The heavens over Berlin is beautiful, but they could definitely stand to contain more gays. This time, we discuss Wim Wenders' classic Wings of Desire (as well as its sequel and American remake), why its themes still resonate today, and why it's kinda weird that it's so very straight. It's set in Berlin, for crying out loud!

CW: Discussions of suicide, depression, child death, fascism, substance abuse, homophobia

Music by Goshdarn Rabbit: https://goshdarnrabbit.bandcamp.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we discuss the ableist dystopia of Gattaca, where perfection is everything and the scope of what counts as acceptable human variation is narrowing. What place does such a world have for queerness?

CW: Discussions of ableism, suicide, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny

Music by Goshdarn Rabbit: https://goshdarnrabbit.bandcamp.com/

References:

• Masculinity, Masquerade, and Genetic Impersonation: Gattaca's Queer Visions by Jacqueline Stacey
• The Disablist Nature of Desiring Perfection in Gattaca by Dom Evans
• The Adversity in “Gattaca”: Vincent Freeman’s Struggle and Triumph Over Genetic Determinism by John Jimenez

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Your Name is a film about the first ever cis T4T relationship, and we are joined once again by Raptor to talk about it. It's an incredible film that touches on gender, grief, human connections, and the value of fighting for your happiness. We also talk about body swap stories in general and the value of kissing your bros. Oh, and we also have a new theme song!

CW: Discussions of death, natural disasters, gender dysphoria

Music by Goshdarn Rabbit: https://goshdarnrabbit.bandcamp.com/

References:

• 5 Centimeters Per Your Name by Raptor
• Trans Allegories in Film: 'Your Name' (2016) by Atreyo Palit
• Your Name | Kimi no Na wa: Interpreting Progress in Gender and Rule-breaking by ATMA & Funomena
• Your Name And The Message Of Hope It Gives Transgender People by Jade King
• I’ll Remember Your Name—Will You? by Tsunderin

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What couple possibly be more gay than to plan and execute a multi-million dollar heist with your homies? And yet, neither of the crews from the all-male or all-female spend literally any time kissing each other. Let's fix that in this episode, where we break down what works and what doesn't about Ocean's Eleven and it's female-centric spin-off, and what kind of queer spin we can give these charming criminals.

CW: Discussions of misogyny, prison violence, rape, sexual harassment, homophobia, transphobia

References:

• Ocean's 11 but it's gay! by Gabriel Shane Dunn
• ‘Ocean’s 8’ is Extremely Gay—So Why Isn’t It Gay? by Jill Gutowitz
• Oceans 8 Is a Lesbian Movie by E. Alex Jung

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Queer Up is a year old and we celebrate by revisiting our underwater roots. After celebrating you, our amazing listeners, we look at the largely forgotten mermaid movie Aquamarine. It's what happens when you attempt to cram a season of a mediocre sitcom into 100 minutes of film, and a good testament to why the gays are better at mermaid stories.

CW: Discussions of suicidal ideation, parental trauma, abandonment

References:

• Aquamarine is Less Straight Than You Thought (and I can prove it) by Drawpinion Dump

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is a true Venominomenon! Along with our guest Pim, from the excellent Youtube channel Pim's Crypt, we dig into the entire Venom trilogy of films. Besides fangirling out about these genuinely delightful films, we explore their (often very explicit) queer themes, and discuss how the third film drops the ball on what makes the series so enjoyably gay. No need to worry, though; we know how it should be queered up.

You should follow Pim on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@pimscrypt) and Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/c/pimscrypt/)

CW: Discussions of body horror, domestic violence, family abandonment

References:

• Venom Is Queer: A Film Analysis by Pim's Crypt
• Venom: The Last Dance review on Letterboxd by Pim's Crypt
• Venom Is A Queer Icon Now And I’m Here For It | Venom: Let There Be Carnage Review by Drew Friday
• Venom star Tom Hardy weighs in on the symbiote’s status as an LGBT+ icon by Maggie Baska
• How the queer community found solace in Venom by Diana Velasquez
• the big gay history of venom by land-of-brains-and-chocolate
• Tom Hardy’s Kat Rescue by Tom Hardy

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What would a world built and inhabited entirely by robots be like? It turns out, very much like the one we live in now - gender roles included. In this episode, we dive into the strange, undercooked world of Bluesky Studios' 2005 Robots, and examine its strange approach to sex and gender. We talk about robot skirts, robot penises, and robot misogyny.

References:

• The Art of Robots by Amid Amidi
• How Robots (2005) Rejects Gender and Capitalism by Drawpinion Dump
• Trans Allegories in Film: 'Robots' (2005) by Atreyo Palit
• Robots Production Notes by Robin Williams Fansite
• Looking Back, I Think ‘Robots’ Was My Gay Awakening by Ky Stewart

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two decades after its release, Let The Right One In continues to be one of the most beloved vampire love stories of all time. And yet, it seems many have forgotten, or completely missed, the inherent queerness at its core. In this episode, we investigate the queer history of John Ajvide Lindqvist's masterful debut, and the original Swedish film adaptation, and discuss how we could bring these themes to the forefront.

CW: Pedophilia, rape, murder, bullying, violence against children, alcoholism, parental abandonment

References:

• About Eli´s gender by John Ajvide Lindqvist
• Let the Right One In is a Queer Vampire Love Story by Vrai Kaiser
• The Northlander Sits Down With The Writer Of LET THE RIGHT ONE IN! by Aint It Cool News
• Queerness And The Exploration Of Childhood Sexuality In Let The Right One In by BJ Colangelo
• Oskar Loves Eli: LET THE RIGHT ONE IN And Trans Romance by Fae Basir

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the most beloved live-action Disney films from the 90s gets a queering up in this episode. We specifically examine two characters and their joint journey towards self-acceptance, while imagining why their story gives big gay vibes. We also take the opportunity to talk generally about this delightful gem of a film, and remind ourselves just how good John Candy was.

CW: Mentions of racism, stereotypes, oppressive families, sports injuries

References:

• Cool Runnings: An oral history by Samantha Highfill
• Some Rough Sledding Making 'Cool Runnings' by John Hartl

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In our first episode of the year, we're taking a break from queering up to instead talk about some existing queer media that we enjoy. We'll be recommending some of our favourite queer films, books, and games, in a relaxed chat before we head into 2025 gayer than ever.

Films:

• Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
• Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same (2011)
• Merry & Gay (2022)
• Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
• Pride (2014)

Books:

• "Deadendia" by Hamish Steele
• "Gideon the Ninth" by Tamsyn Muir
• "Roadqueen: Eternal Roadtrip to Love" by Mira Ong Chua
• "This Is How You Lose The Time War" by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Games:

• "Secret Little Haven" by Hummingwarp Interactive
• "Ascension: Transition and Silver" by SulMatul
• "Get in the Car, Loser" by Love Conquers All Games
• "Newfound Courage" by Cafe Empty
• "An Outcry" by Quinn K.
• "Super Lesbian Animal RPG" by ponett
• "Extreme Meat Punks Forever" by Heather Flowers

Music:

• Pansy Division
• Against Me
• Ethel Cain
• Chappell Roan
• Pupil Slicer
• Jasmine.4.t

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.