Queer and Now

Your Queer and Now hosts Dave (@darnthatdave) and Manish (@themanish89) take a look at 2001’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Nearly 2 decades ago, John Cameron Mitchell’s rock opera became a defining queer classic. With themes of gender, creativity, celebrity, and queerness, the musical is revolutionary and intensely affecting!

Your hosts David (@darnthatdave) and Manish (@themanish89) are back from hiatus with an all new decade of queer films to explore! First up is 2000’s Billy Elliot starring Jamie Bell and Julie Walters. The hosts discuss the queerness of the movie, the performances, and the historical context.

Your hosts Manish (@themanish89) and David (@daveagiannini) end their look at queer films in the 1930s with, you guessed it, 1939’s The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland. They discuss whether or not this is the most gay movie ever made, or at least the most gay movie they’ve covered so far. Tap your heels together and get ready for a new decade in the next episode.

On a special episode of the podcast series that takes a look at queer cinema year by year, your hosts Manish (@themanish89) and David (@daveagiannini) head towards the end of the 1930s with two films from two years: Stage Door from 1937 and Hotel du Nord from 1938!

Manish (@themanish89) and David (@daveagiannini) discuss a horror movie that’s certainly of its time, 1936’s Dracula’s Daughter. The film is provocative, with its female vampire longing for women, despite the climate of the ‘30s and the overt homophobia.

Manish (@themanish89) and David (@daveagiannini), in their journey through queer films through the years, reach a low point, surprisingly, with this 1935 film. Sylvia Scarlett is directed by George Cukor and stars Katharine Hepburn (in drag) and Cary Grant, what could go wrong? Well… At least we’ll always have Holiday and The Philadelphia Story.

Manish (@themanish89) and David (@daveagiannini) reach the year 1934 in their quest to watch queer films through the decades. They discuss The Gay Divorcee, the Best Picture nominee, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The film features plenty of long musical numbers and most importantly, a gay-coded character played by Edward Everett Horton, which they dissect the importance of.

Manish (@themanish89) and David (@daveagiannini) go with their second choice for their look at queer film in 1933, Ladies They Talk About starring Barbara Stanwyck. There’s subtext galore as they discuss Stanwyck’s unique sexualtiy against the backdrop of what many consider to be the first women’s prison film.

Manish (@themanish89) and David (@daveagiannini) travel to 1932 to discuss James Whale’s The Old Dark House, starring Boris Karloff, Charles Laughton, Melvyn Douglas, and Gloria Stuart. They dig into the openly gay director’s pre-Code horror comedy and the queer themes within.

Manish (@themanish89) and David (@daveagiannini) continue their journey through queer cinema of the 1930s with The Public Enemy from 1931. It’s in a much different context than modern day cinema, as they discuss the one scene that features a gay character as the butt of a joke by way of gay panic. They also touch on how this pre-Code film made James Cagney a star, and how it’s so much of a traditional gangster movie.