Afro-American (Obama) and Female (Clinton) Candidates' Raucous Campaigns Contrast with Violent Murder of Florida Black Boy Who Wore Girl's Clothes

[Pictured above: Both Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton agree that it's "inevitable" they will join forces -- Many gays and lesbians are hoping for an Obama-Clinton Unity ticket, to heal party divisions and to send a strong message to bigots who hate blacks, women and gays.]


[Pictured above: Simmie Williams]

Does a black boy on the rough streets of poor neighborhoods in glamorous Fort Lauderdale, Florida deserve to die, just because he wore girl's clothes and hung out on a corner with prostitutes and drug dealers?

Barenaked Ladies What a Good Boy Live January 15th 2007




"Yes, Williams was gay. He wore his hair in long braids and often dressed in feminine-looking jeans and shirts, they said."



"He was also the older brother who made sure his siblings did their homework and got a bath at night. The favorite son who rubbed his mother's feet after she worked a 12-hour shift at the hospital."



"The cook who studied the Food Network, wowed everyone with his recipe for fried chicken, and dreamed of culinary school. The friend who loaned money and gave food to whoever needed it in his neighborhood of tough times and empty pockets."



"His story, it needs to be heard so we can do something, so [another killing] doesn't happen again," said Williams' mother, Denise King, through tears. "We want to stop this."



Well, the bigoted white boy rednecks and holy-than-thou suburban Evangelicals are lining up to condemn this boy for daring to cross-dress and stand 'like a whore' on his neighborhood corner at night, saying he 'deserved what he got'.

Do you agree with them?

I Am What I Am--Tony Awards



Mordechai doesn't agree with the filthy bigots! Wake up America -- violence against gay men, lesbians and cross-dressers is a metaphor for widespread violence against women in general, don't make any mistake about it!



Societies that protect gays, lesbians and transsexuals are always the same societies that provide free child day care and TRUE FAMILY VALUES legislation, i.e., most of Western Europe and NOT the United States.



I blame Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle for this violence, with his gay-baiting hate speech. I blame the nasty 'Hate churches' like Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, for using hatred against gays as a devious money-making device . . .



-- yes, every time the Late Rev. James Kennedy shouted hatred against gays his bank account filled and he built new wings on his monument to 'hatred' just north of the downtown area where this boy was murdered.



Please see:

Gays protest Fort Lauderdale mayor's remarks

Fort Lauderdale has a major nutball in the person of Mayor Jim Naugle

[Pictured above: Gay bashing Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle tried to single-handedly destroy Broward County's multi-million dollar gay tourism trade last year, and many blame him for the violence against gays in this famous gay resort.]

Jim Naugle, Bad for Tourism

Shame on the religious bigots in Fort Lauderdale who block Florida 'Hate Crime Laws' to protect gays, out of veiled hatred for gays, claiming God 'hates the sin, but not the sinner' as justification for their shameful prejudices!

And some in America are quick to condemn prostitutes, saying they 'got what they deserved'.


[Pictured above: skyline of the world famous gay resort 'Where the Boys Are' Fort Lauderdale.]

Gay Fort Lauderdale

But isn't this a form of latent misogyny, i.e., attacking and blaming women or cross-dressers for providing a ‘service’ men want and seem to always need?

What do we know about the life of this young man, who needed guidance and love and direction, not violence and condemnation?



This is a moral and social tragedy that a boy is killed on our streets, and if he wore girl's clothes and turned a trick that’s his business, he doesn't deserve to die.

Antony and the Johnsons (live at Malta) For today i am a boy


Chances are that his killer was some red-neck bigoted white man cowboy in a rusty SUV or pick-up truck from Cooper city or Davie who got a blow job and then murdered the 'sissy' boy.



Prostitution in black Broward County, Florida neighbourhoods is fuelled by age 20-30 something white males on crack who want quick sex before they go home and lie to their suburban wives and kids. Ask any policeman, they know.



Read about it here:

Killing of gay Fort Lauderdale teen turns into call for action

For up-to-date blogging on Gay issues in South Florida visit Steve Rothaus at Gay South Florida www.miamiherald.com/gay

Gay South Florida www.miamiherald.com/gay

http://samsbloginess.blogspot.com/

Here's a hot gay Aussie blog:

Come Into My World

GAY AUSTRALIA

This Aussie-based site is an informative and bloggable home for gays and lesbians to voice their concerns or just give a quick greeting. Gay Australia encourages FREE membership "to help build the numbers that can make a difference to the way people of all backgrounds find their voice."

