Johnny Writes! But…Why?
Oh, hi! This is my new newsletter/blog or whatever called Johnny Writes… Why? Because that’s what I do sometimes! What do I write about? Glad you asked! Mostly, I think I’m going to write absurdist movie recaps, some gay thoughts, and lots of very important cultural criticisms. Why tho? Who knows!
Wait…What?
Ok, so I’m starting out with one free semi-regular feature:
The Agony of “Gay” “Cinema” These are going to be weekly (fingers crossed) recaps—or probably more like read-caps, if you know what I mean—of “classic” “gay” films. The scare quotes are doing a lot of work here. Let me explain: all of the movies I’m going to be revisiting will be about gay characters, but, as is so unfortunately typical, they won’t all be made by gay or queer filmmakers or feature LGBTQ+ actors in the lead roles. Some will, but a lot won’t. Which is why “gay” is in quotes. It’s sociopolitical commentary!
As for “Cinema,” well, I do intend to eventually cover some legitimately important, award-winning films. But the fundamental purpose of these recaps is to revisit and lovingly roast the tackier, lower-budget, occasionally cringe-inducing gay movies that a certain generations (mine) probably remembers catching on, like, The Sundance Channel during June in the late 90s. Or maybe you would rent them from the local LGBTQ+ bookstore in college. You know, the kind of straight-to-DVD movies you would pick up and try out just because you were so deprived of queer stories in mainstream entertainment you. I had this roommate in the mid-aughts who would rent random gay DVDs from Netflix, and they would be so painful to watch that he would sit on our couch fast-forwarding through them, as if skipping whole sections of the plot would make him like the overall film any more! Well, friends, I am not going to fast-forward through these movies! I’m going to watch every moment of them and report back to you!
I have a couple other regular features and dispatches in the works, so watch out!
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Johnny Who?
Oh, right, I should introduce myself. I’m John Russell, a writer, used-to-be editor, and internationally respected cultural critic based in New York City. My celebrity profiles, interviews, reviews, and essay have appeared on VanityFair.com, Slate.com, Billboard.com and in Out Magazine. Want to read that stuff? You can find a lot of it here!
