I had a nice ‘Politics Make Strange Bedfellows’ moment recently…

In my travels, I recently met this young cat who is openly gay.  I did my naturally polite thing at first, but he was guarded and I’m not the type to force myself on anyone.

Some time passes and we find ourselves in a more social setting.  Being ‘the guy who’s not drinking’ opened the door to me being revealed as a Muslim.  And in that moment, there was that mutual smirk of recognition: ‘You’re not passing judgment on me because you’re clearly not a product of the ultra conservative wing of the church.’

Which is a nice segway into Pariah, which is available now on Netflix.  As the excellent title implies, the film is about a black teenager whose struggling in embracing her homosexuality in large part because she knows her church going parents will…not react well.

First thing I noticed about this film: It looks GREAT.  I’ve heard the same about Restless City, but I loved how well the mostly dark skinned cast was photographed.  I know from experience it’s easier said than done.

Second thing I liked about Pariah is how the story unfolds.   In the 60s, even the 80s and 90s I guess, you could beat the audience over the head with the message you wanted to get across.  Today the audience is respected enough to be given the message in a more subtle way; Pariah excels at letting us live through the experience of the main character.  By the time she officially comes ‘out’, the reactions of the people around her are very predictable but no less heart breaking.

So, assuming you’re comfortable watching a film with this subject matter, I recommend this film.

And on that note, enjoy the Memorial Day holiday!