Beautiful- Christina Aguilera


And don't miss a daily visit to The Sword and the Pen's by Steven Santos:

The Sword and the Pen

Zoom Airlines offers discounted flights every week between Cardiff, Wales and Toronto, and between London and many other destinations including Toronto, Vancouver and Fort Lauderdale.



Queer Advantage suggests Brits who are travelling to the states consider leaving from lovely Cardiff or London airports. A low-cost return flight is available between North American and Britain now with Zoom Airlines for as low as £299 (about $600 U.S.)!!!

http://www.flyzoom.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc

When you contact Zoom to book your flights be sure to mention Queer Advantage!



For additional info please contact Dr. Mark Leslie Woods at mwoods[at]glam.ac.uk

AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

Chapter Arts Centre Cardiff

Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries

mwoods[at]glam[dot]ac[dot]uk

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh-American Family Genealogy, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.

Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2008 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage is waiting!

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2008 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Visit the Queer Advantage Gay and Lesbian World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2008 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods



Please visit my newest blog for Gay Democratic Men:

American Twilight: Politics, Sex and TV Dinners

Why Britney Spears, Amy Winehouse and Eminem Satisfy Us: Male White Trash, Alterity and the Female Sexual Grotesque

[Pictured above: Mutilating virginal beauty for our pleasure -- White Trash tabloid queen Britney Spears builds her iconic lesbian following by donning the Amazon Warrior Princess look.]


[Pictured above: Justin Timberlake's naked whiteboy body is on lunchboxes and is the computer wallpaper for thousands of little girls and gay boys across North America. A few older gay men and suburban soccer Moms have been know to collect his picture, as well, according to sources.]

If America is the great global empire and American culture dominates the world, does the empire at some point fold in upon itself and begin looking inward for new 'exotic' others to subjectify and to sexually commodify and exploit?

Male Nudity Classic: Porky's





Perhaps, and if this is true, does it explain the obsession with Britney? After all, Elvis Presley is dead, Marilyn 'Norma Jean' Monore is dead and Liberace is dead too, so who is there to carry on the tradition of celebrity white trash high-kitch icon?

It's Britney Bitch: Eat It, Lick It, Snort It, F--k It




[Pictured above: Elvis Presley -- Photo: RCA]



Priscilla Presley has been far too normal and functional with her one-woman management success story of a life:

In 1987, Priscilla established herself as author of one of the most successful books of Putnam Publications. Her book, “Elvis and Me”, spent 6 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list in the number one spot. “Elvis and Me” went on to become a television mini-series produced by her company, Navarone Productions.

www.priscillapresley.com

Lisa Marie Presley titillated briefly with her four marriages, guaranteeing her place in tabloid and trailer park Heaven, as if being born a Presley wasn't enough of a burden. And Lisa Marie might be the only woman on earth to be able to claim she was married to (and can we presume penetrated sexually by) both Nicolas Cage AND Michael Jackson -- just try to top that, Ms. Britney!

Britney Responds to Chris Re: Eat My Cornhole





But neither mother nor daughter Presley are dysfunctional enough for the hungry tabloid camera lens, so our lustful gaze turns to sexy white folks like Stacy Ann Ferguson, Justin Timberlake, Eminem, Britney, Scissor Sisters and the 'gift-that-keeps-on-giving' Amy Winehouse.


[Pictured above:Black Eye Peas singer Stacy Ann Ferguson; Fergie was an attendee at the 2007 MuchMusic Video Awards, held the night of Sunday, June 17, 2007 in Toronto, Ontario,Canada by photographer Robin Wong.]

Of course, the road to white trash stardom was paved by Madonna, Cher and Cyndi Lauper long ago, don't ya know?



So can we safely posit that these pale, mostly dysfunctional tabloid-fodder folks are actually satisfying an innate and even unconcious need for what might be termed 'Reverse Alterity'?


[Pictured above: Teen pop star Aaron Carter]

'What is Alterity?' you might ask.



Alterity is a philosophical term meaning 'otherness', strictly being in the sense of the other of two (Latin alter). It is generally now taken as the philosophical principle of exchanging one's own perspective for that of the "other." The concept was established by Emmanuel Lévinas in a series of essays, collected under the title Alterity and Transcendence.


