Let me begin with a confession: I was never a fan of the short-lived LOGO sitcom Noah’s Arc. In my eyes the show was little more than simply a “black” version of Queer as Folk, a strange Cosby-show-like attempt to represent black people in a “positive light” (i.e., a flood of homo-normative images of mostly thin or muscular, light skinned, highly educated, upper middle class gay professionals with dreams of getting married).
Poor or working class queens, people with AIDS, or people with “everyday” problems (like, for instance, worrying about how to pay the rent for those expensive California lofts) were all consistently absent from the chic, cosmopolitan landscapes of the Los Angeles where the trendy Noah’s Arc boys lived. Ironically, the sitcom was created by Patrick Ian Polk, a talented filmmaker whose independent cult classic PUNKS (2000) is actually one of my favorite queer black films.
Anyway, needless to say, when I recently found out that Noah’s Arc had been made into a feature length film (produced, again, by LOGO networks) and was playing in Chelsea, I didn’t exactly rush to the theater. In fact, I still have yet to the see the film. Nonetheless , even without actually seeing the movie, I’m still appalled at the egregiously racist film review that was published in this week’s NEXT Magazine (everyone's favorite neoliberal, white gay mag).
Rather than ramble on, I’ll just let you read what was published , then you can tell me if I'm crazy :
Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom
(Film Review, Next Magazine)
Sink Noah's Arc (Logo Features) and pray it's never found. Continuing from the Logo series about the lives and loves of a group of gay African-American Los Angelinos, Noah (Darryl Stephens) and Wade (Jensen Atwood) travel with their posse to be married in a picturesque summer home in Martha's Vineyard. Jumping the Broom references a slave marriage tradition, the requisite shout-out to black history.
For a well-intentioned portrayal of a broader gay community, do any of these characters have a white, Latin or Asian, friend or boyfriend? I'm totes for being black, gay and proud, but segregation's ovah!
Patrik Ian-Polk, returning as writer/director from the TV series, has brought us the cinematic equivalent to Hallmark's Mahogany cards. Every random phone call and Jacuzzi dip includes some profound life lesson.
The considerably talented and smokin' cast is stuck playing gay archetypes: the unrepentant slut (Christian Vincent), the flaming sass (Rodney Chester) and the twinkie newbie (Gary LeRoi Gray) dash about in fabricated mini-operas. As all the couples jump to jealous conclusions, scurry off in tears, make up, kiss and do it all again, the action is peppered with deadly earnest inspirational platitudes that would make Kirstie Alley willingly lose her lunch.
Honey, this sunken ship proves dreadful gay filmmaking knows no color. --AC
from Next Magazine
Vol 16.17 October 24th, 2008
Where do I begin? I'm ambivalent here because, as I've already mentioned, I don't necessarily consider myself a "fan" of the Noah's Arc phenomenon, but I still feel compelled to call attention and critique the jaw-dropping racism that obviously undergirds this review. How many times do we have to go through this ? This type of non-sense has become such commonplace in New York City's already notoriously racist white gay scene, that it's almost seems silly for me to waste my time commenting.
I give up. But if anyone out there has the time, patience, or strength to send these racist white queens an angry email calling them on their shit, please do so. Drinks on me.
Poor or working class queens, people with AIDS, or people with “everyday” problems (like, for instance, worrying about how to pay the rent for those expensive California lofts) were all consistently absent from the chic, cosmopolitan landscapes of the Los Angeles where the trendy Noah’s Arc boys lived. Ironically, the sitcom was created by Patrick Ian Polk, a talented filmmaker whose independent cult classic PUNKS (2000) is actually one of my favorite queer black films.
Anyway, needless to say, when I recently found out that Noah’s Arc had been made into a feature length film (produced, again, by LOGO networks) and was playing in Chelsea, I didn’t exactly rush to the theater. In fact, I still have yet to the see the film. Nonetheless , even without actually seeing the movie, I’m still appalled at the egregiously racist film review that was published in this week’s NEXT Magazine (everyone's favorite neoliberal, white gay mag).Rather than ramble on, I’ll just let you read what was published , then you can tell me if I'm crazy :
Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom
(Film Review, Next Magazine)
Sink Noah's Arc (Logo Features) and pray it's never found. Continuing from the Logo series about the lives and loves of a group of gay African-American Los Angelinos, Noah (Darryl Stephens) and Wade (Jensen Atwood) travel with their posse to be married in a picturesque summer home in Martha's Vineyard. Jumping the Broom references a slave marriage tradition, the requisite shout-out to black history.
For a well-intentioned portrayal of a broader gay community, do any of these characters have a white, Latin or Asian, friend or boyfriend? I'm totes for being black, gay and proud, but segregation's ovah!
Patrik Ian-Polk, returning as writer/director from the TV series, has brought us the cinematic equivalent to Hallmark's Mahogany cards. Every random phone call and Jacuzzi dip includes some profound life lesson.
The considerably talented and smokin' cast is stuck playing gay archetypes: the unrepentant slut (Christian Vincent), the flaming sass (Rodney Chester) and the twinkie newbie (Gary LeRoi Gray) dash about in fabricated mini-operas. As all the couples jump to jealous conclusions, scurry off in tears, make up, kiss and do it all again, the action is peppered with deadly earnest inspirational platitudes that would make Kirstie Alley willingly lose her lunch.
Honey, this sunken ship proves dreadful gay filmmaking knows no color. --AC
from Next Magazine
Vol 16.17 October 24th, 2008
Where do I begin? I'm ambivalent here because, as I've already mentioned, I don't necessarily consider myself a "fan" of the Noah's Arc phenomenon, but I still feel compelled to call attention and critique the jaw-dropping racism that obviously undergirds this review. How many times do we have to go through this ? This type of non-sense has become such commonplace in New York City's already notoriously racist white gay scene, that it's almost seems silly for me to waste my time commenting.
I give up. But if anyone out there has the time, patience, or strength to send these racist white queens an angry email calling them on their shit, please do so. Drinks on me.