More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
“In film, in TV, in books … the queer characters never get a happy ending,” I press. “Sometimes they’re the first to go, other times they make some brave sacrifice in the finale, but it always ends in tragedy and death. That’s why it’s called bury your gays.”
Some events are timeless, I guess, stuck between past, present, and future. They’re a different color than the rest. A different scale. A different tense. When you turn them into a screenplay or a song or a novel or even a piece of erotic fanfiction, these are the moments that will outlive your body.)
Other folks, however, don’t even think about it. There’s some uncanny spark that always pushes them to make the right choice, because they’re not even aware a choice exists. It’s just what they do.
“The same goes for fear, though. You don’t wanna feel that way all the time, but it’s a muscle that needs to be exercised. There are scary things in the world, that’s just a fact, and if you pretend they’re not all around us then you’re in for a rude awakening. Horror offers a chance to recognize this truth, to explore dark places in a safe way.”
Instead of staying quiet, I became a storyteller. I started raising my voice to anyone who would listen.
Stories like to churn and mutate over time, grinding themselves down to a state of linear purity. This often takes precedence over the truth.
Nobody has to be a hero for anyone else, that’s kinda the whole point.”
“You know who the real villain is?” I continue, strolling through the lobby and joining a line of other writers, directors, cinematographers, and actors as they filter inside to find their seats. “Unchecked capitalism and the desire for capitalist systems to monetize other people’s trauma.”
“I call on all of you to usher in a new era of stories where the gay, or bi, or lesbian, or asexual, or pansexual, or trans character lives happily ever after. Buy those stories. Make those stories profitable.”
People love to gawk at a downfall, but they also love a redemption arc.
While it’s exciting to cheer on the little guy who’s brave enough to battle against the tides, the ocean always wins in the end. I’m just a man, and while I’ve found power through my art, the gallery has the upper hand.
On a long enough timeline, endings are inevitable. Tragedy is inevitable. Fortunately, so is joy.