[Pictured above: shirtless muscle bound Eminem live on stage.]

The term is also deployed outside of philosophy, notably in anthropology by scholars such as Nicholas Dirks, Johannes Fabian, Michael Taussig and Pauline Turner Strong to refer to the construction of cultural others.




[Pictured above: a sensual but parodied image of the handsome white boy funky jailbait sexy dirty redneck fellow with Nicola Cage portraying the white trailer trash excon baby-stealing hunk in the Coen Brothers film, Raising Arizona.]

In some gay and lesbian circles it's understood that certain members of these subcultures allegedly prefer to have sex with or build relationships with people of a different race, religion or culture, as if being gay wasn't enough of a challenge in America.




[Pictured above: Post-Rehab 'I won't go' Amy Winehouse -- white, talented, and strung out on a jailed man and drugs -- the undisputed queen of white trash deliciousness, indeed! Sexy? Well maybe, if you like sexy in a big-haired tranny kind of way . . .]



It's true -- you might be, or you might know someone who gets emotionally involved and/or sexually excited by 'men of colour', 'women of colour', Latinos/Latinas, Hindu men, Asian men, Native American women, and so on -- you name it -- the attraction to the 'exotic other' exists -- and there are websites to prove it!


[Pictured above: Marky Mark is White Boy Trash meets high fashion in his oh so sexy underwear, thanks to Calvin Klein.]



But can good old American, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in the Box hunkychild white folks turn our jaded, over-stimulated raised on television sexual cranks?



Do White Boys and White Girls still turn us on?



Eminem - White America (GNN.tv - Uncensored)


Does the distance we metaphorically travel from our libido to the tabloid page transform the banality of whiteness into an 'exotic other' for our visual appetites?


Pictured above: White Trash is the new fashion aesthetic -- the latest Abercrombie and Fitch look for White Boys recalls patched and ragged L'il Abner and the Beverly Hillbillies on testosterone injections.]







Does the subjectification of any human predispose them in our perception to a kind of exotic-ness, which we impose by transferance of our twisted lusts, hopes and passions?



Either way, our satisfaction with the sexiness of White trash is making alot of people rich!


[Nothing like a White Trash 'Cat Fight' to sexually arouse for years to come! Courtney Love former Hole singer and widow of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. The 43-year-old rocker has been embroiled in a decade-long feud with Madonna ever since the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards when a seemingly intoxicated Courtney crashed Madonna’s live interview and threw a make-up compact at her.]



Speaking of sexual alterity, from time to time we post our web surfing finds -- thought you all might enjoy this unassumingly gentle gay gem:

"Who Is Crazy Sam? Crazy Sam hails from India and he is gay. He is not a serious blogger, but occasionally he feels like writing about himself, the people he meets, the experiences he cherishes, the music and movies he loves, the cute guys that catch his eyes... add a pinch of craziness to all that and you get a bird's eye view into his life through his blog . . .

http://samsbloginess.blogspot.com/

Here's a hot gay Aussie blog:

Come Into My World

GAY AUSTRALIA

This Aussie-based site is an informative and bloggable home for gays and lesbians to voice their concerns or just give a quick greeting. Gay Australia encourages FREE membership "to help build the numbers that can make a difference to the way people of all backgrounds find their voice."

And don't miss a daily visit to The Sword and the Pen's by Steven Santos:

The Sword and the Pen

Zoom Airlines offers discounted flights every week between Cardiff, Wales and Toronto, and between London and many other destinations including Toronto, Vancouver and Fort Lauderdale.



Queer Advantage suggests Brits who are travelling to the states consider leaving from lovely Cardiff or London airports. A low-cost return flight is available between North American and Britain now with Zoom Airlines for as low as £299 (about $600 U.S.)!!!

http://www.flyzoom.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc

When you contact Zoom to book your flights be sure to mention Queer Advantage!



For additional info please contact Dr. Mark Leslie Woods at mwoods[at]glam.ac.uk

AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

Chapter Arts Centre Cardiff

Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries

mwoods[at]glam[dot]ac[dot]uk

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh-American Family Genealogy, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.

Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2008 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage is waiting!

