted Cox says it is a complicated situation because through ex-gay ministries, many gay men finally come to terms with their sexuality after realizing they can't change. They ultimately end up better for it.

He went over some Bible stuff (I kind of zoned out because I have talked about the Bible soooo much). Few women attend these programs, because who cares about women?

But American ex-gay ministries are better than some other country's such as South Africa's "corrective rape" for lesbians, or Malaysia's abolishing of femme boys.

So for more info go to iheartcox.com

:D
       


I also attended a dance recital for the Legend Dance Company. :D