Welcome to www.everybodysgood.com....we're thrilled you stopped by!!
We hope you will spend some time exploring the site because we've been working hard to load as much information and resources as we can here and there's a LOT to explore.... and the site is just going to keep growing, so keep coming back!!
One of the exciting features you will find here every week is a POLL QUESTION. Sometimes these questions will be serious....sometimes they will be funny...but they will ALWAYS be engaging and we will always want to know what you think! So, if you haven't already, hop on over to the main page and answer each week's poll question (if it doesn't show up in the main window right away, just sit tight and it will rotate onto your screen in a few seconds or you can use the arrows on the main page to scroll left and right)...then, after you've voted, click on the "discuss this poll" to come back here and post your thoughts/comments.
So, let's jump right in to this week's poll question about whether the queer community still needs queer film festivals....
So what do you think? Have any thoughts or opinions on the matter? Let us, and everyone else, know by posting your comments below!!
OK...so ImageOut has just ended and so it seems a good time to reflect.
I'll confess that I posted this initial poll about whether our community still needs/benefits from Queer Film Festivals even though I'm not unbiased on the issue. I was on the board of ImageOut for many years and am an avid festival-goer and ImageOut member/supporter. I'm surprised to see that, although not many, some people did say they thought the time of queer festivals is over...and here's why....
I absolutely think our community still needs festivals like ImageOut. After sitting through dozens of films this week during the festival, I'm struck by the fact that even in a culture where more queer-themed films are making it to mainstream theaters (like "Milk"), I would probably never have had an opportunity to see most of these films outside the festival....not to mention the amazing and powerful experience of seeing the films in an all queer (or, at least, queer-friendly) audience.
I, for one, want to say a HUGE thank you to ImageOut and other queer film festivals around the country for what they bring to our community!!
What do you think?
I agree, that feeling of solidarity is one of my favorite things about queer film festivals. But I also think they're still really important because they support the work of queer filmmakers and artists, and queer independent media in a way that doesn't exist in the mainstream. It gives us the opportunity to experience art that was created by members of our community - art that represents our lives in a realistic, positive way and helps us to think more about the experiences different members of our very diverse community have.
I once had a (open-minded) co-worker ask me why the gay community needs to have a film festival like ImageOut. He thought that there should be no need for a special festival and that the movies they show should be available everywhere. I told him that maybe that would be true if everyone else in the world felt the same as he did.