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2008 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Visit the Queer Advantage Gay and Lesbian World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2008 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods



Please visit my newest blog for Gay Democratic Men:

American Twilight: Politics, Sex and TV Dinners

Crazy Sam's Bloginess is Apolitical Casual Male Sex with Easy Conversation Blogspace

From time to time we post our web surfing finds -- thought you all might enjoy this unassumingly gentle gay gem:

"Who Is Crazy Sam? Crazy Sam hails from India and he is gay. He is not a serious blogger, but occasionally he feels like writing about himself, the people he meets, the experiences he cherishes, the music and movies he loves, the cute guys that catch his eyes... add a pinch of craziness to all that and you get a bird's eye view into his life through his blog . . .

http://samsbloginess.blogspot.com/

Here's a hot gay Aussie blog:

Come Into My World

GAY AUSTRALIA

This Aussie-based site is an informative and bloggable home for gays and lesbians to voice their concerns or just give a quick greeting. Gay Australia encourages FREE membership "to help build the numbers that can make a difference to the way people of all backgrounds find their voice."

And don't miss a daily visit to The Sword and the Pen's by Steven Santos:

The Sword and the Pen

Zoom Airlines offers discounted flights every week between Cardiff, Wales and Toronto, and between London and many other destinations including Toronto, Vancouver and Fort Lauderdale.



Queer Advantage suggests Brits who are travelling to the states consider leaving from lovely Cardiff or London airports. A low-cost return flight is available between North American and Britain now with Zoom Airlines for as low as £299 (about $600 U.S.)!!!

www.FlyZoom.com Fly to Canada, NY, Bermuda, Florida & California. Low Fares Online!

When you contact Zoom to book your flights be sure to mention Queer Advantage!



For additional info please contact Dr. Mark Leslie Woods at mwoods[at]glam.ac.uk

AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

Chapter Arts Centre Cardiff

Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries

mwoods[at]glam[dot]ac[dot]uk

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh-American Family Genealogy, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.

Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2008 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage is waiting!

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2008 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Visit the Queer Advantage Gay and Lesbian World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2008 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods



Please visit my newest blog for Gay Democratic Men:

American Twilight: Politics, Sex and TV Dinners

Oklahoma Republican Says Gays 'Bigger Threat' Than Terrorists

[Pictured above: Muscle-bound gay men who love each other pose biggest threat to civilisation, says Republican politician].

Mordechai and his readers recall how Adolf Hitler circulated statements saying that 'Jews are infiltrating public offices . . .'

Now the Republicans are using the same hateful rhetoric against gays!

We're listening...
Mon, Mar 10th 2008, 11:44

Last week, the Victory Fund released an audio recording of an Oklahoma state legislator speaking at a meeting that was open to the public.


[Pictured above: the Evangelical Agenda/Republican Agenda says that 'If gays have sex, America will come to an end'. Why are they so obsessed with who's having sex and with whom?]

In the recording, she proceeded to make some jaw-dropping assertions about the LGBT community including the idea that “the homosexual agenda is destroying this nation” and that “not everybody’s lifestyle is equal, just like not all religions are equal.”

One of the primary questions people have had after hearing her hateful speech was why no one ever mentioned her name.

Listen to the video first and tell us what you think . . .

I'm listening

[About the video above: What you're about to hear is a portion of a jaw-dropping speech delivered by an Oklahoma State Representative at a gathering in her district. This is what they say when they think we're not listening.]

If the audio was worthy of being publicized, why not single out the person responsible?

There are a couple reasons.

First, we don’t want to make her a hero in anti-gay circles. Running a name and a picture would merely serve as a feather in her cap.

Also, while this speech is remarkable in its statements, it’s not unique. For every bit of hateful rhetoric we hear, scores of other anti-gay statements go unchallenged.

It is not our intention to make this individual the target of animosity and hostility.

It is, however, our intention to let her know that we heard what she said, we do not approve and that we support public officials who recognize people in the LGBT community as equal, ordinary citizens.

VictoryFund.org

Zoom Airlines offers discounted flights every week between Cardiff, Wales and Toronto, and between London and many other destinations including Toronto, Vancouver and Fort Lauderdale.



Queer Advantage suggests Brits who are travelling to the states consider leaving from lovely Cardiff or London airports. A low-cost return flight is available between North American and Britain now with Zoom Airlines for as low as £299 (about $600 U.S.)!!!

www.FlyZoom.com Fly to Canada, NY, Bermuda, Florida & California. Low Fares Online!

When you contact Zoom to book your flights be sure to mention Queer Advantage!



For additional info please contact Dr. Mark Leslie Woods at mwoods[at]glam.ac.uk

AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

Chapter Arts Centre Cardiff

Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries

mwoods[at]glam[dot]ac[dot]uk

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh-American Family Genealogy, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.

Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2008 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage is waiting!

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2008 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Visit the Queer Advantage Gay and Lesbian World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2008 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2008 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Please visit my newest blog for Gay Democratic Men:

American Twilight: Politics, Sex and TV Dinners

Why are Gay, Black Men So Sexually Exciting on Screen, and is Middle America Quietly Watching Their Nearly Naked Bodies on TV?

Noah's Arc is a series that naturalizes the black, gay man on screen, in a way which defies the way in which Black men have traditionally been 'othered' in both popular culture, society, and literature.

Noah's Arc star Darryl Stephens appears in Another Gay Movie, effectively seducing the geeky gay white boy and the entire audience with his dangling 'charms' - check it out:

Darryl Stephens Gay Go-Go Dance



Because the Black man is an inherently 'threatening' symbol to many American audiences, who have been trained by the implicit bias and prejudice in Classical Hollywood representations of Afro-American men, the naturalizing of the Black male as both attractive, interesting, socialized and gay is cinematically iconastic, at the very least.

Black men have been naturalized as cops and as strong characters in other TV and film dramas, but never as ambiguosly strong and sexy but gay men, have they? I don't recall a similar treatmet on screen . . .

Both season 1 and 2 of Noah's Arc belong in every GLBT collection!

AT Hurley at Amazon Reviews says:

"What if Sex and the City met Queer as Folk and The L Word - but it was all-male, all-black and all-gay? Noah's Arc, the winsome Logo Channel series about the dating and sexual adventures of sweet, naive Noah, a would-be screenwriter, and his pals in pumped-up LA, is just as sweetly addictive as those shows."

"And it's all the more ground-breaking because nearly the entire cast is African American - stellar actors all. At the center of the circle is Noah (Darryl Stephens), the soft-spoken Carrie/Charlotte character; surrounding him are Chance, Alex, and Ricky, who are pretty much all Samanthas, which can up the sex patter to a fever pitch."

"Noah struggles as a screenwriter, and struggles in his dating life, at one point becoming wildly attracted to a successful film writer named Wade."

"Turns out even gay guys can have rusty gaydar; Noah - and we - can't tell if Wade's attracted to him or not. The cast rallies round one another for adventures like this, and others, great and small, and that's what begins to make it compulsively watchable, whether you're single, gay, of colour or not. Seeing LA through Noah's friends' prisms is just as fun; it's a pretty and sculpted eye-candyland."

"The boxed set includes nine episodes and a fantastic disc of extras, including deleted scenes, auditions, the pilot and commentary featuring the cast and creator, showing the camaraderie we see on the screen was shared on the set too. Let's hear it for the boys!" -- AT Hurley





Noah's Arc Drag Performance (from the first season):

Visit the Queer Advantage Gay and Lesbian World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2007 Mark Leslie Woods

Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage is waiting!

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2007 Mark Leslie Woods

Please visit my newest blog for Gay Democratic Men:

American Twilight: Politics, Sex and TV Dinners

GLBT Summer Movies for Religious Iconoclasts, Sexual Rebels and Free-Thinking Lovers

Pictured above: Chad Faust is the handsome boyfriend in Saved! (2004) who turns out to be gay.

Throughout the summer we will review and list or mention great old and new, 'classic' gay films, which we think should be in every GLBT home DVD/VHS collection . . .

Saved! (2004) was co-produced by Michael Stipe of the band REM and deserves to be in every GLBT collection.

It's a beautiful and seductive, as well as sometimes funny take on both gay and straight Coming-of-Age in Evangelical Christian America -- sort of in the tradition of what John Waters did to Roman Catholic stereotypes in Baltimore in his films.

Here's the Saved! trailer:



Comments from the Internet Movie Database (IMDB):

"Mary (Jena Malone) is a good Christian girl who goes to a good Christian high school where she has good Christian friends, mainly Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore), and a perfect Christian boyfriend, Dean (Chad Faust).

"Her life seems perfect, until the day that she finds out that Dean may be gay."

"After "seeing" a vision of Jesus in a pool, she does everything in her power to help him turn straight, including offering up her virginity."

"But none of it helps because Dean's caught and sent to a "degayification" center and Mary ends up pregnant."

It's during her time of need that she becomes real friends with the school's set of "misfits," including Cassandra (Eva Amurri), the school's only Jewish girl; Roland (Macaulay Culkin), Hilary Faye's wheelchair-bound brother, and Patrick (Patrick Fugit), the skateboarder son of the school's principal, Pastor Skip (Martin Donovan); whilst Hilary Faye turns her into a social outcast. "[Written by Will -- IMDB]

"In a Christian school (not Catholic), the fanatic and wealthy Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore) and Mary (Jena Malone) are best friends. Their friendship ends when Mary gets pregnant, after having sex with her gay boy-friend trying to "save" him, and questions Jesus' will."

"Meanwhile, the rebel Jewish Cassandra (Eva Amurri) dates Hillary's brother, the crippled Roland (Macaulay Culkin), and together with the newcomer son of the local pastor, Patrick (Patrick Fugit), they become the new friends of Mary, supporting her situation." [Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -- IMDB]





From Amazon Reviews:

"Classic teen comedy mixes with cunning satire in Saved!."

"Fervent Christian Mary (Jena Malone, Donnie Darko) believes God wants her to save her gay boyfriend by sleeping with him."

"But he gets sent to an anti-gay indoctrination camp while she ends up pregnant--which starts to drive a wedge between Mary and her snotty best friend Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore, How to Deal)."

"Meanwhile, they're both interested in the son (Patrick Fugit, Almost Famous) of their Christian school principal (Martin Donovan, Trust)."

"Saved! respects faith but gleefully mocks the excesses and absurdities of contemporary organized religion, particularly its suburban, let's-speak-the-language-of-the-kids manifestations."

"The actors, including Macaulay Culkin (yes, from Home Alone) and Mary Louise Parker (Fried Green Tomatoes), play their parts with sincerity, which makes the fusion of humor and heart succeed. A delightful movie."

--Bret Fetzer

Product Description:

"Good girl Mary (Jena Malone) and her best friend Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore) are at the top of the food chain at American Eagle Christian High School."

"But all that is about to change in this "subversively funny" (USA Today) teen comedy about hype, hypocrisy and high school. Also starring Macaulay Culkin and Patrick Fugit, Saved! is "a boldly hilarious satire" (Rolling Stone)!

Visit the Queer Advantage Gay and Lesbian World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2007 Mark Leslie Woods

Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage is waiting!

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2007 Mark Leslie Woods

Please visit my newest blog for Gay Democratic Men:

American Twilight: Politics, Sex and TV Dinners

Religious Abuse? New Film Explores Word of Faith movement and the Prosperity Gospel

“Suffer the Children” takes a look into the lives and lifestyles of some of the biggest names in tele-evangelism today. It explores the origins of the Word of Faith movement, also known as the Prosperity Gospel, and finds that its origins are not Christian at all.

For most of the desperately sick or poor, that will be their only exposure to Christianity and they send their money in the hope for a miracle from God...a miracle, of course, which never comes. The problem, they are told, does not lie with the ministry or God, but rather with themselves.

Their sickness and poverty not only degenerates but they are now made to believe that it's because God is mad at them. For many, this leads to lack of faith, depression and even suicide.

Millions of people around the world watch "Name It and Claim It" preachers sell faith as a commodity with a huge price-tag. These church leaders flaunt their wealth and health as blessings from God reserved for those that plant seed (money) into their ministry.

The more you give, the bigger the chance that God will bless you in return. These "donations destined for God" are then used to fund palatial homes, private jets, extravagant lifestyles for church leaders.

Watch the trailer here or buy the DVD.

The film described above demonstrates the manipulation of Evangelical congregations with the so-called 'Prosperity Gospel'. As an alternative to any of their twisted reasoning, I reccomend the spiritual but not abusive ideas of Shakti Gawain, in her book, Creating True Prosperity, which does not reject the material, but places it in a spiritual perspective:



Shakti Gawain challenges us to examine our longings and separate them from false desires and addictions after research led her to conclude that lack of well being bore no relation to wealth. Thus personal fulfillment is given emphasis in this book, whilst not ignoring the role money plays in life.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2007 Mark Leslie Woods